On 31 October, a unique seminar was successfully held at the Huashan Road Campus of the Shanghai Theatre Academy. Hosted by the Shanghai Theatre Academy, the seminar invited artists and scholars from countries including China, Belgium, Italy and Russia to discuss how to promote the innovation and development of traditional arts with the power of digital technology in the context of the new era, with the theme "Traditional Arts in the Digital Age".
In his opening speech, Liu Qing, Vice President of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, on behalf of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, extended a warm welcome to all the guests from afar, and highlighted the challenges and opportunities facing traditional arts in the context of the current digital age. This seminar brought together outstanding artists and experts from all over the world to explore new opportunities for the future development of theatre art. The seminar was not only a demonstration of STA's achievements in international education, but also an important initiative of the Shanghai Theatre Academy to promote "Silk Road" cultural exchanges.
Tobias Biancone, Director General of the International Institute, then delivered a speech. He said that there has already been “Silk Road” related activities in dance and music, but not in traditional performing arts, and the Shanghai Theatre Academy has done a very meaningful thing. He hoped that this seminar could promote the culture exchange and mutual learning in field of theatre, and contribute to the inheritance and development of traditional performing arts.
In the keynote speech session, Belgian "puppet and object theatre" artist Deng Kangkang, Italian artist Tom Corradini, Russian artist Iakushkina Olga and Chinese professor He Hao discussed the traditional arts in the development of the digital age from different perspectives.
Next, Professor Li Minyuan, Professor Lu Ang and Professor Xiao Ying shared their practice and research cases in the field of theatre respectively.
Finally, Gong Baorong, Director of the International Theatre Studies Centre of Shanghai Theatre Academy, gave a closing speech. He said, "This seminar has provided us with a valuable platform. We should take this as an opportunity to further strengthen international exchanges and cooperation, and jointly promote the innovation and development of traditional arts.
The success of the seminar not only deepened the understanding of traditional arts in the digital age, but also provided new ideas and directions for future art research. Through the seminar, participants discussed the current situation and future development trend of traditional arts in the digital age, further promoted cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and other countries in the world, and made positive contributions to the realization of the goals of “Silk Road” cultural development. At the same time, the seminar also created a platform for the academic circle, one that integrates with the world and is with international vision.
Going forward, we look forward to more outstanding artists and experts contributing to the innovation and development of traditional arts with the aid of digital technology. On the basis of protecting the original artistic essence, we will actively explore innovative ways so that the traditional arts will have new vitality in the context of the new era.
