A children's world in which artistic expression is encouraged

Ten years ago, then 9-year-old Yan Zhuorong drew a kitten — small, fluffy, and slightly crooked-tailed — as her entry for the first-ever Little Genius Children's Painting Competition. She had no idea that the sketch would spark a decade-long creative journey.

"Looking at my drawing, I realized art wasn't just fun; it's a way to express my emotions and the things I love," Yan recalls.

Since then, she's kept going. That crooked-tailed kitten carried her from childhood sketchbooks to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she now majors in Visual &Critical Studies, continuing to paint, write, sculpt, and even write songs.