Origin: Traceability to Ancient Greek Art

OLYMP'ARTS continues the art competition created in Ancient Greece in 566 BC. OLYMP'ARTS 2023 specially curated the Holy Spring Ceremony in Delphi, Greece, which took place at the holy spring in Kastalia in the run-up to the kick-off, and as part of OLYMP'ARTS, the ceremony included two important parts: the holy spring collection and the passing of the holy spring.

The collection of the Holy Spring of Delphi is to OLYMP'ARTS what the collection of the Olympic flame is to the Olympic Games, because in the ancient Greek conception, Delphi was the “center of the universe”, and the water of the holy spring of Castalia was used to bathe those who came to inquire about the oracle of Delphi, and pilgrims who came to Delphi. The collection of holy spring is a demonstration of the long history and culture of the olymp'arts.

The process of global holy water transfer is also a process of connection, in which water becomes a symbol of art. Art is also seen as a bridge across languages, cultures, nationalities and races, helping to bridge the gap between different groups of people, facilitating global cultural exchanges and increasing mutual understanding. Therefore, the Holy Spring Ceremony in the traceability of the ancient Greek art events, but also with today's OLYMP'ARTS connected, artistic through the water as a carrier, to truly realize the use of art to connect the world.

The idea for the Holy Spring Collection and Delivery came from Rachel Qin of executive president of WOAC. In order to better launch the work of OLYMP'ARTS 2023, Qin personally traveled to Greece in April 2023 to trace the origins of Olympic art in ancient Greece. From Athens to Delphi, she discussed the history and course of ancient Olympic art with experts and scholars in history, archaeology, art history and other directions, including Philippos Tsalahouris, Principal of Athens Conservatoire and Academician of Athens Conservatoire, and initially formed the basic creative ideas of the Holy Spring Collection Ceremony, creation of the holy spring container, and the participation of artists around the globe, etc., which were recognized and acknowledged unanimously by the experts and scholars. Starting from this idea, Qin joined hands with Chinese lyricist Daxin Zhao to deepen the content and jointly create the content script. They extended the setting of the collection of the holy spring and the transmission of the holy water, strengthened the important concepts of historical traceability and global connection as well as the values of OLYMP'ARTS, and at the same time, included the content of the holy water melting into the sea, and the whole process of the “Song of Water” documentary and so on.

“Song of Water”: truly connecting the world

In August 2023, Qin came to Greece again to witness the creative implementation of the collection and transmission of the holy spring at the holy spring of Castalia in Delphi. The documentary film was directed by American director and producer Derek Brown, and he and his team deepened the shooting script on the basis of the content script, and carried out on-site shooting from the beginning of Delphi to all over the world. The documentary was first released on October 5, 2023 at the opening ceremony of OLYMP'ARTS 2023.

The documentary "Song of Water" opens with a close-up of the water flow of the holy spring in Delphi, Greece, and the pottery collection vessel of the holy spring is very ceremonial to take the holy water. The holy water collected from Delphi was delivered by the priestess of Athens in Greece to six children from six continents, who traveled to the continent they represented and joined the four oceans. Six children dressed in six different colors to fit the OLYMP'ARTS logo concept.

The OLYMP'ARTS logo is formed of six stars, illustrating the colorful world of art, which stands for the human spirit and thought. The six stars also represent artists from six continents. The stars form an overall pyramid shape rising skyward, implying the artist's source of inspiration. The top most star, fully in white, signies the continent of Antarctica composed, which is 98% ice and water, a natural reserve of the earth that humanity must defend. This is consistent with and echoes the starting point of the common interests of humanity.

Co-Creation: A Global Artist's Common Work

It is especially worth mentioning that the Holy Spring Collection Vessel was created by Gao Min, founder of the Beijing Starpower Charity Foundation, Olympic diving champion and Minqi Fan, a master of Chinese ceramic art, and Changxin Zhou, an oil painter and President of OLYMP'ARTS 2023 China, who were invited to create the Holy Spring Collection Vessel. With more than 1,800 years of history, China's Jingdezhen pottery and the nearly 3,000-year-old Olympics are connected by art.

At the same time, as a specially planned documentary “Song of Water” invites artists from all over the world to join in the documentary filming, and the creative scenes and artistic expressions of the artists and the holy springs collection and transmission scenes are intertwined and presented.

Marc Verriere, the founding president of the WOAC, comes from a family of artists, and has dedicated himself to the promotion and development of the arts around the world, from the founding of the World Philharmonic Orchestra to the revitalization of the OLYMP'ARTS.

Philippos Tsalahouri, Principal of Athens Conservatoire and Academician of Athens Conservatoire, has a long history of musical composition and education, and his works have been performed by all the major Greek symphonic and choral groups, as well as at major festivals in Greece and internationally. and he is one of the most prolific Greek composers of his generation, having composed more than a hundred works.

Young Swiss-Chinese pianist Meidi Zhao graduated from the Geneva Conservatory of Music with a Master's Degree in Solo Performance, the highest degree in Europe. She was awarded the Swiss Grand Prix de la Culture et des Arts, the highest honor in Switzerland.

Nigerian artist Dr. Ogunwo Bolaji is from the Department of Creative Arts, Faculty of Arts, University of Lagos, and his research interests include the visual exploration of painting as metaphor, the linguistic techniques of painting as expression, and the exploration of painting through the use of music.

Marc Verriere, the founding president of the WOAC

Philippos Tsalahouri, Principal of Athens Conservatoire and Academician of Athens Conservatoire

Young Swiss-Chinese pianist Meidi Zhao

Nigerian artist Dr. Ogunwo Bolaji

The artists who collected and delivered the holy spring started from different themes such as historical contexts, compositions, performances, paintings, and so on, to convey their interpretations of the values of universality, beauty, aesthetics, harmony, and non-violence of OLYMP'ARTS, and to elaborate on the importance of art as a channel and a bridge to communicate with human beings, nature, and history by combining with their own art creations and art experiences. In the process of this narrative construction, the scenes of all the artists are intertwined, and the holy water from the holy spring of Delphi, has the power to unite all the arts at this moment.

The documentary uses spatial clues to interweave different characters and different contents, but they have the same mission. The core shows the differences in cultural arts of different continents in the transmission of holy water. Finally, the holy water flows into the sea, reflecting the concept of art connecting the world.

Expectation: Art will bring us together again

American director and producer Derek Brown is an artist in his own right, and as a multidisciplinary filmmaker, he is passionate about telling stories about art through images. He is involved in almost every creative department, and because of the diversity of his work environment, he can give different images a creative narrative style.

In recognition of Derek Brown's dedication and achievements in the field of art, he received the “Outstanding Contribution Award” from WOAC at the OLYMP'ARTS 2023 Charity dinner,。Meanwhile OLYMP'ARTS is looking forward to more and better works of his art to meet the audience, more and better art is more worth sharing.

American director and producer Derek Brown

Mr. Derek Brown Won the Outstanding Contribution Award

As the debut of OLYMP'ARTS, OLYMP'ARTS 2023 focuses on the theme of “Environment, Climate and Energy” and includes an opening ceremony, art exhibition, art forum, charity dinner, award ceremony and many other sessions. Guests invited to attend this year's OLYMP'ARTS 2023 include artists, representatives of arts organizations, government dignitaries, entrepreneurs, and representatives of the World Olymp'Arts Council（WOAC）, etc.

The event was hosted by WOAC, organized by OLYMP'ARTS 2023 organizing committee, coordinated by the World Philharmonic Orchestra (France), the International Joint Initiatives ASBL (Belgium), and ARTLAB International Art Laboratory (Italy), and specially supported by Athens Conservatoire. At the opening ceremony, Rachel Qin, Executive President of WOAC, announced that OLYMP'ARTS 2027 will meet us again in four years, aiming to continue to make art light up the world.