弘文文化艺术卓越奖设置"青年新锐奖"已进入第三年。这一面向40岁以下青年研究者与创作者的奖项类别，自2022年首次颁发以来，已累计表彰了12位在教育与文化艺术领域展现出卓越潜力的青年学者。他们的研究方向涵盖游戏化学习、数字文化遗产、增强现实艺术教育、社会设计、数字水墨等前沿议题，代表着新一代学者对教育与文化问题的全新理解。
在第五届卓越奖颁奖典礼后，我们专访了两位2024年度青年新锐奖获奖者——清华大学美术学院博士后王诗涵和马来亚大学创意艺术学院讲师Tan Jun Wei，听他们分享获奖感言与学术思考。
王诗涵：让传统技艺在当代获得新的生命力
王诗涵的研究聚焦传统纺织技艺的当代设计转化。她在采访中回忆了自己走上这条研究道路的契机：在一次田野调查中，她目睹了贵州苗族传统蜡染技艺的精湛与面临的传承困境，这促使她思考如何用设计的力量让传统技艺在当代获得新的生命力。
她的研究不是简单地将传统纹样移植到现代产品上，而是从传统技艺的材料学原理、工艺逻辑和审美体系出发，探索其与当代设计方法论的深层对接。她认为，传统技艺的当代转化不应止步于表面的视觉挪用，而应深入理解技艺背后的文化逻辑，在此基础上进行真正有意义的创新。
在具体的研究方法上，王诗涵采用了设计人类学的跨学科方法，将田野调查的人类学视角与设计实践相结合。她在贵州多个苗族村寨进行了累计超过六个月的驻地研究，系统记录和分析了蜡染技艺的全套工艺流程、材料体系和纹样语法。在此基础上，她提出了"工艺转译"的理论框架，为传统技艺的当代转化提供了一套可操作的方法论。
王诗涵表示，获得弘文学会的认可对她而言是巨大的鼓励。作为一名青年研究者，能够在一个以严谨著称的评审体系中获得肯定，让她对自己的研究方向更加坚定。她希望未来能将研究成果转化为可在社区层面推广的文化教育项目，让更多人了解和参与传统技艺的传承。
Tan Jun Wei：街头艺术作为城市文化身份的表达
来自马来西亚的Tan Jun Wei则从另一个角度诠释了文化研究的意义。他的研究关注东南亚街头艺术与城市文化的关系，通过田野调查与视觉分析，探讨街头艺术如何成为城市文化身份表达和社区教育的媒介。
Tan Jun Wei在采访中指出，东南亚的街头艺术在过去十年经历了从边缘化到主流化的转变，这种转变不仅是美学层面的，更涉及城市治理、文化政策和公共教育等多个维度。他的研究试图建立一个跨学科的分析框架，将街头艺术置于城市文化生态的整体视野中进行考察。
他以马来西亚槟城的街头艺术发展为核心案例，同时对比分析了新加坡、泰国和越南等东南亚国家的街头艺术景观。他发现，各国对街头艺术的态度差异背后，反映的是不同文化治理理念的碰撞。有些城市将街头艺术视为城市文化品牌建设的资源加以利用，有些城市则在创作自由与公共空间管理之间寻求平衡。
Tan Jun Wei特别强调了街头艺术在社区教育方面的潜力。他在研究中发现，参与式的街头艺术创作项目能够有效地提升社区居民的文化认同感和归属感，尤其是在多族群混居的社区中，街头艺术可以成为跨文化对话的有效媒介。
他对弘文学会跨界融合的学术理念表达了高度认同，认为学会对跨学科研究的重视和支持，为像他这样从事非传统学科领域研究的青年学者提供了宝贵的学术舞台。
青年新锐奖的意义
青年新锐奖的设立体现了弘文学会对学术未来的关注与投入。学会秘书长在接受采访时表示，青年学者是学术发展的未来力量，他们带来的新视角、新方法和新问题意识，对于推动教育与文化艺术领域的持续创新至关重要。
秘书长回顾了设立青年新锐奖的初衷。2022年第三届卓越奖新增这一类别时，学会内部曾有过讨论——青年学者的成果积累通常不如资深学者丰厚，设立专门的青年奖项是否会降低卓越奖的整体学术门槛？最终，理事会达成的共识是，学术卓越不仅体现在成果的数量和影响力上，也体现在研究的创新性、前瞻性和发展潜力上。青年新锐奖正是要发现和鼓励这种面向未来的学术品质。
三年实践证明，青年新锐奖获奖者的研究选题和方法论确实为卓越奖带来了独特的学术活力。他们的研究方向往往更前沿、更跨界、更贴近社会现实，为传统学科带来了新的研究视角和方法论启发。
学会将继续通过卓越奖、课题资助、论坛专场等多种渠道，支持青年学者的成长与发展。第七届卓越奖的申报工作将于2026年5月启动，青年新锐奖将继续面向40岁以下的青年研究者与创作者开放申报。
The HCAEA Emerging Young Talent Award has entered its third year. Since its first conferral in 2022, this award category for researchers and creators under 40 has recognized a total of 12 young scholars who have demonstrated exceptional potential in education, culture, and arts. Their research spans cutting-edge topics including gamified learning, digital cultural heritage, augmented reality arts education, social design, and digital ink painting — representing a new generation of scholars' fresh understanding of educational and cultural issues.
Following the 5th HCAEA ceremony, we interviewed two 2024 Emerging Young Talent Award recipients — Wang Shihan, postdoctoral fellow at the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University, and Tan Jun Wei, lecturer at the Creative Arts Faculty, University of Malaya — to hear their reflections on the award and their academic thinking.
Wang Shihan: Giving Traditional Craft New Vitality in the Contemporary Era
Wang Shihan's research focuses on the contemporary design transformation of traditional textile techniques. In the interview, she recalled the pivotal moment that set her on this research path: during a field investigation, she witnessed both the exquisite artistry and the transmission challenges facing the traditional batik techniques of the Miao people in Guizhou. This experience prompted her to consider how the power of design could give traditional craft new vitality in the contemporary era.
Her research does not simply transplant traditional patterns onto modern products. Instead, it starts from the material science principles, craft logic, and aesthetic system of traditional techniques, exploring their deep integration with contemporary design methodology. She believes that the contemporary transformation of traditional craft should not stop at superficial visual appropriation but should deeply understand the cultural logic behind the craft and, on that basis, undertake genuinely meaningful innovation.
Methodologically, Wang Shihan adopts an interdisciplinary approach of design anthropology, combining the anthropological perspective of field investigation with design practice. She conducted cumulative field residencies of over six months across multiple Miao villages in Guizhou, systematically documenting and analysing the complete process, material system, and pattern grammar of batik techniques. On this foundation, she proposed a theoretical framework of "craft translation," offering an actionable methodology for the contemporary transformation of traditional craft.
Wang Shihan expressed that receiving recognition from HCADS is a tremendous encouragement. As a young researcher, gaining affirmation within a system known for its rigour has strengthened her conviction in her research direction. She hopes to eventually translate her research findings into community-level cultural education projects, enabling more people to understand and participate in the transmission of traditional craft.
Tan Jun Wei: Street Art as an Expression of Urban Cultural Identity
Tan Jun Wei from Malaysia interprets the significance of cultural research from a different angle. His research focuses on the relationship between Southeast Asian street art and urban culture, using field investigation and visual analysis to explore how street art becomes a medium for urban cultural identity expression and community education.
In the interview, Tan Jun Wei noted that street art in Southeast Asia has undergone a transformation from marginalization to mainstreaming over the past decade — a shift that is not merely aesthetic but involves multiple dimensions including urban governance, cultural policy, and public education. His research seeks to establish an interdisciplinary analytical framework, situating street art within the broader perspective of urban cultural ecology.
He takes the development of street art in Penang, Malaysia, as his core case study, while comparatively analysing the street art landscapes of Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and other Southeast Asian countries. He finds that the differing attitudes toward street art across countries reflect clashes between different philosophies of cultural governance. Some cities leverage street art as a resource for urban cultural branding, while others seek a balance between creative freedom and public space management.
Tan Jun Wei particularly emphasizes the potential of street art in community education. His research has found that participatory street art creation projects can effectively enhance community residents' sense of cultural identity and belonging, and in multi-ethnic neighbourhoods in particular, street art can serve as an effective medium for cross-cultural dialogue.
He expressed strong identification with HCADS's interdisciplinary academic philosophy, believing that the Society's emphasis on and support for interdisciplinary research provides a valuable academic stage for young scholars like himself engaged in non-traditional disciplinary areas.
The Significance of the Emerging Young Talent Award
The establishment of the Emerging Young Talent Award reflects HCADS's concern for and investment in the future of academia. In an interview, the Society's Secretary-General stated that young scholars are the future force of academic development, and the new perspectives, new methods, and new problem consciousness they bring are crucial to driving sustained innovation in education, culture, and arts.
The Secretary-General recalled the original intent behind establishing the Emerging Young Talent Award. When this category was added to the 3rd HCAEA in 2022, there was internal discussion within the Society — given that young scholars' achievement portfolios are typically less extensive than those of senior scholars, would creating a dedicated young scholar category lower the overall academic threshold of the HCAEA? Ultimately, the consensus reached by the Council was that academic excellence is reflected not only in the quantity and impact of achievements but also in the innovativeness, forward-looking nature, and development potential of the research. The Emerging Young Talent Award is precisely meant to discover and encourage these future-oriented academic qualities.
Three years of practice have proven that the research topics and methodologies of Emerging Young Talent Award recipients indeed bring unique academic vitality to the HCAEA. Their research directions tend to be more cutting-edge, more interdisciplinary, and more socially engaged, bringing new research perspectives and methodological inspiration to traditional disciplines.
The Society will continue to support the growth and development of young scholars through multiple channels including the HCAEA, project funding, and dedicated forum sessions. The nomination process for the 7th HCAEA will open in May 2026, and the Emerging Young Talent Award will continue to accept nominations from researchers and creators under 40.