On May 17, 2025, the opening ceremony of “Meta Link: The 20th Anniversary Celebrations and Thematic Exhibition of the Department of Information Art & Design, Tsinghua University” was held at the Visual Art Center of the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University. The exhibition will run until May 30. Leaders from relevant departments, representatives from sister institutions, industry experts, retired faculty members of the Department of Information Art & Design, alumni, current students, and faculty gathered to celebrate the occasion. The opening ceremony was presided over by Fu Zhiyong, Party Secretary of the Department of Information Art & Design.
In the afternoon, the academic seminar titled “Information Art & Design: Academic Leadership and Future Educational Vision” took place in Lecture Hall C528 of the Academy of Arts & Design. Simultaneously, the “Twenty Years of Connection: Alumni Roundtable Forum” was held in Lecture Hall A301, where several alumni of the Department of Information Art & Design shared their professional experiences and personal insights.
On May 18, the parallel academic forum “Boundless Symbiosis-Reshaping Perception” will be held in Lecture Halls A301 and C528 of the Academy of Arts & Design. The forum aims to break down disciplinary barriers, promote the intersection and integration of academic ideas across different fields, and explore new frontiers in information art and design.
This celebration and thematic exhibition not only reflect on the 20-year journey and remarkable achievements of the Department of Information Art & Design at Tsinghua University but also look ahead to future innovations in design. Through a series of events, the Department has fully demonstrated its outstanding accomplishments and influence in design education, academic research, creative practice, and social service.
Exhibition Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony of the exhibition was a meaningful gathering of leaders, educators, industry professionals, alumni, and students, all united to celebrate the significant milestones of the Department of Information Art & Design. The event highlighted the Department’s contributions to the fields of art and design, showcasing its commitment to fostering innovation and excellence in education and practice.
Speeches by Ma Sai, Li Bin, and Lu Xiaobo
Ma Sai, Dean of Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, stated that the Information Art and Design Department is characterized by the deep integration of art and technology, pioneering entirely new disciplinary directions and occupying a unique and crucial position in the academy’s disciplinary construction. The theme “Meta Link” symbolizes connection and integration—connecting the past with the future, linking technology with art, and integrating Eastern wisdom with a global perspective, which is a microcosm of the 20-year development journey of the Information Art and Design Department and also a guide for future progress.
Li Bin, Director of the Industry Division of Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission, pointed out that since its establishment, the Information Art and Design Department has served the frontier directions of national industrial development and achieved fruitful results. These achievements have enriched the forms of China’s creative industries and given traditional culture new expressions for the new era. In today’s challenging new era, it is expected that the Information Art and Design Department will contribute more to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation according to national needs.
As the first department head of the Information Art and Design Department, Lu Xiaobo, Senior Professor of Liberal Arts at Tsinghua University and Director of the Tsinghua University Art Museum, reviewed the original intention of establishing the department. Lu Xiaobo believes that the Information Art and Design Department has established its unique academic system and has developed into a department with comprehensive disciplinary directions and strong faculty, having significant influence both domestically and internationally. This achievement exhibition not only presents the growth trajectory but also indicates unlimited possibilities for the future.
Speeches by Lee Kun-Pyo, Xu Yingqing, and Yu Xun
Lee Kun-Pyo, Dean of the School of Design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, stated that the Information Art and Design Department of Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, born at the turn of the century, has pioneered the integration of art, design, and digital technology over its 20-year development, establishing a benchmark in the field of global design education. It has not only redefined industry standards but is also shaping the future paradigm of design education.
Xu Yingqing, Professor at Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University and Director of Tsinghua University Future Laboratory, stated that the founding concept of the Information Art and Design Department “cross-boundary integration and continuous innovation”—is the most valuable disciplinary spirit in today’s era, which the department has been practicing. Through the deep integration of art and technology, it cultivates compound talents with cross-boundary thinking and innovative capabilities.
Yu Xun, Chairman of the Hong Kong-Beijing Institute of Technology, believes that over the past 20 years, the achievements of the Information Art and Design Department in digital creativity, interactive design, information visualization, and other fields have not only led academic frontiers but also provided continuous innovative momentum for industrial development.
Speeches by Cai Xinyuan, Wang Zhigang, and Qin Chuan
Cai Xinyuan, Dean of the School of Design at Huazhong University of Science and Technology and alumni representative who enrolled in 2003, still vividly remembers the future envisioned by his teachers back then. Based on his own experience, Cai Xinyuan believes that the Information Art and Design Department has always been an incubator for China’s design innovation genes, and this emerging discipline will become a transformer of China’s art and design education.
Wang Zhigang, Head of the Information Art and Design Department at Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, introduced this themed exhibition. In addition to voice interaction, AI technology was used to construct a knowledge graph of the department’s 20 years of academic achievements, allowing visitors to interactively search for relevant information. The academic research trajectory and systematic advantages accumulated over the department’s 20 years will demonstrate amazing explosive power in the era of artificial intelligence.
Qin Chuan, Party Committee Secretary of Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, stated that the 20-year development journey of the Information Art and Design Department is a vivid portrayal of Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University’s commitment to serving national strategies and promoting cultural and industrial innovation. In the future, it is hoped that the Information Art and Design Department will continue to actively serve major national strategic needs, thoroughly implement new development concepts, focus on national strategic requirements in cultural creativity, digital economy, scientific and technological innovation, and other aspects, and bravely undertake the mission of “cultural and technological integration” for the era.
Fu Zhiyong Presiding Over the Opening Ceremony
Exhibition Opening Ceremony
As a key component of the 20th anniversary celebrations, the thematic exhibition comprehensively presents the critical pathways and future vision of the discipline’s development through four major exhibition zones. Leveraging artificial intelligence technology, a scientific research database was constructed, using algorithms to showcase the network hierarchy and abstract aesthetics of data, with an interactive mode that combines dialogue and query. The design concept, inspired by the metaphor of a “data river,” employs a purple-gold color palette that embodies the distinctive Tsinghua spirit.
Thematic Exhibition
1.“Temporal and Spatial Mapping of Discipline Development” Zone
This section traces the timeline of the Department of Information Art & Design over the past 20 years, highlighting key achievements in talent cultivation, academic research, and social services.
2.“Vital Cycle of Innovation Ecosystem” Zone
Each faculty member is represented by a lifelike AI digital avatar, seamlessly integrating achievement presentations with intelligent interactions. These digital embodiments infuse virtual existence with life and emotion, underscoring the Department’s forward-looking vision in leading industry trends and reshaping artistic experiences.
3.“Multidisciplinary Pathways” Zone
Through a network of nine key themes,such as “Graphics and Interfaces,” “Materials and Programming,” and “Brain-Computer Interfaces and Emotions”—this zone showcases the Department’s active collaboration with experts across diverse fields, reflecting its commitment to interdisciplinary innovation.
4.“Infinite Interpretations of Future Grammar” Zone
Utilizing VR technology to blur the boundaries between the virtual and the real, this zone’s immersive spatial design offers visitors a unique experience. By following the distinctive perspective of virtual reality, audiences can appreciate the narrative charm of the fusion between digital technology and art.
Exhibition Scene
Academic Seminar
In the afternoon, the academic seminar titled ”Information Art & Design: Academic Leadership and Future Educational Vision” was held in Lecture Hall C528 of the Academy of Arts & Design. Deans and experts from related institutions engaged in in-depth discussions on topics such as “The Disciplinary DNA and Symbiotic Evolution of Information Art & Design,” “The Educational Logic and Value Anchors of Information Art & Design,” and “The Dissolution and Regeneration of Disciplinary Boundaries in the Era of AI.” Professors Wu Qiong, Wang Zhigang (Head of the Department of Information Art & Design), and Shi Danqing (Assistant Dean) moderated the discussions.
Alumni Sharing Session
During the alumni roundtable, several industry leaders shared practical application cases of design innovation based on their personal experiences. This seminar not only summarized the achievements of information art and design education in China over the past decades but also provided forward-looking insights.
“Twenty Years of Connection: Alumni Roundtable Forum”
Since its establishment in 2005, the Department of Information Art & Design has been committed to the mission of “integrating art and technology,” pioneering a new interdisciplinary field in China’s higher art education.
Entering a new era, the Department will persist in driving industry innovation, nurturing more forward-thinking creative talents who will shape the future, and playing an even more substantial role in the growth of China's cultural and creative industries and digital economy.
