The Department of Arts and Design of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Macau (UM) held a series of lectures, where renowned experts from the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), Ma Lu, Liu Qinghe, and Li Fan shared their insights into art innovation in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). The three talks attracted many UM faculty and students as well as art lovers.

Ma Lu is a renowned contemporary oil painter in China. He has served as the dean of the School of Plastic Arts and the director of the Oil Painting Department at CAFA, and has extensive teaching experience. During his talk, Prof Ma highlighted the cultural differences between the East and the West in the choice of artistic media, emphasising the Eastern preference for nature and uncertainty, and the Western preference for regularity and controllability. He pointed out that painters face more challenges and opportunities in the age of AI, and that they need to focus on themselves and the origin of life, and stressed the importance of artists in creation. Prof Ma also explained how AI can become a powerful tool for creators to better understand themselves, prompting them to think about their weaknesses and strengths.

Liu Qinghe is a celebrated contemporary ink painter in China, as well as an educator and scholar. During his talk, Prof Liu, by taking his own ink painting works as examples, remarked that the artist’s judgment is more important than mere technique. He believes that artists should keep a certain distance from orthodox thinking, and strike a balance between reality and imagination. Prof Liu noted that tradition is the foundation for artists to re-examine themselves, and stressed the importance of simplifying in creation.

Li Fan is an associate professor at CAFA, as well as a renowned Chinese printmaker and educator. During his talk, Prof Li shared his insights into practice and research in art education, drawing from his experiences spanning over the past three decades. He emphasised that art education is bidirectional, and teachers should understand the situation of each student, and pay attention to their personality and background in order to help them identify their strengths and uniqueness. Prof Li also stressed that everyone has their own potential, and the purpose of education is to guide students to discover their own qualities.

This series of lectures explored in depth the direction and challenges of art innovation in the age of AI, and provided a learning and exchange platform for participants.