Shi Hui is currently Chair of the Fiber Art and Space Studio，as well as Director of the Varbanov Tapestry Research Center，and doctoral thesis advisor at the China Academy of Art，Hangzhou. For more than 20 years，Shi Hui has been an important figure and active leader in Chinese contemporary art，exhibiting，publishing，curating，and organizing in the art community.

Born in 1955 in Shanghai，in 1982，she graduated from the Zhejiang Academy of Art (now China Academy of Art)，with a bachelor’s degree in Dying and Weaving. While researching and training at the Varbanov Tapestry Research Center from 1986 to 1989，she became known as one of the pioneering Chinese contemporary fiber artists of the 1980s. “Longevity,” (1987)，a collaborative work exhibited at the 13th International Lausanne Biennial of Contemporary Tapestry，is recognized as a breakthrough for contemporary Chinese tapestry art on the world scene.

Since then，Shi Hui has continued to push fiber art in new directions. Her works have been represented in many prestigious exhibitions，museums，and biennials，examples and have attracted wide attention from the public.

Shi Hui’s art represents a revolution in visual language that has taken place in Chinese art since the 1990s. While not always traditional in form，her early works were realized through more traditional processes such as flat and three-dimensional weaving. Then，in the 1990s，she began to explore more web-like structures that released the form from its insularity，and activated open space. This embodies for her a linguistic change，which emphasizes both “anti-form” and “restructured form.”

Consistently exhibiting deep respect for the intrinsic value and organic quality of fibers，their relationship to the body，and also society and everyday life，Shi Hui's work is labor intensive and process oriented. The act of weaving is an experiential procedure，which for Shi Hui develops as a kind of post-modern animism，with the artist acting as the mediator between the material and spiritual. Inspired by natural forms，a new morphology emerges from her early “Knot” and “Pillars” series，and after 2000，in works such as “Old Wall” and “Compendium of Materia Medica.”

Using traditional Chinese materials such as cotton，canvas，rice paper，and paper pulp in a non-traditional manner consistently exemplifies the characteristics of fiber，but also instills the Eastern spirit in contemporary practice. It reflects an interest in the relationship between Chinese traditional culture and the contemporary environment. Shi Hui continues to work with her favorite materials，Chinese paper and paper pulp，eliciting the tacit bond between traditional media and her spiritual self，and also mirroring her conviction of the importance of Chinese traditional materials in a present-day context.

In her own words:

“Fibrous materials not only store the unique features of natural plant life，they also embody the ideal of synergy between nature and human life. The flexibility of bamboo strips，the pure whiteness of paper pulp，the elasticity of cotton thread，they all represent this spark of vitality，which provokes a strong sense of familiarity. The way I create is characterized by a firm degree of randomness. With randomness，I mean that there is a pure and simple，unconstrained relationship between my physical labor and creativity. Although I always have a vague expectation about the final outcome，from beginning to end，layer upon layer，the white fiber materials，which are shaping my work，are in a constant state of growth. The individual fibers are continuously expanding. Gradually，they result in a general form，resembling a nest，a cocoon，a structure with holes inside. Possibly these materials secretly refer to the womb from which all life emerges. Yet，the moment my formations are integrated into the larger environmental context，when they blend with the earth，the meadow，the trees，the sunlight, I always get this strong emotional feeling of being overwhelmed by the poetry of life in nature.”

The Curator of the second Triennial of Fibre Art in 2016, the co-curator of the Social Factory: The 10th Shanghai Biennale in 2014 and the curator of the Resolution Power exhibition in West Bond 2013: A Biennial of Architecture and Contemporary Art. Graduating from Institute of Contemporary Art and Social Thoughts in China Academy of Art, She – a former researcher in Guangdong Museum of Art – has involved deeply in large-scale academic exhibitions and the Biennial of Architecture and Contemporary Art in recent years. Currently, her researches and practices can be divided into three parts: taking part in the planning of contemporary art exhibitions, writing articles about social thoughts and long-term and large-scale independent research project. Since 2007, as a junior curator, she has helped organize several exhibitions: The Art of Shadows: Third Lianzhou International Photo Festival (2007), Farewell to Post-Colonialism: The Third Guangzhou Triennial (2008), Sightings: Searching for the Truth, Guangzhou Photo Biennial (2009), Rehearsal: The 8th Shanghai Biennial (2010), Reactivation: The 9th Shanghai Biennial (2011). In 2010, she organized and planned “Reading at Night” series exhibitions that were shown in Hangzhou, London and the periodical “Vision”. In 2011, the National Road Project, a project of large-scale independent research, publication and social live events, was launched, in which she also participated. Besides, she helped publish several books as well: “Farewell to Post-Colonialism” and related series (2008-2012), “Rehearsal” (2010), “Ho Chi Minh Trail” (2010), “Reactivation: the 9th Shanghai Biennial”, “The Academy of Reciprocal Enlightenment Series”, “Social Factory: the Tenth Shanghai Biennial”, etc.

The Curator of the second Triennial of Fibre Art in 2016 and the assistant curator of the first Triennial of Fibre Art in 2013. Majoring in architecture, she graduated from the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University. Getting a master degree in art history in School of Art and Humanities, China Academy of Art, she once went to have exchanges in Rhode Island School of Design, the USA and Goldsmiths, University of London and now she is working for a doctor degree in art history in School of Art and Humanities, China Academy of Art. In recent years, she has turned her research focus from the art history of Ming and Qing Dynasties to the modern fibre art. She has published many academic theses and participated in many Chinese and foreign exhibitions as an artist: “The Fifth Dimension: Art of Fibre and Space” (2009), “Animamix Biennial” (2009) toured in Taipei, Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, “The 7th International Ink Painting Biennial of Shenzhen – Com(ic)media on Line” (2010), “Future Pass: La Biennale di Venezia” (2011), “The 8th China Contemporary Young Ceramic Artists’ Biennial Exhibition” (2012), “Fiber, Heart and Thought: Fibre & Space Art Exhibition from China Academy of Art” (2013). She also took part in the pre-production of “Eight Five·85: the Exhibition of 85th anniversary of China Academy of Art” (2013). As a founder of “80 Commune”, she planned “Inheritance: Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition of 80 Commune” (2013, 2014). Besides, she has published several academic articles: “The Operation Location of Wu Bin’s ‘Yan Dang Mountain’” (2012), “A General Survey of Wu Bin’s ‘Looking for Friends in Lotus Society’” (2012), “A Review of Kaunas—— a report of The Biennial Fibre Art of Kaunas” (2012), “The dance of Cotton —— The Exhibition of ‘Cotton: an International Thread’ in Hui’s Gallery, Manchester” (2012), “Fiber, As an Insight —— the Hangzhou Triennial of Fibre Art in 2013” (2013), “The Restart of Perception: A series of material cultural thoughts elicited from ‘The Fall of Public Man’” (2014).

Assadour Markarov is an artist and curator, associate professor at National Academy of Fine Arts, Sofia, Bulgaria, Head of Textile Department, has been lecturing around the world, in Japan, UK, Ireland, Finland, currently is a visiting research professor in China Academy of Art at the “Varbanov” Institute of Tapestry and Studio for Space and Fiber Art, Sculpture Department in Hangzhou, China. Markarov was trained as an artist in China, made his degree in traditional Chinese calligraphy and later in the field of contemporary textiles, researching in UK and Japan.

As an artist he works in different fields of visual art as painting, printmaking, works with hand made paper calligraphy, sculptures and installations in space. His works have been exhibited in 15th Lausanne Biennial for contemporary textile art in Switzerland, 7th International Cairo Biennial of Contemporary Art, 10th International Lodz Triennial of Tapestry in Poland, "Fascinatie Texstyle 2" in the Museum Van Bommel-van Dam, Venlo in Holland, “Estampa” Madrid, Second Beijing Biennial for Contemporary Art, “August in art”, Festival of Contemporary art, Varna, Bulgaria and other major group exhibitions in Bulgaria.

Curatorial projects: Curator (sole) invited China, as the selector of 8th International Tapestry Triennial, Lodz, Poland, 1995. It curates the Bulgarian artists’ participation in “ESTAMPA 2000” and 2001, and Second Beijing Biennial for Contemporary Art. Co- curates tour exhibitions “Wind from east” for Casa de Vacas, Madrid and Santillana del Mar, Spain in 2001 and the “Contemporary textile art” an exhibition with Japanese and Bulgarian artists in the National Art Gallery in Bulgaria with Keiko Kawashima in 2002.