Kris Yao, Hon. FAIA

Founder/ Architect, KRIS YAO | ARTECH

Kris Yao, Hon. FAIA, founded KRIS YAO | ARTECH in Taipei in 1985 and established a Shanghai office in 2001. The firm currently employs more than 160 professionals, and is one of the most important architecture practices in the Asia-Pacific region.

Throughout his 30 years of practice, Mr. Yao has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the College of Environmental Design at the University of California at Berkeley in 2005, the “National Award for Arts” in 2007, and the Honorary Fellowship from the American Institute of Architects in 2014. Mr. Yao’s works have been widely published in international magazines, architectural journals, and many of his monographs, including the most recently published three-volume monograph KRIS YAO | ARTECH selected works 30x30 by UED, Beijing.

Mr. Yao’s portfolio demonstrates years of practices in commercial, hospitality, civic, transportation, spiritual, and educational design. His architecture integrates function with culture and history, presenting a unique approach that celebrates the spirit of the locality. The AIA recognize him as an architect who “demonstrates his humanity with the development of physical elements that hold true to human emotion and conditions, cultural and historical context, and a sense of scale and place. His architecture has a poetic nature, using his native eastern aesthetic and spirituality with a sense of natural light, interplay of surfaces and forms and executing all with a high level of innovation and professionalism.”

Travis Preston is Artistic Director of the CalArts Center for New Performance (CNP) and Dean of the CalArts School of Theater. He directs theater and opera throughout the world, and was awarded Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Minister of Culture for "contributions to the arts in France and throughout the world." He directed the world premiere of Fantômas: Revenge of the Image at the Wuzhen Theatre Festival in China, as well as Sam Shepard 's Buried Child for the 40th anniversary season of the Hong K ong Repertory Theater. 

For CNP he directed the critically acclaimed Prometheus Bound at the Getty Villa, Gertrude Stein 's Brewsie and Willie , and the acclaimed production of Macbeth at REDCAT, which toured to the Almeida Theatre, London, and then Sydney and Adelaide.He has been Resident Director at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge and Associate Artist at the Yale Repertory Theatre and Center Stage, and Associate Director of the American Ibsen Theater. He is also a noted theatre educator, having taught at Yale, Harvard, Columbia, NYU, the National Theater School of Denmark, Indiana University, and Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts.

Yue Minjun is a leading figure in contemporary Chinese art and an internationally renowned artist. He has been producing his trademark exaggerated

“self-portraits” since the beginning of the 1990s. In recent years, this original image has found its way into sculpture and printmaking as well. Sometimes “it”

appears alone; sometimes “it” appears in a group. “It” closes its eyes and grins madly, with dramatic gestures, but full of confidence. Yue Minjun has experienced first-hand the development of Chinese contemporary art over the last thirty years. His artworks have been collected by domestic and foreign art institutions, galleries and museums, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Denver Art Museum, The Culture Centre of Francois Mitterrand, Busan Museum of Art, Guangdong Museum of Art, Shenzhen Art Museum and other important institutions. Since participating in the 48th Venice Biennale, Yue has been invited as one of the regular contemporary Chinese artists to every Venice Biennale, which demonstrates his profound artistic contribution, and his distinctive artistic characteristics have established the non-negligible importance of contemporary Chinese art on the world stage.

Huang Bo is one of China’s most renowned film and stage actors, directors and singers. He is also the vice chairman of China Film Association. Many of his works and classic roles are deeply loved by the audience, including Crazy Stone, Cow, Lost in Thailand, Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons, No Man’s Land, Dearest, Breakup Buddies, Mojin-The Lost Legend, The Island, etc. He has won multiple awards since he started his career, including the Annual Actor of

China Film Director’s Guild, Best Actor at Shanghai International Film Festival, Best Actor at Golden Horse Awards, Best Supporting Actor at Asian Film Awards and so on. In 2012, he starred in Meng Jinghui's play, To Live. In 2023, he adapted his directorial maiden work, The Island, into a musical, working as the artistic director and starring in this musical.

Hao Lei is one of China’s most renowned film and stage actresses and graduated from Shanghai Theatre Academy’s Performing Arts Department. Her theatre works include Rhinoceros in Love, Soft, Ago, etc. Her film works include Empire of Silver, The Fourth Portrait, Mystery, The Golden Era, Dearest, Spring Tide, etc. Her TV series works include Don’t Cry in 17, Sisters, Young Emperor-Shunzhi, The Love of Courtyard, etc. She has won Best Actress at Golden Horse Awards and Best Actress at The Magnolia Award. Many of her film works have been nominated for the main competition units atFestival De Cannes, Venice International Film Festival, Hawaii International Film Festival, Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin, Shanghai International Film Festival, and so on. She was invited to serve as a judge at international film festivals, such as the Hong Kong Film Awards and The ONE International Women's Film Festival.