Creative Guizhou Songtao Gift: call for creative cultural design

Creative Guizhou - Songtao Gift: Open call for creative cultural design products

- Background -

Guided by the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UNESCO’s Culture Conventions and China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, and within the project framework of “Conservation and Management of World Heritage Sites in China” Phase IV (2021-2024), UNESCO plans to strengthen the Miao embroidery sustainable livelihood pilot activity in Fanjingshan World Heritage site. In 2021, the “Miao Embroidery for a Vibrant Homeland” sustainable livelihood pilot activity was launched in Songtao Miao Autonomous County. This pilot activity is led by UNESCO in close collaboration with Songtao County People’s Government, Suzhou Art and Design Technology Institute, and Tongren Municipal Culture, Sports, Broadcasting, Television and Tourism Bureau. As one of its initiatives, the “Creative Guizhou - Songtao Gift” now launches an open call to the civil society for creative cultural design products.

- Pilot site introduction -

Songtao Miao Autonomous County of Tongren Municipality in Guizhou Province was established in 1956, and is one of the first autonomous counties approved by the State Council. The Miao people are known for their artistic talents and dexterous craftsmanship; over centuries, the Miao culture has bred abundant ethnic arts and crafts. However, with the development of society and economy, modern technologies are gradually taking the place of traditional skills. In recent years, Songtao County actively engages in inventorying and nominating living heritage elements, and safeguarding and transmitting cultural heritage in multiple ways, achieving visible outcomes. Songtao currently has two elements on the national list and another 13 elements on the provincial list for intangible cultural heritage.

Miao embroiderers use colorful silk, metal and cotton threads to create various patterns on handmade fabrics according to designs. Miao embroidery is widely used in the economic production, daily lives and spiritual beliefs of Miao people, and is an art form that has gone through centuries of development. It is a central part of Miao culture encompassing abundant information on the history and traditions of the Miao people, and is also known as a “history without words”.

“Pigeon Flower Taichi Symbol” created by Shi Liping, provincial living heritage bearer of Songtao Miao embroidery

The Miao people, who have lived in Songtao Miao Autonomous County for generations, artistically transformed their observations of the nature and society and their emotions into unique embroideries. Miao embroidery has a wide range of expressions encompassing the history and culture of the Miao people, their spiritual beliefs, production, life, and customs. Its works are rich in content, including praying for fortunes, recording events, showing the sacrifices, marriage, childbirth, costumes, funerals, festivals, farming, and natural scenery in the context of the Miao farming culture.

The unique style of Songtao Miao embroidery makes it a representative branch of Miao embroidery. It is innovative, delicate, and is rich in content and meaning. It is a treasure of the Miao people.

- Theme -

Creative Guizhou - Songtao Gift

The open call centers around the theme of “Creative Guizhou - Songtao Gift”. Participants are encouraged to take elements from the natural splendors of Songtao, such as Songtao’s iconic Zhaiying ancient architecture complex, Miaowang Kingdom, Yunluotun Hanging Coffins, Hudukou site, Dalu Fengyu Bridge, Qianlong Cave, Taohuayuan, Tianlong Lake, etc., and draw reference from Songtao’s living heritage crafts such as Miao embroidery and silversmith techniques. The creative cultural design products should incorporate in-depth synergies of Songtao’s history and culture, and contribute to building a cultural brand for Songtao.

- Categories -

The open call falls into three categories: Packaging design, souvenirs, and guesthouse design.

1. Packaging design

Packaging design with iconic local characteristics specifically targeting Songtao’s local produce.

2. Souvenir

Creative cultural products such as gifts, souvenirs and stationeries, which incorporate living heritage elements such as Songtao Miao embroidery and silversmith techniques, that both have regional cultural characteristics and meet the demands of modern life and have market potential.

3. Guesthouse design

Guesthouse design within the setting of Dawan Village that respects local natural resources and cultural identities, easy to promote, and easy to build or renovate. Participants are welcomed to submit both exterior and interior designs.

Dawan Village, Songtao Miao Autonomous County © UNESCO

- Who can participate -

1. University faculty and students in design- and art-related fields;

2. Professionals in the field of creative design;

3. Organizations in the field of creative design and production;

4. Civil society interested in cultural creativity and cultural IP development.

- Selection Criteria -

1. Submitted works must be in line with the theme, and should be:

a) Creative, artistic, and representative of local culture and nature;

b) Practical and usable in daily life;

c) Has good market value and transformability;

d) Viable for production and in line with technical requirements of modern industries;

e) Safe, comfortable and fulfils ergonomic principles;

f) Has a green, eco-friendly, low-energy consumption, and economic design philosophy;

g) Priority shall be given to works that have already registered for intellectual property rights or copyrights.

2. Submitted works can take on various forms, including posters, crafts, souvenirs, stationeries, animation IP, social media stickers, etc.

3. Submitted works should be original, designed and produced after 30 October 2021, and have not been publicly presented on newspapers, magazines, websites and other media platforms, submitted to other competitions, circulated on the market or produced for profit.

a) Participants should read and abide by the rules before submitting their works. After submitting their works, they are deemed to agree with and abide by the relevant regulations of this event;

b) Participants confirm that they own the complete copyright of the submitted works, and that the works have not been transferred or licensed to any individual or institution. Participants should confirm the originality of the work, and the organizer will not bear the legal responsibility arising from the infringement of the rights of other individuals (or agencies), and the legal responsibility will be borne by the participants themselves;

c) Participants' winning works shall not be transferred or authorized to any third party without permission of the organizing committee; The copyright of the winning works belongs to the organizer.

d) Participants can submit multiple works and to multiple categories;

e) If plagiarism is found, the organizer has the right to cancel the winning qualification;

f) The organizer reserves the right of final interpretation of this event.

- Selection Procedure -

1. Working group and jury

a) Suzhou Art and Design Technology Institute and Songtao County People’s Government are responsible for developing the operational guidelines for the selection procedure and criteria, and forming working groups responsible for tasks relevant to the selection;

b) UNESCO Beijing Office is responsible for forming a jury consisting of relevant experts in the fields of heritage conservation, living heritage safeguarding and transmission, traditional village conservation, cultural tourism, rural development and creative cultural industry, etc.

2.      Timeline

3. Work submission

a) Ways of submitting works:

• After careful reading of the background information of this event on WeChat, participants should download the application form and start their design. All works should be sent to the organizing committee’s address or the dedicated email mailbox by the deadline.

Subject line: Creative Guizhou Songtao Gift [Name of work] [Category]

Email: 553369354@qq.com

• Works can also be mailed to Suzhou Art and Design Technology Institute

Mailing address: No.189 Zhineng Avenue, Suzhou 215104

Contact: Lv Xiaoxiao 18852279242

The envelope must be postmarked on or before the deadline. All submitted works shall not be returned. Please make your own copy.

b) Technical requirements: Submitted works should be in JPG format, RGB color, 300 dpi, less than 20Mb per file; grouped works should consist of a maximum of 4 individual pieces; handmade pieces should be scanned and send in JPG format.

c) All works should be accompanied by a 200-300-word introduction outlining the motif and highlight of the works.

d) Note:

• No personal or identifying information should appear in the works;

• The works shall not involve any violation of national laws and regulations, and no religious content or allusion to religion should appear in the works.

e) The event is non-profit-making. No registration fee is required.

4. Confirmation of receipt

The working group shall confirm receipt of the submitted work within 7 seven days.

5. Selection procedure

a) The project working group shall conduct general screening of the submitted works based on the validity requirements listed above, and forward valid (including questionable) submissions to the jury;

b) The jury shall evaluate the works (as well as the validity of questionable works) to produce a shortlist of works;

c) The shortlist of works shall be announced on relevant online platforms for an open ballot; online ballots accounts for a weight of 40% in the work’s final score;

d) Combining jury recommendation and online ballot, the jury shall produce the list of finalists to UNESCO (if meetings are not permitted, online meetings or phone calls are also acceptable) in the form of a written announcement. During the announcement period, public feedbacks are welcomed through mail and telephone. After the announcement period, UNESCO shall announce the finalists.

- Award -

Each category will yield 1 Gold, 2 Silver and 4 Bronze, and 8 Outstanding prizes. Winning participants are eligible for one person-time of free visit to one of Songtao’s scenic areas rated A or above.

Application form download link:

https://pan.baidu.com/s/16DF0d0J26obnaVWf9vADng 

(access code: bhp6)