The 2012 Overseas Art Academic Research program kicked off on July 1 in Beijing.

The Chinese Artists Association initiated the educational program in 2009, with support from the Ministry of Finance.

Ten artists and art scholars selected from more than 100 candidates from universities, painting institutes and art academies will travel to countries in five continents over the next few weeks for a three-month academic research project.

They will conduct research on a wide rang of topics such as art funding operations in the United States, artistic creations by post-1990s artists in France and contemporary art trends in Mexico.

"The aim of the program is to help China's art community update their knowledge about the latest development in arts and design worldwide," said Chinese Artists Association secretary-general Wu Changjiang, a key organizer.

Wu's association has published academic papers and research reports written by participants in the previous three research programs and will donate these books to at least 150 university libraries from across the nation later this year.