Dubbed an "art feast," the second International Art Biennial will be held in Beijing from September 20 to October 20, organizers announced on Sunday.

The 30-day event, the largest of its kind in China, will be attended by more than 400 artists from 67 countries, including Anselm Kiefer and Gerhard Richter. More than 700 pieces of work, mainly paintings and sculptures, will be on display, said Liu Dawei, vice chairman of the Chinese Artists Association, one of the sponsors.

With the theme, "Contemporary Art with Humanistic Concerns", the focus for this exhibition is on human social life and the public this time.

"We hope the works we chose can make contemporary art more accessible to the general public in China, which has already made notable achievements integrating itself with the global village in economic development," Liu said.

"What's more, we also want to express the pursuit for world peace and promote the development of humankind as well as the harmony between human beings and nature," he added.

"We also want to show visitors the glamor of international easel art and promote the multicultural development of the world," Liu explained.

The exhibition is sponsored by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Beijing municipal government, and the Chinese Artists Association.

The first Beijing International Art Biennial, held in 2003, showcased a total of 577 pieces of work from 45 countries, and attracted more than 600,000 visitors.

(Xinhua News Agency September 19, 2005)