Chapter 2545: People's Art, Inviting Elves

Regarding the issues with the new play, Xia Duo and Lawrence quickly reached a consensus on the revisions through a back-and-forth discussion. Finally, Xia Duo asked:

"With the revisions to the new play, is there still enough time?"

"There is enough time. The revision suggestions proposed by the Lord are very much in line with the current situation of Daxia Territory. We performers have all experienced these things personally; now, we are simply taking the most realistic parts of life and performing them with a bit of artistic flair. There will be no problems at all, please rest assured, Lord."

"That is good."

Xia Duo nodded, then began to inquire about the preparations for the Art Festival. He had always placed great importance on undertakings in the cultural domain, and Lawrence was well aware of this. Hearing Xia Duo ask, his expression involuntarily became serious:

"Actually, during my exchange period in Akaola, I had thought that after returning, the Lord might find an opportunity for me to showcase the results of the exchange, or give the Territory's literary and artistic workers a chance to perform."

"At that time, I had considered how such an activity should be organized. I referenced the experience of the Elf Kingdom's grand gatherings and turned this Art Festival into an art tour, featuring not only the traditional forms of expression that grew from our own soil but also the latest forms of expression from the Elf Kingdom."

"However, the content expressed by these forms comes from the local area, or more accurately, from Daxia Territory and the Tower of Time, containing many elements of the production, life, and study that everyone in the Territory is most familiar with."

"Hmm, good idea. So, what about the specifics?" Xia Duo continued to press.

"I have prepared three main units. The first is the New Wind Art Exhibition, which reflects the achievements of the Territory's New Life Movement. There are no specific restrictions on the exhibits; participants are free to express themselves. It could be a sculpture, a song, or even a new tool or technique used in labor, and so on. The participants are all the residents of the Territory; they only need to sign up and submit their works after the Autumn Harvest Festival."

"That—" Ruier paused, seemingly realizing that doing so carried hidden risks, but after all, he had spent more than a year exchanging in Akaola, immersed daily in the influence of Elf art, and he also hoped that human art or certain human connotations could gain recognition from the Elves.

"Continue, what other units are there?" Xia Shao signaled for Ruier to go on.

"Actually, I have another idea, but I don't know if the Lord would agree?"

Thinking of this, Xia Shao couldn't help but ask: "Will the New Wind Art Exhibition be scored? Who will do the scoring?"

"What idea? Don't tell me you're planning to invite Elves over?" Xia Shao said jokingly.

"Are you doing this because you're worried that the one who wins first place will be some sort of neither-fish-nor-fowl thing?" Xia Shao asked again.

Although there might be many immature works the first time, as long as it can be persisted in, it will sooner or later become a school of its own.

"Yes, during my exchange in Akaola, I met many Elf artists. Some of them are very interested in the Daxia Territory I described, and they don't have any prejudice against humans. Plus, with the current quasi-vassal relationship between Daxia Territory and Netheril, I am confident they will create some excellent works."

"There is also the new play tour at the Linshui Theater here. The one you just saw, Lord, is only one of them; there are four other new plays that will be performed continuously at the two main venues during the Art Festival."

It is one thing to invite relatively objective Elves over; setting aside whether they can be invited, even if they are, they might not necessarily speak according to my wishes.

"What if they go back and deliberately smear us? What will you do? Can you chase them to Akaola to hold them accountable?" Xia Shao asked back.

Xia Shao had originally thought that Ruier might adopt more Elf artistic forms. If that were the case, even with a considerable degree of localized filling, it might suffer from 'acclimatization' issues and appear neither-fish-nor-fowl.

"The above two units can be considered local art. For the third unit, I plan to do a localization innovation of Elf art, using the form of Elf art to express our local characteristics."

Xia Shao knew about the two main venues: Code Plaza and Altar Square. As for the Central Plaza in Savile Town, this Art Festival did not restrict the identity of the participants, but in terms of venue selection, it still leaned more towards the Daxia Territory side.

Then why did Ruier say that?

Xia Shao had never thought about currying favor with the Elves, so whether it was compromising himself to cater to the Elves or finding pro-human elements among the Elves to take money for publicity, neither was what he wanted.

"Of course there is scoring. The participants are all the residents, so the scoring will naturally be done by all the residents. The public will naturally choose the works they think are the best."

But what Xia Shao didn't expect was that Ruier nodded seriously, "Lord, you guessed correctly. I do want to invite a group of Elf artists to the Territory. There is still one month until the Art Festival, which is enough time for them to sketch and create in the Territory."

"So that was your plan!"

Speaking of this, Ruier had finished explaining the three major units of this Art Festival, but he did not stop there; instead, he hesitated for a moment and proposed to Xia Shao:

"You want to find some Elf artists you became familiar with during your exchange in Akaola to come over?"

He could also rest more assured in handing over the Territory's first Art Festival to Ruier to organize. The title of "Wild Poetry" that had spread in Seventon was clearly an outside misunderstanding of Ruier!

Hearing this, Xia Shao was immediately much more at ease, knowing that Ruier was neither a pedantic executor nor an overly flighty, unconventional art fanatic, but a steady and trustworthy leader.

After a moment of silence, Ruier said somewhat embarrassedly: "I think that can only rely on the personal friendship between you, Lord, and the Crown King of Akaola to restrain them."

"No need!"

He did not think this was a good idea. His own territory was holding an Art Festival, and it was an Art Festival that promoted the New Wind Art Exhibition; letting Elves mix in, he could already imagine what kind of repercussions this would trigger throughout the Northland if it spread.

"I'm not worried. I believe that any work, as long as it can gain the recognition of a few people, must have its own significance. As long as it fits the theme of the New Wind Art Exhibition for this Art Festival, no matter how neither-fish-nor-fowl it looks right now, it will eventually be vindicated in the future," Ruier said confidently.

Xia Shao rejected Ruier's proposal without hesitation, "Since we have decided to hold an Art Festival, I don't care about being seen by outsiders. 'Outsiders' here refers not only to the humans in the Inner Land of Netheril but also to the Elves outside of Netheril." When Ruier introduced the New Wind Art Exhibition, he appeared ambitious, and Xia Shao could also see that Ruier was prepared to use this exhibition as the main form of expression for the first Art Festival.

But now, such a form is indeed very good, making Xia Shao truly look forward to it. Art is not something instilled from the top down by artists, but something for the residents to discover and refine from their most common lives, forming a true expression of the people.