On February 3rd, our university hosted the "Connecting Mountains and Seas" Artisan Dialogue Workshop, an online cultural exchange event. Using kites as a medium, this event connected artists and cultural exchange workers from China and Trinidad and Tobago (hereinafter referred to as "Trinidad and Tobago"), engaging in in-depth dialogue around the design and creativity of the China-Trinidad and Tobago Intangible Cultural Heritage International Kite Festival at this year's "Online Carnival." The event was hosted by Chen Boyu, a teacher from the School of Art and Design at our university.
The Chinese participants in this event included multiple leaders, teachers, and student representatives from the Chinese Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago, the Foreign Affairs Office of Shandong Province, the Foreign Affairs Office of Yantai City, and the International Education College and School of Art and Design of Shandong Business Institute. The Trinidad and Tobago side was composed of leaders from the Trinidad and Tobago National Carnival Commission, the Trinidad and Tobago Arts and Cultural Association, as well as cultural and art experts. The two sides interacted warmly and amiably online in a lively atmosphere.
During the design sharing session of the event, artists from China and Trinidad and Tobago showcased several kite design works that integrated cultural elements from both countries, demonstrating the rich imagination and artistic fusion of cross-cultural creation. Our university's design team first introduced the university's grain-related educational characteristics and the future concept of building a "Digital Operation Workshop," and then presented several kite-themed designs combining elements from China and Trinidad and Tobago. The Trinidad and Tobago side delivered a special report on this event, with relevant experts sharing the development context of the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival and its historical origins with Chinese culture. They also introduced independently designed kite art with local characteristics, including works themed around steel drums, hummingbirds, tropical plants, etc., fully reflecting the enthusiastic and unrestrained cultural temperament and natural charm of Trinidad and Tobago.
In the exchange and discussion session, artists from both sides engaged in discussions and exchanges on design concepts, cultural symbolism, craft realization, and digital operation and promotion. Chinese artists shared designs themed around Chinese Peking Opera, Dunhuang flying apsaras, blue and white porcelain, and mythological figures, while Trinidad and Tobago artists integrated traditional Chinese cultural elements into their artistic creations and shared methods for the local dissemination and digital promotion of kite cultural creations in Trinidad and Tobago. Many of the cultural and creative designs embodied the fusion concept of "each showcasing its own beauty, and sharing the beauty together." For example, a kite design themed "Kite Connecting Mountains and Seas, Weaving Together Blossoming Flowers" featured a diamond-shaped frame, integrating the crenellations of the Great Wall with Trinidad and Tobago's national flower, the flamboyant tree, accompanied by patterns of hummingbirds, palm fruits, and auspicious clouds. This design held great appeal in the local cultural and creative market of Trinidad and Tobago and fully embodied the beautiful vision of mutual learning and win-win cooperation between the two civilizations.
At the end of the event, representatives from both sides agreed that this activity was not only an exchange of artistic design but also a vivid practice of cultural exchange and people-to-people friendship between China and Trinidad and Tobago. The kite, as a light and symbolic medium, transcended physical distance, connecting the emotions and cultural resonance of the people of the two countries. In his speech, the representative of the Chinese Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago expressed the hope that this "Online Carnival" Kite Festival would serve as an opportunity to continuously promote the exchange and cooperation of vocational education "going global" in the field of cultural creativity, and to help deepen and solidify China-Trinidad and Tobago cultural exchanges under the "Belt and Road" initiative.
