On December 27, 2022 - January 2, 2023, the 18^th China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industries Fair was held in Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center (Bao’an). At the fair, ourcollege presented more than 300 artistic, cultural and creative works of 32 items from the School of Art and Design, the School of Digital Creation and Animation, the School of Communication, and the Institute of Cultural and Creative Products, themed by “creativity,fashion and technology”, fully demonstrating SZPT’s cultural and creative achievements and innovation strength.

The more than 300 exhibits are generally divided into five categories: arts and crafts, jewelry design, cultural and creative works of intangible cultural heritage, film and television animation, and campus cultural and creative works, including handmade lacquerware, ceramics, glass, art jewelry, batik, cultural and creative works of intangible cultural heritage, campus cultural and creative works, film and television animation, etc. The exhibits are diverse and unique, fashionable, and rich in culture, which fully displays SZPT’s fresh creative design strength and craftsman spirit for quality improvement.

SZPT exhibition area

Principal Xu Jianling was listening to an introduction given by the relevant person in charge

On December 29, President Xu Jianling visited the teachers and students attending the fair. He asked detailed information about the exhibits, and listened to the introductions given by the relevant persons in charge. After visiting all the items with great interest, Xu Jianling said that our exhibits were of high level and highly innovative, fully reflecting the profound artistic skills and cultural deposits of our teachers and students. He hoped that in addition to being displayed as artworks at the fair, SZPT’s cultural and creative products could also be sold to the public as souvenirs or commodities, so that the public would also have the opportunity to enjoy our cultural and creative products. He encouraged teachers and students to devote themselves to creating more and better works, and give full play to the “SZPT strength” in the tide of building Shenzhen into a globally influential capital of innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity.

Cultural and creative works of intangible cultural heritage

Campus cultural and creativeworks

The cultural connotation covered in film and television animation plays a great role in promoting the continuation of civilization, inheritance and development of traditional culture, and inheritance of intangible culture. “Pass The Flame – An Encounter of Kids” is an exhibit of Dai Fang Ming, a teacher from SZPT. The exhibit shows the historical background of Chinese chess and the evolution of traditional Chinese characters in the form of two-dimensional animation. The plot mainly revolves around the topic of “traditional Chinese characters” in chess, and combines chess with Chinese characters culture. Through the questions of the kids and the explanations of the grandpa, kids acquire an understanding about the evolution of chess and traditional Chinese characters and the profound Chinese characters. “We hope to help the next generation have more knowledge of Chinese characters language and culture by entertaining and interesting means, so as to better inherit and carry forward Chinese culture,” said Dai Fangming.

“Youth in Bloom” ceramic gift series

It is worth mentioning that among the exhibits, a batch of campus ceramic gift sets, designed and developed by SZPT’s cultural and creative team for 10 months and produced by STECHCOL, a well-known ceramic enterprise in Shenzhen, made their debut at the fair. The “Youth in Bloom” ceramic gift series uses Bougainvillea, the city flower of Shenzhen, and also the key pattern on the emblem of Shenzhen Polytechnic, as the main visual element, with red and white colors interconnecting with each other, and gold lines. The whole set of ceramics is delicate and hard in texture, with modernity in traditional style. The white ceramic is outlined with red lines to display the posture of Bougainvillea, while the red ceramic shows Bougainvillea blossoms brightly. The emblem of SZPT is interwoven and spread out, making the overall picture elegant and beautiful. Its name, “Youth in Bloom”, carries the spirit of Bougainvillea, i.e. indomitable, persistent and gorgeous, a perfect portrayal of SZPT over the years to stand on the top of the tide, stick to the brilliant course of achievements, build on past achievements and forge ahead for a better future.

In the future, with the goal of integration with industries, SZPT will continue to dig out excellent traditional Chinese cultural elements, and combine environmental protection with sustainable design concepts. In particular, we will make more efforts in the research and development of cultural and creative products that reflect the urban cultural characteristics of fashion, technology and innovation in Shenzhen, and through design innovation, technology empowerment and business support, activate the innovation of cultural industries and promote the development of cultural and creative works in Shenzhen. We will strive to provide more and better cultural and creative products for this city, and allow SZPT’s cultural and creative works to truly enter the market, integrate into life, and serve the society.

(Sun Xin, Institute of Cultural and Creative Products, Convergence Media Center, Text by Deng Zhuoheng, Image by Zheng Zhifeng)