The Sino-Foreign Cooperative Design Alliance worked with Ningbo Hefeng Creative Square and partner institutions to support the Ningbo stop of 新兴向荣 · Vanguard Rising, held at Ningbo Industrial Design Museum from 26 January to 8 February 2026.

The exhibition presented outstanding winning works from the 2025 Asian Vanguard Art and Design Award, showing how young designers are responding to cultural expression, technology integration, social issues and cross-disciplinary practice in a global context.

Vanguard Rising Ningbo exhibition poster
The Ningbo stop of 新兴向荣 · Vanguard Rising.

Co-built by the Sino-Foreign Cooperative Design Alliance and Ningbo partners

Within the organizing framework, the Sino-Foreign Cooperative Design Alliance joined Hefeng Creative Square, the University of Nottingham Ningbo China and other design education partners to build a public platform for international design exchange in Ningbo.

The Sino-Foreign Cooperative Design Alliance's role focused on connecting international award resources, academic discussion and regional creative industry needs, so the exhibition could move beyond display and become a bridge between universities, designers, creative parks and wider public audiences.

Young creative practice across fields

Works in the exhibition covered visual communication, industrial design, digital art, illustration and cross-media creation. Across form, technology and cultural context, the projects reflected a new generation's thinking on sustainability, digital innovation, social responsibility and cultural identity.

Exhibition works displayed inside Ningbo Industrial Design Museum
Exhibition view inside Ningbo Industrial Design Museum.

Exchange activity held alongside the exhibition

To deepen exchange between creative parks, designers and universities, Hefeng Creative Square invited the Sino-Foreign Cooperative Design Alliance to join a sharing activity during the exhibition period. Representatives from the creative district, local designers and university faculty discussed young designers' growth paths, industry-university-research collaboration and future cooperation through international design platforms.

The activity strengthened the Sino-Foreign Cooperative Design Alliance's ongoing work in linking design outcomes with creative industry development and regional design ecosystem building.

Ningbo Industrial Design Museum exterior
Ningbo Industrial Design Museum and Hefeng Creative Square.

A Ningbo-based design dialogue

As a national innovation city and an important node for international exchange, Ningbo has a strong industrial base and an expanding creative vision. Bringing Vanguard Rising to Ningbo created a more open platform for dialogue between universities, industry partners and young creators.

The Sino-Foreign Cooperative Design Alliance will continue to use international awards, academic forums and touring exhibitions to build cross-cultural and multidisciplinary cooperation networks, supporting deeper connection between Asian design practice and the global design ecosystem.