The event opened with a series of remarks from the organizing partners.

The evening culminated in a thematic conversation moderated by Gao Yuan, Vice President and Secretary-General of UKTA, who engaged Jiang Qiong Er in a thoughtful and heartfelt dialogue across cultures. Gao reflected on UKTA’s ambitious work in the arts in recent years—from the inaugural London Tsinghua Alumni Art Exhibition to the UKTA Conversation series—initiatives that have expanded the horizons of cross-cultural artistic exchange and helped elevate the global presence of Chinese artists. As a distinguished cultural interlocutor and a model for younger generations, Jiang shared the insights and experiences that have shaped her artistic journey, offering inspiration to emerging Chinese artists around the world.

Framed by the theme “Civilization and Consensus,” their dialogue explored the role of the Tsinghua Alumni community in the arts, the possibilities for deeper cross-cultural understanding, and the civic significance of art in contemporary society. Both Gao and Jiang emphasized that the human longing for beauty, emotion, and spiritual meaning transcends the boundaries of culture. Instead of dwelling on what divides us, they urged, we should seek the common ground that binds us, and allow art to stand as a bridge between civilizations, illuminating the shared values that define our humanity.

Jiang Qiong Er in conversation with Gao Yuan

Jiang began by emphasising the formative influence of artistic lineage. What one inherits, she noted, is not only technique but also character: qualities such as sincerity, courage, respect, and humility become the invisible core of artistic expression. She shared two pieces of wisdom passed down by her grandfather, “Remain humble, and take good care of your body”, teachings that continue to anchor both her life and her creative practice.

As a cross-cultural creator who works extensively in Europe and China, Jiang focuses on commonalities over differences. Rather than becoming preoccupied by cultural difference, she encouraged “courage and openness to inspiration beyond cultural boundaries.” She also offered candid reflections on how Western audiences encounter her work, observing that art becomes a rare space where instinct, emotion, and spirituality transcend linguistic boundaries. “Art cannot end conflict,” she said, “but it can open a window, open a door, and begin dialogue.”

The conversation also turned to Jiang’s broader philosophy of life. She described her creative routine in her countryside studio near Bordeaux, where she works in a state that unifies body, mind, and spirit. Her practice is rooted in rigorous pre-research and continual experimentation with materials, while her creative energy is sustained by curiosity, childlike wonder, and the inspiration she receives from her children and colleagues. Life, she observed, is never a sequence of cause-and-effect milestones; rather, “love, family, and achievement are not linear but interwoven.” She emphasised the natural complementarity between men and women, both in creativity and in strength. For her, the three great treasures of life are family, health, and time — and emotion, she added, is “the most luxurious gift.”

Running parallel to the conversation, Jiang Qiong Er’s solo exhibition Guardians of Time / Gardiens du Temps reframes time as the most fundamental yet intangible material of artistic creation. Each work serves as a “container of time,” translating the invisible passage of moments into visual, tactile, and emotional form. At a moment marked by global fragmentation, Jiang proposes the idea of “Consensus Art”, an artistic approach grounded in amplifying what unites us across cultures.

Jiang Qiong Er leading an private gallery tour for guests (swipe for more)

At the centre of the exhibition is the Twelve Guardians, a group of hybrid beings drawn not from the Chinese zodiac but from the mythic genealogies of ancient Egypt, Maya, China, and India. These cross-civilizational creatures, appearing for the first time as newly imagined twenty-first century life forms, embody twelve universal human values such as courage, peace, freedom, kindness, authenticity, coexistence, and the shared continuity of time itself.

京东集团定位于“以供应链为基础的技术与服务企业”，目前业务已涉及零售、科技、物流、健康、产发、工业、自有品牌、保险和国际等领域。京东集团奉行客户为先、创新、拼搏、担当、感恩、诚信的价值观，以“技术为本，让生活更美好”为使命，坚持“成本、效率、产品、价格、服务”的核心经营理念，愿景是成为全球最值得信赖的企业。

NetMind.AI是AI解决方案的领先提供商, 为全球个人和企业提供最先进的技术。致力于开发创新和实用的解决方案,NetMind.AI的专家团队在大数据分析、机器学习和自然语言处理方面拥有丰富的经验。该公司致力于站在快速发展的AI领域的最前沿, 不断探索增长和进步的新机遇。NetMind.AI是一家由清华校友创立的人工智能科技公司。NetMind.AI总部位于英国伦敦，并在美国、英国、中国设有子公司。

浙江清华长三角研究院是清华大学与浙江省共同组建的一类新型综合创新创业平台，成立的主要目标之一就是帮助更多的海外人才回国发展。成立18年来，长三院聚焦生命健康、生态环境等关键领域设立了10余个重点研发平台，50余个研究所和工程化研发中心，还在柔性电子、航空发动机、前沿新材料等方向设立了若干专业院，累计建有国家级、省级创新创业平台28个，孵化科技企业超过2500家，规模超百亿近20家，上市或被并购40余家，并作为唯一创新载体被写入国家《长江三角洲区域一体化发展规划纲要》，去年还获评“科创中国·十大产学研融通组织”。