Artists from China and CEE countries exchange ideas at an intercultural dialogue at the China National Silk Museum in Hangzhou on Sept 23. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

China National Silk Museum in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province staged an exhibition of silk clothes with special designs made by artists from China and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries on Sept 19-25.

The attires were a combination of Chinese silk and traditional cultures of the artists' hometowns. Artists from 14 countries including Latvia, Croatia and Hungary were invited to draw the most special patterns that could reflect their countries' traditions on Chinese silk two months ago.

Dots, lines and circles made up the life stories of CEE countries. After completing their creations, the clothes were sent back to China and displayed at the museum.

Some of the artists shared stories and introduced traditional folk art of CEE countries to Hangzhou art lovers on Sept 23 at a cultural event called Intercultural Dialogue Evening on the Silk Road.

Inguna Levsa from Latvia used two symbolic patterns in her creation. She said the two represented heaven and earth and the combination of them brought balance. "I want the two symbols from legends to become more universal and closer to today's pop culture," Levsa said.

Artist Ena Begicevic from Bosnia and Herzegovina created an artwork called "In My Country". She adopted a rarely seen pattern "Stečci" to reflect the traditional custom of indigenous people.

There were a variety of activities such as poem recitals and improvisational creation on silk on the night of the exhibition. Zhao Feng, curator of the museum, said it was not easy to display artworks from abroad. He hoped the China National Silk Museum could be more international by organizing multicultural events.