The "New Life of All Things - Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Design Exhibition" was recently held at Somerset House in London, UK in 2026. As an important stop in the trilogy of touring exhibitions, the exhibition focuses on the theme of "meeting the heart with objects", gathering more than 70 Chinese and foreign artists and nearly 150 representative works. Through intangible cultural heritage handicrafts, it builds a spiritual dialogue bridge across the East and the West, interpreting the rich and profound philosophical ideas in Chinese culture to global audiences, presenting a deep dialogue about tradition and modernity, objects and inner world, and showcasing the innovative expression of traditional skills by representative inheritors and designers of contemporary intangible cultural heritage in China.

The exhibition attracts a large number of local audiences, art and design professionals, as well as British, Chinese, overseas Chinese, and overseas students to visit the exhibition. According to the organizers, the exhibition received an average of over 2000 visitors per day, and the number of weekend visitors further increased. During the exhibition, it coincided with the London Design Festival, and despite hundreds of cultural and artistic events held at the same time, it still attracted a large number of visitors.

Many young Chinese audiences studying art and design in the UK came to the scene. Some young students expressed that the exhibition is not a simple replica of traditional skills and cultural symbols, but rather uses contemporary design language to show them that traditional culture still has the potential for innovation and growth today.

Li Liyan, Minister Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, stated in his opening speech that in today's rapidly developing society and rapidly advancing technology, the value of intangible cultural heritage is far more than just protection and inheritance, but also lies in integrating into the present and facing the future. The "New Everything" series of exhibitions has opened a window for the world's people to intuitively experience and deeply understand contemporary China, and has also provided an important platform for equal exchanges between China and the UK in cultural, artistic, and creative design fields.

Yang Lan, the co curator of "New Everything", stated in an interview that this year's exhibition is the highest level in terms of exhibition scale, number of participating artists, representativeness of works, and artistic creativity, and has also delivered a satisfactory answer to this trilogy narrative. First stop in Paris, exploring the harmony between humans and nature, and the unity of heaven and man; Milan Station focuses on social interaction and putting people first; London Station seeks to explore people and inner selves, and combines the concept of 'understanding the heart with things'. The three dimensions of human interaction with the world are human and nature, human and society, and human and inner self. This narrative thread not only carries Chinese thought, but also inspires contemporary people. This narrative is the result of her and co curator Sudan's repeated polishing, combining academic integrity and facilitating international audiences' understanding of the curatorial core.

When it comes to the true "rebirth" of intangible cultural heritage, whether it is technological innovation, design transformation, or the reshaping of cultural values, Yang Lan believes that the vitality of intangible cultural heritage is precisely the passion and connection that life bursts forth in its changes. As for the technical form that carries it, there is no standard answer, it can be freely imagined; What can be passed down for a long time must be rooted in the experience of life.

Yang Lan stated that in the era of artificial intelligence, through handmade creations, people can rediscover human intelligence and feel this tangible connection. It empowers people and inspires them. Both China and the UK value handicrafts and cultural heritage, and hope that this exhibition can become a bridge between the two countries, especially between their youth.

The spatial narrative of this exhibition revolves around the three major artistic concepts of "clarifying the heart, cultivating the heart, and nourishing the heart", allowing traditional intangible cultural heritage techniques to meet contemporary design and cutting-edge technology here. "Meeting the heart with things" has also become a cross-cultural expression theme that runs through the entire process.

In traditional Chinese culture, objects not only have practical and aesthetic value, but also often carry people's spiritual pursuits. Just as the saying goes, 'A vessel carries a message' and 'A gentleman's virtue is in jade', behind an object, there is often a connection between skills, culture, and human character. The curatorial team focuses on finding spiritual experiences that can be mutually understood between different cultures, such as creating a dialogue between the noble character embodied in jade in traditional Chinese culture and the understanding of spiritual values such as "nobility" and "integrity" in Western contexts, attempting to guide audiences from different cultural backgrounds from "seeing objects" to understanding the spiritual world behind them.