A media conference for the second edition of Art at Qiaoshan — Art Field Nanhai Guangdong 2024 was held in Beijing on Thursday.

The festival will open on Nov 16 and run until Feb 12 in Nanhai district of Foshan, Guangdong province. It will feature 94 art projects and 150 groups of participating artists, amounting to over 170 artists in total, with more than 110 new participants.

Francesco Saverio Teruzzi, representative of participating Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto, flew from Italy to deliver a speech. He introduced two major projects that will be presented at the festival, Third Paradise and Fashion to Reconnect. Third Paradise will be Pistoletto's first permanent art installation in China. This project also serves as a symbolic reminder that everything is the result of the encounter and integration of distinct and unique elements.

"Through art, we can create a 'third paradise' where the natural and artificial worlds coexist harmoniously," Teruzzi said.

Artist representative Wu Jian'an shared his experience of creating artwork for the festival at the conference. "When we stay in familiar environments for long, we assume the world is stable and predictable. But when you travel far … the land, air, and plants there, which have accumulated energy over centuries, can give you sudden inspiration — you realize how limited your perspective has been," he said. "The creative experience in Nanhai has been a precious gift to me, stimulating every pore and cell. I am sincerely grateful to the festival for teaching me things I never knew I could do."