College of Art and Design's Public Art Program Carries Out Joint School-Enterprise Activities

On April 2, under the leadership of Fan Aichun, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, and Cang Shijian, Vice President of the College of Art and Design, a design team consisting of 15 teachers and students, including Feng Rui, Director of the Department of Public Art, Kong Xiaohua, Hu Ping, and undergraduates, went to IKEA Tianjin Dongli Store to carry out university-enterprise cooperation and exchanges. With the themes of “sustainable lifestyle” and “long-term consumerism”, this cooperation launched the activity of “remodeling old things”, combining with the characteristics of public art majors, exploring innovative design and production solutions. The program combines the characteristics of public art majors and explores innovative design and production solutions.

Through this cooperation, the College and IKEA have jointly created a practical platform for the deep integration of industry, academia and research. The platform focuses on DIY handicrafts, artistic graffiti and product function upgrading, and utilizes IKEA's old furniture and recycled materials (e.g. plastic bottles, newspapers, old clothes, old books) to carry out design practice, forming a unique mode of collaboration between the school and the enterprise. IKEA provides environmentally friendly building materials and resources, establishing a complete chain of “curriculum implantation - practice verification - results transformation”, reflecting the “education chain - industry chain - cultural chain”. The innovation ecology of “education chain - culture chain” is integrated, realizing a win-win situation for all parties. By transforming waste objects into artworks, we not only give new design value to the materials, but also cultivate students' sustainable design thinking and inspire young people to participate in co-creation.

During the event, the two sides planned teaching practices such as visiting the school, sustainable design courses and graduation design. This industry-university-research collaborative model reshapes the value of design education in the context of urban renewal and provides a new direction and paradigm for the sustainable development of art and design professional education. Through the project, students enhance their artistic creation, innovation ability and environmental awareness; enterprises realize the reuse of resources and reduce the burden of waste disposal, which is in line with the goal of sustainable development.

April 3, 2025