China intangible cultural heritage crafts exhibition opens at Milan University

China’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Crafts Exhibition opened at the University of Milan on April 20, adding a Chinese craft showcase to Milan Design Week’s university circuit. (businesswire.com) (unimi.it) The exhibition was co-curated by Italian curator Davide Rampello and Sun Ruoxi, director of the Pattern Research and Development Center of the China National Arts and Crafts Society. Organizers said it debuted videos and an art installation built around Chinese intangible cultural heritage. (businesswire.com) The most unusual device in the show was a pair of Qwen AI Glasses. Organizers said the exhibition used first-person footage from the glasses to record artisans at close range, then turned that point of view into part of the display. (businesswire.com) According to the event materials, visitors could trigger the glasses with the voice prompt “Hello, Qwen,” use image recognition and video recording, and access real-time translation in 89 languages. The same materials said the device also offered simultaneous interpretation with AI voice cloning. (businesswire.com) Another focal point was “Harmony,” an installation by TREEZO Group. Organizers said it used traditional Chinese mortise-and-tenon construction and oracle bone script motifs, then reshaped those references through contemporary lighting. (businesswire.com) A separate sponsor statement from METZ described the University of Milan project as an immersive exhibition titled “Narrating the masters’ art with art.” METZ said the show was built from 22 curated “canvas,” with five master artisans each producing four works and 60-second black-and-white films documenting their process. (prnewswire.com) That university setting matters in Milan because the Ca’ Granda courtyards are a regular Fuorisalone venue during Design Week. The University of Milan says those historic arcades host major public-facing exhibitions tied to the city’s annual design calendar. (unimi.it) The exhibition also sat inside a larger Chinese push across Milan Design Week 2026. China Arts and Entertainment Group said this year’s program aimed to build a stronger “Chinese Culture + Design” presence and deepen exchanges between Chinese cultural heritage and Italian design. (en.caeg.cn) Xinhua’s coverage of Milan Design Week this week placed the University of Milan craft exhibition alongside other Chinese projects at Salone del Mobile and around the city. That made the show part of a broader campaign to present Chinese design not just as export furniture, but as craft, heritage and contemporary installation. (english.news.cn) The closing message from the organizers was less about a single object than a method: put centuries-old craft in front of a design crowd, and let wearable cameras and screens mediate the encounter. In Milan this week, that was the pitch for how Chinese heritage should be seen. (businesswire.com) (prnewswire.com)