When a digital figure of Shen Shaoan (1767-1835), the legendary founder of Fuzhou's bodiless lacquerware, appears at the Shen Shaoan Lacquer Art Museum in Fuzhou, visitors are taken on a journey through the centuries-old craft.

For museum director Shi Liling, however, bringing tradition to life means more than preserving the past. It means finding new ways for people from around the world to connect with it.

Shi Liling poses with lacquer artworks. [Photo/FZ Evening News]

Since the museum opened in 2019, Shi has led her team in developing it into a center for collecting, exhibiting and studying lacquer art, as well as promoting the craft and providing public education. The museum houses representative works from different periods of Shen Shaoan's bodiless lacquerware tradition, along with other valuable lacquer pieces dating back to the late Song Dynasty (960-1279). It now welcomes around 100,000 visitors and scholars from China and abroad each year.

"I like innovation, breaking through boundaries and exploring new possibilities," Shi said.

That spirit has shaped the museum's approach to intangible cultural heritage. In 2024, it joined hands with the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts of Minjiang University to launch a workshop exploring the digital transformation of traditional lacquer art. One outcome was "Digital Shen Shaoan", an AI-powered virtual figure who introduces visitors to the history and craftsmanship of bodiless lacquerware.

The museum has also created a digital exhibition on Chinese lacquer, using AI to interpret artworks and recreate the traditional process of harvesting raw lacquer. These efforts earned the museum a place on the 2024 list of exemplary practices for integrating intangible cultural heritage into modern life.

Through the "Mobile Museum · Intangible Cultural Heritage in Schools" program, initiated by Shi, lacquer art workshops have reached dozens of schools and nearly 30,000 teachers and students. The museum has also established a dedicated lacquer art space at Fuzhou Gezhi High School, where students can explore lacquer art through hands-on creation and exhibitions.

Her efforts extend beyond education. Over the past two years, the museum has hosted a series of exhibitions featuring leading lacquer artists from China and abroad, including exhibitions celebrating masters of the art and exploring themes such as women's perspectives and environmental protection.

Now, Shi is preparing a new panda-themed lacquer art exhibition as part of a China-Japan cultural exchange, with plans to bring Fuzhou lacquer art to audiences overseas.

"For me, bringing lacquer art to a broader stage is a mission — to carry forward its cultural heritage while keeping the tradition alive," she said.