I started playing the piano at age five and up until an injury in high school, my plan had always been to pursue a career in piano performance. Growing up as a classical pianist my afternoons and weekends were filled with practices, lessons, and competitions all over Southern California. It wasn’t how typical kids spent their free time, but for myself and all those around me with similar dreams, it was our way of life. Now, looking back, even though music isn’t the center of my life anymore, I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to grow up with it.

Here in Beijing, we see children of all ages emerging themselves in various forms of artistic expression. Parents from various walks of life can see the importance of encouraging creativity in their children. In this issue of beijingkids, we chat with two parents who turned their childhood passion for art into careers and also spoke with parents from different cultural backgrounds on their views of introducing art into their children’s lives.

Gracing our cover is six-year-old Lumi Lee whose love for art and design has made her one of the youngest illustrators in the world, having been published at just age five and now discovering her love for ballet. Though not every girl dreams of being a prima ballerina, dance does teach us everyday life skills. In this issue, we spoke with teens about what they love about dancing and how it’s helped shape their character.

Then we visited the less conventional forms of artistic expression from using makeup as an art form to the debated question of whether photography is considered “art” to the latest rise of tattoos and body modification. Tattoos have been a long-standing tradition in many cultures around the world, but in China, it’s only in recent years that they’ve become accepted in the mainstream, and two parents share the stories behind their unique tattoos.

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Images: Dave Studio

This article appeared in the beijingkids 2020 October issue