A painting is displayed on the opening night of the 10th China International Gallery Exposition. The event opened on the evening of Oct 9 and will be held in Beijing from Oct 10 - 13, 2014. [Photo/China.org.cn]

The 10th China International Gallery Exposition opened on Thursday night and will be held in Beijing from Oct 10 -13.

This is the first year that CIGE has been held at the Beijing National Convention Center, which has an area of 530,000 square meters. The use of this new facility will provide the expo with a world-class venue to awe exhibitors and visitors alike.

The expo cooperated with many art institutions to devise a new format and style to create a stunning debut which will improve the experience for art collectors.

Assisting and nurturing the talents of young artists has been a long-term effort for CIGE, and it will showcase new methods of supporting emerging artists at this year's event. There are plans for multiple exhibitions related to promoting the works of young artists: "Well-Known Artist Nomination Exhibition," "The Young Artist Exhibition," and the "AAC Award-Winning Young Artists Exhibition". These exhibitions are designed to help younger artists get better exposure in this growing industry.

CIGE is especially endorsing the "Well-Known Artist Nomination Exhibition" in order to explore the potential of young artists and present them to the public in a professional setting. Nine well-known artists have employed their superior artistic vision to each hand-pick and nominate one young, emerging artist to present his or her works in this small exhibition. This year the well-established artists serving as mentors are Fang Lijun, Mao Yan, Sui Jianguo, Wang Guangyi, Wang Xingwei, Xu Bing, Zhan Wang, Zhang Xiaogang and Ceng Fanzhi. The young artists that have been nominated are, respectively, Gao Bo, Zhang Ying, Song Jianshu, Wang Junyi, Xu Xiaoguo, Zhang Wenchao, Zhu Liye, Li Qing, and Song Yige.

The four-day expo will also host a variety of different activities, including salons, lectures, discussions panels and forums, and a multiple-dimension presentation about the current status of the Asian art industry and its development.

The China International Gallery Exposition was started by CAE Media in 2004, and it has become the first international fair for the contemporary arts that lives up to global standards in China. As one of the first events of its kind, CIGE has been a pioneer in the Asian contemporary art industry and has already established itself as one of the most influential art fairs in the region.