The Story of Artist
Jia. Duan was born in an artist's family. Her parents are both outstanding artists in China, they were the painters, stage art designers and theater costume designers. Jia started to learn painting before 16 years old from her parents, in addition to the school's cultural courses.
In 1978-1982. Jia Duan as the first of University students after Cultural Revolution of China. She was graduated from Department of Art Design of Beijing Film Academy (The most famous film school in China) After graduating, she went to the Central Academy of Music in China to study music theory，the history and aesthetics of music and appreciation for one year.
From 1983 to 1992, as a screenwriter, director, and art designer, she created more than ten short films and TV animations on China Central Television. Among them: "Stars Dream" won the second prize of the first Chinese animation competition; "The Story of Red Candle and Mermaid", adapted from Japanese folklore, adopted a distinctive Japanese classical art style, it was awarded the CCTV Excellent Program Award; The Music Animation "Picture Exhibition--Kiev Gate" (Russian composer Mussorgsky masterpiece) won the second prize of the first Chin's computer animation professional group.
Known as one of China's fifth generation film director but mainly in animation. In 1992, she was invited back to Beijing Film Academy to do teaching and academic research in Animation School. From 2001, Jia. Duan began recruiting master students in creation and history theory until 2011.
Since 2000, she began to go to the world, first to Europe Investigate and study the history of art and animated film, participate in international film festivals，and then went to North America and Asia for international academic exchanges afterward.
In 2004, as an animation director, Jia Duan completed her own animation short film ”Lotus”，served as producer, screenwriter, director, art director & designer, and music editor too. This is a poetic art film with a Christian spirit. To be the China's first fully digitally produced art film. In 2005, "Lotus" won all the awards in the relevant Chinese animation international competitions in China almost, a total of 10 awards including 6 gold awards until 2006. Afterward, “Lotus” participated in many International Film Festivals. Include the America, Germany, Belgium, France, Canada, Russia, etc.
On New Year's Day in 2006, she was baptized as a Christian in Seattle, U.S.A. From then on, she began to invited and introduce outstanding Western artists to Chinese students from different countries, and introduced Chinese Eastern classic artist works to the Western world.
In the fall of 2006, in Wuhan University, China. She was as the Secretary-General, co-operated with International Animation Film Society（ASIFA） hosted a large-scale event of the International Animation Artist Salon Annual Conference，invited the most outstanding animation artists from the United States, Britain, Germany, Canada, Switzerland, South Korea, Japan and China participated in exchanges and gave speeches. Forest cinema and indoor cinema show various forms of animated films, attended by teachers and students from ten universities.
In 2007, Jia. Duan was invited by President of San Francisco Animation Society to San Francisco and Los Angeles in order to introduce Chinese classical animation and her own works “Lotus”. Nine lectures were held, including a special session at the Sequoia International Film Festival; DreamWorks animation studio, Lucas animation studio & TV production base, and some universities such as: University of Southern California(USC )School of Cinematic Arts; University of California San Francisco Film School；California Institute of the Arts(Cal Arts); University of California(UC)Berkeley Department of Film and Media and so on.
In 2008, spring，her monograph "World Animation Film History" was published. With 500,000 words in pictures and texts, she has studied and written this book for ten years.
In the fall of 2008, she was invited to introduce Chinese contemporary animation by National Film Board of Canada in Montreal Film Festivals. And gave a lecture at Concordia University in Montreal, entered into Ottawa International Animation Film Festival after.
In 2009, summer times, she was invited to be a International Jury participated in Seoul International Animation Film Festival. Afterward she was invited to be a Member of the Final Jury, worked for the Zagreb Das International Trick film-Festival Stuttgart（ITFS）.
In the fall of 2009, she was invited by the San Francisco Filmmakers' Association to introduce Chinese classic animation art in San Francisco once again. Giving lectures at the American Fox Animation Studios and film production bases; and the San Francisco Filmmakers' Association; the middle school and elementary school in San Francisco.
In the spring of 2010, Jia Duan was invited by Concordia University film school in Montreal, Canada. As a guest professor to teach "the history of Chinese animation and aesthetics" a course for the spring semester. At the same time visit the National Film Board , and Canada’s most outstanding of animation artists to further study the history of animation in Canada.Also in this time, on the advice of colleagues from the National Film Board, she applied for Canadian immigration.
Until now, Jia. Duan felt that animated art film as the comprehensive art form, it is a very good way for introduces China's classic art and modern history and the relationship, through it could introduced separately all kinds of classic Chinese paintings, folk art, music, drama, and literature, at the same time, travel through the ups and downs of modern Chinese history.
Jia. Duan is also an environmentalist.
From 2005-2015, worked as a screenwriter, director, and photographer for the documentary "Swan Lake Diary" at her own expense in the "Oriental Swan Lake" in the coastal wetlands of Shandong, China for ten autumn and winter. This is a true story of "beauty---destroying beauty---and fighting for beauty". The protagonist struggles all his life alone, the documentary is about him defending nature and the destiny of angels.
In the summer of 2008, she co-operated with Common Ground U.S.A, as Beijing curator and selector, she planned and successfully hosted the 2008 Beijing International Environment of New Media Art Exhibition, including 40 countries artist’s works there.
From 2011 to 2018, Jia. Duan was dispatched by the Beijing Film Academy to the coastal area of Qingdao, China to build the College Beijing Film Academy's Creative Media School, as the head of the animation art department. Under her guidance, the works of five-times graduates have won international, Chinese national, provincial and municipal 100 related awards. Including animated short films, paintings, and comic works. Among them, in 2017, "School Road" was selected into the Vancouver Spark Animation Festival. And the awards of Russian and French Youth Film Festivals, etc.
In July of 2015, after being approved by the Canadian Immigration Service, Jia Duan immigrated to Canada and landed in North Vancouver, added English name Janice for convenience. Then, Janice. Jia. Duan began to turning as an independent artist in Canada, and started her own Art Studio.
In November 2018, after more than 20 years as an experienced professor at Beijing Film Academy, Jia. Duan resigned from all positions and teaching jobs and retired.
2018, Christmas-March 2019, Janice. Jia. Duan hold her first solo painting exhibition in St. Andrew's Church by invited.
Thanks God! 2020-09-01