Recently, the 2024 Xiamen University Institute of Creativity and Innovation (ICI) Design Season officially kicked off. On May 19, the opening ceremony of the ICI Degree Show, a highlight of the ICI Design Season 2024, was grandly held at Xiamen Art Museum. The exhibition includes more than 100 Final Major Projects completed by the first cohort of over 100 graduates of the two majors of Visual Communication Design and Environmental Design. The works have demonstrated their exploration and design innovation practice in contemporary creative education in a cross-cultural and interdisciplinary context, showcasing young students' profound reflections on current social issues and innovative solutions.
Shangguan Jun, Executive Director of the Department of Publicity of Xiamen Municipal Government, Yu Hao, Deputy Director of Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Commerce and Director of the Conference and Exhibition Bureau, Robbie Fuller, Design Director of Anta, Prof. Avinandan Mukerjee, Provost and Senior Vice President of Marshall University, US, Prof. Yang Bin, former Vice President of Xiamen University(XMU), responsible officials from partner universities and enterprises, various offices of XMU and media department, attended the opening ceremony. ICI leading officials, faculty representatives, and students of 2020 cohort participated in the event. The opening ceremony was hosted by Madam Wang Yi, Chair of the ICI Council.
Prof. Yang Bin, former Vice President of XMU, started his speech by recalling the establishment purpose and development history of the ICI. He pointed out that the first cohort of students holding their graduation exhibition outside the campus indicates that ICI had made great achievements in their teaching and learning. He hoped that students would carry forward the spirit of boundless creativity and innovation and become active builders in the AI era. Prof. Yang then thanked relevant departments of the city and Xiamen Art Museum for their support. He wished the degree exhibition a great success and the ICI a bright future.
The ceremony then continued with a speech by Prof. QIN Jian, Dean of the ICI. He gave a briefing on the development history of the ICI. He remarked that since the establishment in 2019, the ICI had systematically introduced high-quality educational resources from the UK, integrated teaching contents from both the Chinese and British sides, and made substantial adjustments in talent cultivation, disciplinary positioning, and curriculum setting. Meanwhile, ICI had rapidly established a highly internationalized faculty team. The past 4 years witnessed ICI developing to be an excellent teaching and research platform along with the overall construction of educational resources and faculty team. He expressed his high expectation that visitors could experience the vitality of modern design and hoped that the first cohort of graduates would maintain their curiosity and social responsibility towards the world and keep pursuing their dreams.
Marie Brennan, representative of the British side, then delivered a speech, in which she stated that ICI graduates had embraced challenges and failures, and come out with inventive and impactful solutions. She also mentioned that ICI faculty and staff were from very diverse background featuring 17 different nations. She commented that the Degree Show paid tribute to the transformative power of creativity, innovation, and design. As one of the curatorial directors, she expressed that she was deeply moved by the professionalism and dedication of the curatorial team, faculty, discipline leaders, program directors, and other officials, as well as the creativity of all teachers and students.
Shangguan Jun, Yand Bin, and six other leaders and guests took the stage to count down for the opening of the 2024 Degree Show of the Institute of Creativity and Innovation of Xiamen University. Wang Yi then announced the official opening of the exhibition, and the "Door of Creativity" of the main exhibition hall was subsequently opened.
After the opening ceremony, the attending guests toured the graduates’ exhibits, observing student booths and live presentations. The Visual Communication Design section showcased graduates' in-depth research and exploration on contemporary issues, design concepts, and language structures. The Environmental Design section demonstrated graduates' thoughts and practices on the relationship between people and the environment, and behaviors through space analysis and scene simulation.
The Degree Show has gained extensive attention from both within and outside the university. Media outlets such as China News Service, XMTV News, and Xiamen Net published news reports. The exhibition was open to the public through May 29.
Comments from Students and Teachers
Chen Yi, Associate Professor of Visual Communication Design, Curator: The exhibition is the result of a new Sino-British cooperative teaching mode. The themes of the works embody a scientific spirit, critical thinking, humanistic and artistic literacy, and a sense of social responsibility. Students effectively apply professional knowledge to innovatively solve problems and integrate with other horizontal disciplines from the perspective of visual creativity.
Mark Bellingham, Senior Lecturer of Visual Communication Design, Curator: The results of students’ investigations, and discoveries through research and practice are documented here in this remarkable graduation show. These students are pioneers, exploring new and innovative ways of thinking and working. They have worked meticulously through challenging times and remained resilient and focused on reaching the goals they set for themselves.
Zhong Zhen, Associate Professor of Environmental Design, Curator: This degree show highlights the advantages of Sino-British cooperative education in the field of design. The Sino-British cooperation is not only an exchange of technology and knowledge but also an interaction of culture and creativity. This deep cultural exchange has helped stimulate students' creative thinking, as new perspectives and expressions are evident in their design works.
Xia Xuan, graduate of 2020 cohort of Visual Communication Design: My final major project is Sending off the King Boat. It displays the charm and value of the intangible cultural heritage more intuitively through dynamic visual experiences. I will continue to maintain my passion and attention for intangible cultural heritage, contributing to cultural diversity and the protection of traditional culture.
Lu Wenbo, Graduate of 2020 cohort of Visual Communication Design: My final Major Project is Utopia Dream 2048. In carrying out our graduation projects, we deeply understood, learned, and creatively used speculative design methods. This was made possible by the feedback from both XMU and UCA teachers during mentoring sessions, allowing me to study and evaluate design outcomes from a more diverse and enriched perspectives.
Wang Zilu, graduate of 2020 cohort of Environmental Design: This is my final Major Project: City Archives. Based on Hejduk's Masques theory, I translated 40 historical events from Yingping area and extracted elements from them to regenerate a series of modular cultural buildings. Participating in various competitions such as the UIA-HYP Cup, EVOLO, and TEAMZERO Cup during my undergraduate studies has significantly contributed to my rapid professional growth.
Zhai Liyuan, Graduate of 2020 cohort of Environmental Design: This is my final Major Project: Exploring Olfactory Narratives in Urban Landscapes. My work is aimed to explore and enrich the olfactory landscape and terrain psychology in urban environments and redefine the ways urban landscapes are perceived and experienced. It breaks the limitations of traditional sensory experiences, offering people a new way to explore cities. I hope to explore more possibilities in environmental design and create better, more livable urban environments through design.
