Chu Ziyu
Director of Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism

Weaving the Myriad of Things and Connecting with Multi-cultures
China is known as an ancient silk country. of silk As long ago as the period of Yellow Emperor, the ancestral posterity Clothing Lei Zu “created the method of planting mulberry as well as breeding silkworms and weaving silk and it benefited all the people in the world. Since then, the skill of breeding silkworms, silk reeling and weaving techniques have continued to change. From real life to industrial manufacturing, and then to public art, fibers have shown endless creativity with their unique morphological characteristics. Especially after President Xi Jinping put forward “One Belt And One Road” cooperation initiative, the historical symbol of the ancient “silk road” connects many countries along the routes of Asia, Africa and Europe in a completely new way, jointly building a community of Shared interests, destiny and responsibility featuring political mutual trust, economic integration and cultural inclusiveness.
On the fertile Hangjiahu plain, Hangzhou has been known as “the house of silk” since ancient times due to its unique geographical conditions. The poet Bai Juyi in Tang Dynasty once wrote a famous sentence, “The girl with red sleeves boasts of good weaving skills and then she fights to buy wine and drink ‘pear flower’ in front of the green flag.” In the old days, rows of silk shop on ancient Qinghe lane witnessed the prosperity of Hangzhou's silk economy. Hangzhou is also the birthplace of contemporary Chinese fiber art. The first contemporary fiber art research institute was established by the famous Bulgarian artist Maryn Varbanov in the Zhejiang Academy of Art (now China Academy of Art). Located at the foot of Yuhuang mountain and beside the West Lake, the China National Silk Museum is the first national silk museum and the largest silk museum in the world. Silk, which has become the synonym and cultural symbol of this city, has made the vigorous development of fiber art with its huge development potential.
“Boundless Encounters” the third Hangzhou Triennial of Fiber Art, based on the profound cultural heritage of Hangzhou, is a metaphysical cross-media creation without boundary restrictions. Fiber art is originated from the ancient tapestry art of the West. During its process of development, it integrates the traditional textile techniques of various countries, which determines the diversity of fiber art and the characteristics of openness. “Boundless Encounters” means that in the context of globalization, fiber art is interwoven and interdependent, and while exploring multiple fiber materials, it also opens up new creative forms.
Following the “Fiber Art: Fiber Visions” the first Hangzhou Triennale of Fiber Art in 2013 and “Weaving & We” the second Hangzhou Triennale of Fiber Art, an international exhibition as Hangzhou Triennale of Fiber Art, has once again come to the audience. The Triennale will jointly present by three pavilions stand in West Lake: Zhejiang Art Museum, China National Silk Museum and Art Museum of China Academy of Art. Artworks in the Triennale reveal artists of the era of sensitivity as well as explore the development direction of art and culture in the future, and make the fiber art in the inheritance to traditional culture. At the same time, they also break the restrictions of traditional fiber media and expand the multidimensional space in the modern transformation. Eventually they enrich unbounded extensions of fiber art and reality, daily life and fashion. Through various forms of exhibition, they provide audiences with rich visual aesthetic experience and enhance the beauty of fiber art and mountain scenery in Hangzhou.