The “Huayaohua Cultural Creative Industry for Targeted Poverty Alleviation”, initiated by Hunan University (HNU), was recently selected by vote among 44 Chinese universities directly under the Ministry of Education as one of the ten model projects for targeted poverty alleviation.
The project was oriented to the region of Huayao, a special branch of Yao ethnic group, in Longhui. The School of Design undertook the project under the arrangement of HNU leading group of poverty alleviation, to explore an approach to regenerate the poor rural areas in China and promote both cultural and industrial development, based on residential community research and design.
Focusing on minority villages, the project innovated in business model, dissemination, and talent cultivation, and set corresponding targets and medium-and-long term action plan. Transregional cultural research and public beneficial activity of cultural creation were initiated. An interdisciplinary design and social innovation network has been established while allying with the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Queen Mary University of London, Politecnico di Milano, as well as Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Academy of Arts & Design of Tsinghua University, and Xinjiang Normal University.
Over the past three years, more than 300 teachers and students from 15 countries devoted into this project, accomplishing a large number of digital videos of intangible cultural heritages, original music records, architectural environment and landscape design, cultural product design, and child art creations. The project team kept active interaction with locals, helping to protect and promote the sustainable development of local society and cultural resource. It is estimated that the local cross-stitch embroidery and its peripheral products can realize an output value of about three million yuan. Four village cooperatives would be organized, providing about one million yuan and 50 to 80 jobs for embroiderers.
The project has gained a high reputation internationally and won tens of awards, including “Best Innovation and Practice Award of the 2nd CSR Chinese Culture Award”, Japanese G-MARK Award for community research, Best Practice and Innovation Award of the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation (SCLF) and Anna Chennault Foundation, and 2015 Hunan Province Tourism Product Design Gold Award. It has been displayed at the Milan International Culture Makers' Joint Design Exhibition 2015, Hunan Week at Expo Milano 2015, Asian Green Design Week, and Business of Design Week (BODW).
