Tsinghua Graduate Art Show Opens With 1,200 Works

Tsinghua Graduate Art Show Opens With 1,200 Works

On May 22, the 2026 master’s degree exhibition of the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University (清华大学美术学院) opened on the ground floor of the Tsinghua University Art Museum. More than 1,200 works are on view through June 5, spanning textile and fashion design, ceramic design, visual communication design, environmental art design, industrial design, arts and crafts, information art and design, painting, sculpture, and the science popularization and creative design program. The exhibition is free and open to the public, part of the museum’s mission as a national first-class museum to serve society through art education.

“Effort in Both Directions”

Dean Wu Qiong (吴琼), Party Secretary Qin Chuan (覃川), Vice Dean Li Yingjun (李迎军), Art Museum Director Lu Xiaobo (鲁晓波), faculty representative Professor Wang Hongwei (王红卫), and graduate representative Xie Weipeng (谢伟鹏) jointly launched the exhibition before more than 200 guests.

In an era reshaped by generative AI, Wu Qiong said the academy insists on “effort in both directions”: inward, returning to the warm particulars of daily life and holding fast to aesthetic judgment and humanistic care; outward, opening disciplinary boundaries so that knowledge and innovation can meet and nourish one another. She praised the graduates for “not losing themselves in the dazzle of tools, not letting technology override thinking, and remembering that design serves people and art cares for things.”

Lu Xiaobo traced the academy’s journey since its founding in 1956, arguing that its commitment to “serving the people” is not an abstract slogan but is embodied in works rooted in life and responsive to their times. Wang Hongwei added that in the age of AI-driven crossover, students have delved into traditional Eastern aesthetics and given it contemporary expression — a living inheritance of the academy’s 70-year legacy and its “spirit of decoration,” which prizes meaning over form.

Design That Solves Real Problems

Graduate representative Xie Weipeng told the story behind his AI-powered smart glasses for visually impaired pedestrians, developed after observing how illegally parked vehicles block tactile paving in Chinese cities. The project won a “Design+” entrepreneurship award and has appeared on international stages.

The exhibition shows two clear tendencies: active boundary-crossing between disciplines, and contemporary expression of local culture. Students use AI systems to restructure narratives, make algorithms a new medium for emotion, and explore ecological life through mixed materials and installation. Several projects tackle everyday problems — wearable devices that help the visually impaired perceive their surroundings, “light social” robots for community seniors, and micro-renewal of neighborhoods. Others mine regional culture: the taste memories of local food, the rituals of folk customs, the rhythms of dialects, reworked into design language with both contemporary and local character.

Exhibition Information

• Master’s degree exhibition: May 23 – June 5
• Undergraduate degree exhibition: June 13 – June 25
• Location: Tsinghua University Art Museum
• The “Yaji” graduation creative culture festival opens alongside the undergraduate show, June 13–14, on the museum’s east plaza

Source: https://www.cntizi.com/25811.html