A highly anticipated art exhibition opened in Beijing on Friday, unveiling hundreds of eclectic works that seek to integrate traditional and innovative practices.

The Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University (AADTHU) hosted the opening ceremony for its 2024 postgraduates' graduation exhibition at the university's art museum, heralding in this year's graduation season. More than 200 people attended the event.

Postgraduates' works this year reflected excellent innovative capability in the backdrop of new technological development, said Ma Sai, dean of AADTHU. He continued by saying that he could feel both the students' respect for traditional art practices as well as their vitality in embracing the future. The students' lively personalities and sense of social responsibility are also showcased through their works, added the dean.

Ma Sai, dean of the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University (AADTHU), delivers a speech at the opening ceremony for the academy's 2024 postgraduate exhibition, May 24, 2024. [Photo courtesy of AADTHU]

Ji Haoran, a postgraduate representative, said at the opening that their works express their generation's understanding and practices toward blending modern arts and scientific technology, as well as their great appreciation for the school and their tutors.

Ji Haoran, a postgraduate of the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University (AADTHU), delivers a speech at the opening ceremony for the academy's 2024 postgraduate exhibition, May 24, 2024. [Photo by Zhou Jing/China.org.cn]

Ji, a postgraduate student in creativity and design for popularization of science, spent about half a year designing her graduation work, which is based on martial arts, an intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in her hometown of Cangzhou city, located in north China's Hebei province. Her artistic process to create her graduation work began with Ji choosing the eight most representative styles of martial arts in Cangzhou, selecting classic movements, drawing corresponding cartoons and finally using new technologies to develop these cartoons into a set of dynamic images. 

Ji added that her artwork is set to be on display in her hometown's museum to introduce local culture, and probably will be developed into other applications for more cultural scenarios. Ji also told China.org.cn that she has seen most of her fellow postgraduates' exhibited works, finding them attractive and inspiring. With the help of the academy and instructors, Ji and her schoolmates want to contribute more to their hometowns and to various industries, using their expertise to introduce Chinese culture in a more innovative way to the world at large.

Ji's thoughts echoes with that of Qin Chuan, CPC Party secretary of AADTHU. At the opening, Qin encouraged the postgraduates to move forward fearlessly into their futures, and to keep thinking about the nature of the arts in an era that is full of changes and uncertain transformation brought on by sci-tech innovation. He also encouraged the students to make more innovative works and define a future of their own new standards.

Qin Chuan, CPC Party secretary of the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University (AADTHU), delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the academy's 2024 postgraduate exhibition, May 24, 2024. [Photo courtesy of AADTHU]

The AADTHU, one of the top-level arts and design academies in China, has 11 departments, focusing on textile and fashion design, ceramic design, visual communication design, environmental art design, industrial design, information art & design, painting, sculpture, arts and crafts, art history, and basic teaching and research. It also hosts institutions related to international exchange and art galleries.

The academy has more than 20 undergraduate majors and has the rights to confer doctor's degrees in artistic theories, fine arts and design science. It also boasts relevant centers for post-doctoral studies and runs academic journals including Zhuangshi, Art and Science and Tsinghua Fine Arts.

Students' works are displayed at the 2024 Postgraduate Exhibition of the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University (AADTHU), May 24, 2024. [Photo courtesy of AADTHU]

Ma Sai, dean of AADTHU, expressed the academy's decision to proactively reform their education and teaching models, expand interdisciplinary cooperation platforms and foster future-oriented artists and designers with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). 

This year's postgraduate students' works will be on display until June 6. After this exhibition, a new one for undergraduates will open on June 14 and run until June 27. In an effort to distinguish different majors' pieces, the exhibits are on displayed at two different places, with some works viewable at the university's art museum while others are located in the academy's on-campus art galleries.

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