Featuring 56 works of design and art by the students of East China Normal University, the exhibition Chinese Opera: A Century of Dreams — Art, Design, and Technology officially opened at the Ground Hall of the China Institute of America in New York on July 9.
As part of the third season of Our Water III: Shanghai - New York City Dialogue, the exhibition is co-hosted by East China Normal University and the China Institute of America.
Centered on the historic moment of Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang's 1930 tour of the United States, the exhibition explores the "re-translation" and "re-perception" of traditional Chinese culture in a globalized context. The works, created by students from the Department of Illustration, School of Design at the Shanghai-based university, reinterpret classic elements from Kunqu Opera, Peking Opera, and Dunhuang murals through modern graphic design, interactive media, and experimental AI digital media.
The centerpiece of the exhibition is a large-scale mixed-media collage titled Mei Lanfang's Visit to the US. Measuring over one meter in length, the artwork incorporates 1930s newspaper layouts and illustrations of Peking Opera characters. Yu Wenjun, a student at ECNU's School of Design, spent months researching historical newspapers and photographs from the US.
"I didn't just want to paint Mei Lanfang. I wanted to recreate the shock and curiosity Americans felt when they saw Peking Opera for the first time," Yu said.
Yu Yougen, education counselor of the Chinese Consulate General in New York, said at the opening that the long-standing partnership between the China Institute of America and East China Normal University continues to deepen educational and cultural exchanges between China and the United States.
"By hosting this exhibition, the two sides demonstrate shared commitment to cultivating young talents, stimulating cross-cultural innovation vitality, and advancing China-US people-to-people and cultural exchanges through art, culture and the voices of the younger generation," Zhou Yong, deputy director of the international cooperation and exchange office of the university, said.
Liao Shenzhan, senior vice-president for education at the China Institute of America, said, "For a hundred years, the China Institute of America has been committed to promoting Sino-American exchange across culture, education, and the arts. This exhibition is not merely a retrospective of history; it is a vibrant showcase of how today's youth interpret and re-imagine traditional culture."
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