The Center for Chinese Art at William Paterson University (CCART) was established on September 9, 2009. It is the first nonprofit center for Chinese art in the United States that aims to academically promote cultural and artistic exchanges between the two countries. The Center’s goal is to integrate Chinese art into the curriculum of American universities; to build a long-term platform for American students to learn and study Chinese art, practices, and theories; to open a window to the broader community on the richness of Chinese art on the East Coast of the United States; and to further a better understanding between the two peoples. CCART was established through generous contributions from Ms. Margaret Lam and Mr. David Yen, followed by the donations from Mr. Yong Liu and Mr. Mingsheng Liu. In 2014, it received substantial support from Ms. Ching Yiu, Mr. Zhipeng Ding, Mr. Shengzhan Ding and Mr. Xilong Xu of Shanghai William Chinese Art Foundation. In 2018, it received a donation again from Mr. Ip-Wing Kong. By offering courses, symposiums, and exhibitions in Chinese art, inviting renowned Chinese artists, and providing programs to study Chinese art and culture in China, the institution has grown into a multi-faceted functional center that is known internationally with a wide influence in the art circles of both the United States and China.
The efforts made by the Center have been well recognized and awarded by professional peers in the United States. CCART has won numerous awards, including the 2016 Gold Award, for Summer Art in China Study Abroad Program, conferred by The 31th Annual Educational Advertising Higher Education Marking Report; the 2012 Gold Award by the same agent; first place in APEX 2012, an annual award for Publication Excellence by Communications Concepts; 2012 Silver Awards by ADCNJ and the Place for Creative Professionals, NJ. A Chinese Cultural Ambassador Award was also awarded to Zhiyuan Cong, Director of CCART, by the New Jersey Sino-American Chamber of Commerce in 2012. The activities of the Center have thus received high attention from both the English and Chinese media in the United States. The Record, an American mainstream media, once commended the Center as “the largest platform for promoting Chinese art in the universities of New Jersey except Princeton University."
