IMAGE / Transition is a collaboration between the Target Studio for Creative Collaboration and the Art Department at the University of Minnesota.

The photographs on display are from the Beijing Collaborative Exchange from the last three years.

The collaboration began in the academic year 2006-07 with a simple exchange of digital images shared between the Beijing Film Academy, School of Photography and the University of Minnesota, Art Department. This modest beginning initiated a series of forums with students and faculty from both institutions, leading up to the first formal exchange.

The first program year (2010-11) titled, “WEIJI” or “crisis=opportunity” brought together students to share and discuss their photographic images exploring the issue of change in a broad sense. Subsequent exchanges also visualized the concept of change in programs titled “Transition” (2011-12) and “Mirror/Window” (2013-14). This overarching theme of change has given form to the work done by the students selected by the faculty of both institutions and is the basis for the images seen here in this exhibition.

These photographic images represent student work from all three years of this creative collaboration. The program enabled learning through the creation of art by developing a mechanism for a sustaining partnership between Minnesota and Chinese students. Both institutions have hosted student exchanges. The collaborations have been two fold, sharing experiences in each country and capturing images that speak to the theme and the shared experiences. Each student was encouraged to work on her or his own to interpret the theme and then share their photographs with other students through dialog.

Be part of the exhibition and add an image of what change means to you. Use #wamchange on Instagram and Twitter to contribute to a collage displayed in the gallery.