June 3, 2025, the exhibition “Interaction·Linkage·Translation: Final Works from the Digital Exhibition Design Art Talent Training Program” opened at the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University. As an achievement of the 2024 National Arts Fund project, the exhibition was hosted by the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, organized by the National Arts Fund Digital Exhibition Design Art Talent Training Program team, and co-supported by the China Cultural Relics Exchange Center, with funding from the China Welfare Lottery, China Sports Lottery Public Welfare Fund, and the National Arts Fund. It showcased innovative achievements by over 30 participants nationwide in digital exhibition design, serving as a pioneering exploration in cultivating talent at the intersection of art and technology. The event attracted experts, practitioners, and media representatives from cultural heritage, education, and digital art fields.
On display were 30+ participant works employing diverse mediums such as AR/VR, interactive design, and data visualization. The VR experience “Origins of Civilization” immersed audiences in the grandeur of cultural evolution through interactive storytelling, while the installation “Scriptures Illuminated” paired physical artifacts with dynamic light projections to deconstruct and reinterpret ancient textual symbols through visual language. These works not only demonstrated digital technology’s innovative role in cultural preservation but also forged dynamic connections between humanity and technology, history and modernity, through “digital translation,” vividly reimagining traditional culture for the digital age.
In his address, Ma Sai, Dean of the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, highlighted digital exhibition art as a paradigm of art-technology integration with strategic significance for cultural dissemination and creative industry advancement. He emphasized the program’s alignment with China’s national cultural digitization strategy, leveraging Tsinghua’s interdisciplinary resources to merge art design, computer science, and museology. Through intensive coursework and field research, the program cultivated versatile talents with both technical proficiency and cultural insight. “The participants’ works harmonize technological innovation with cultural narrative, reinvigorating the exhibition industry,” Ma noted.
Professor Wang Guobin of Beijing University of Technology examined digital exhibitions’ future through a philosophical lens. Citing the blockbuster game ”Black Myth: Wukong,” he urged digital art to transcend “technological instrumentalism” and construct autonomous cultural worldviews. “Amidst rapid AI advancements, we must guard against ‘technological domestication’ and uphold the core values of bodily perception and spiritual expression in art,” Wang asserted. He proposed “relational storytelling” over “object-centric narratives” to deepen immersive cultural experiences.
Program director and Tsinghua professor Zhang Lie outlined the training’s unique cross-disciplinary curriculum, combining theory, case studies, and on-site research at venues like the Yingtianmen Ruins and Shanghai Astronomy Museum. “Participants demonstrated remarkable dedication, producing works that balance technical rigor with cultural resonance,” Zhang said, announcing plans for an industry platform to sustain talent development and expand digital exhibitions’ applications in education and cultural communication.
Left to right: Dean Ma Sai, Prof. Wang Guobin, Prof. Zhang Lie at the opening ceremony
Participant representative Guan Yi described the program as a bridge between “art, technology, and culture.” Her team’s “Seven Days in Jingjue” exhibition used multimodal interactive technology to digitally reconstruct the ancient Jingjue Kingdom, reviving moments of Silk Road splendor. “Digital tools transform static heritage into dynamic narratives,” she said. “This is our starting point for telling China’s stories through innovation.”
Fellow participant Shi Zeyuan reflected on the ethos of “nurturing substance through the virtual, conveying spirit through data.” His works epitomized the fusion of traditional cultural DNA with modern tech, positioning digital language as a vehicle for contemporary expression. All trainees pledged to pioneer localized digital art innovations, contributing to the era’s cultural-technological synthesis.
Left: Guan Yi, Xinjiang Cultural Creative Director; Right: Shi Zeyuan, A+ Creative Studio co-founder
The opening ceremony concluded with Dean Ma, Professor Zhang, and participants unveiling a program monograph, codifying the project’s theoretical and practical outcomes.
This event not only reported on the training program’s achievements but also illuminated technology’s expansive potential in cultural revitalization. As digital and traditional cultures resonate anew, audiences are invited to witness their synergy in museums and beyond.
