On the morning of November 28, 2025, the School of Arts Management at Yunnan Arts University (YNAU) officially launched its second Art Continues Boundless Festival. Chen Jinsong, Vice President of Yunnan Arts University (YNAU); Zhao Zhanliang, Director of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Division of the Kunming Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism; Fu Xiaohui and Shen Yintao, Director and Deputy Director of the Kunming Cultural Center; Li Li, Chen Weirong, and Dong Jing, Directors of the Guandu, Xishan, and Wuhua District Cultural Centers, respectively; Yuan Yuming, Head of Public Affairs at the Panlong District Bureau of Culture and Tourism; Li Xuehui, Head of Public Services at the Anning Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism; Hu Mingxia, General Manager of Kunming Theater; Huang Lirong, Partner and Curator at Kunming Wenda Gallery; Jiang Tao, Executive Director of the French-Chinese Art and Cultural Education Association; and Party and administrative leadership members, as well as faculty and student representatives from the School of Arts Management, attended the opening ceremony. Together, they witnessed an art event bridging tradition and modernity, and linking the campus with the wider community.
As a flagship graduation showcase of the School of Arts Management, Art Continues Boundless embodies a profound educational and cultural vision. Through diverse artistic practices, it creates immersive experiences that captivate participants. By innovating a collaborative government-university-enterprise model, the initiative provides a practical platform for art managers. Guided by the educational philosophy of Vision, Virtue, Compassion, and Mastery, it highlights the contemporary value of aesthetic education and allows the beauty of art to enrich the soul.
Themed Boundless, this year's festival breaks new ground across four dimensions. Culturally, it blends tradition with modernity. Experientially, it dissolves the barrier between viewer and participant to foster artistic co-creation. For audiences, it delivers tailored, inclusive art experiences to diverse groups. Spatially, it frees art from conventional venues and integrates it into everyday spaces, making the concept of "art as life" a reality.
In his address, Fu Yongshou, Dean of the School of Arts Management, noted that the festival not only showcases the creativity of young artists but also drives the mission of cultural enrichment and collaborative education among government, university, and enterprises. The School will use this festival to further integrate its disciplines with public service, boosting the quality and effectiveness of art management education. Faculty representative Liang Bingyu shared her memorable experience organizing the festival with students enrolled in 2022. She noted that the event is both a culmination of the students' four years of artistic development and a testament to the shared commitment of teachers and students to their artistic aspirations. Student representative Fu Mengning reflected on the journey from creative concept to project execution, expressing gratitude for the School's dedicated mentorship and the strong support from the community.
Amid great anticipation, Chen Jinsong, Vice President of YNAU, took the stage to officially open the art festival, bringing the opening ceremony to a climax.
Following the opening ceremony, diverse art performances explored the theme Boundless. The Ethnic Groups & Dynasties fashion show blended historical motifs with modern cuts, bridging ethnic aesthetics and contemporary style. In Poetry in Motion: Environmental Dance, performers translated poetic themes into flowing movements, breathing new life into written words. Meanwhile, the play Memory Resonance Hall—Urban Memory Recovery Project stitched together precious fragments of the city's development, using theater to reawaken collective memory and emotional resonance.
The all-day art experience zone featured a vibrant array of highlights.
The Gathering Light Visual Art Exhibition used photography and installations to capture the students' formative years, highlighting the seamless blend of art and daily life. The Poetry Without Boundaries exhibition transformed the balcony into an interactive space for the public to create and share verses. In the Scenting the World workshop, visitors experienced the calming effects of traditional incense therapy, discovering the contemporary value of this intangible cultural heritage. The Bamboo Traces exhibition featured student projects in the intangible cultural heritage of bamboo weaving, documenting both their artistic growth and the craft's modern evolution. Blurring the line between creation and consumption, the Boundless Floral Memories art market brought creative design into everyday life. The interactive drama zone breathed new life into traditional Chinese opera through engaging activities like mask painting and opera-themed riddles.
The afternoon's featured events brought both intellectual depth and emotional warmth to the festival. The "Music Heals the Spring City, Music Soothes the Soul" music therapy session used the five traditional tones to harmonize body and mind, helping the audience release emotions and find inner peace. In the academic lecture "In Kunming, Discussing the Beauty of Chinese Culture," Professor Yang Yang unpacked the roots of traditional Chinese culture through an engaging dialogue. By exploring modern ways to share this heritage, the talk provided a deep intellectual foundation for artistic practice.
As night fell, the festival shifted to modern reinterpretations of traditional Chinese opera. Red Blossoms: A Farce of Officialdom sparked deep reflection through the clash of classical conventions and modern expression. Observe · Legacy featured renowned opera masters and street dancers sharing the stage, vividly illustrating the true meaning of being boundless—that art is not just a cross-disciplinary fusion of forms, but a transmission of spirit across generations and a symbiosis of cultures.
The festival runs through November 30, featuring 14 thematic sections and over 30 cross-disciplinary events. These range from visual art exhibitions and theatrical performances to academic lectures, art markets, fashion shows, music therapy sessions, and intangible cultural heritage experiences. Independently curated and executed by the 2022 Art Management cohort in collaboration with university departments and community partners, these projects highlight the students' innovation and professionalism while putting into practice the core philosophy of boundless art and limitless aesthetic education.
As the primary platform for graduation showcases at the School of Arts Management, the Art Continues Boundless Festival serves as both an assessment of the students' four-year studies and a display of the School's achievements in discipline development, practical teaching, and community service. Looking ahead, the School of Arts Management at YNAU will remain committed to its educational mission. By advancing a collaborative training model that bridges government, university, and enterprises, and by championing Chinese aesthetic education, the School will continue to cultivate art management professionals with the expertise, innovation, and cultural responsibility needed to enrich Yunnan's arts and culture scene and build the province into a cultural powerhouse.
