Monica Yan’s Between People moves from classroom to Fringe stage

By AI, Created 9:45 AM UTC, May 22, 2026, /AGP/ – Monica Yan and CQ London are taking the 2026 cultural heritage jewellery series Between People from a Queen Mary University of London lecture and conference exhibition to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The move puts Chinese intangible heritage into academic and public arts settings across London and Edinburgh.

Why it matters: - Between People is moving Chinese intangible heritage from craft display into academic discussion and a global arts festival. - The shift gives the work visibility in two different settings: a university conference and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. - CQ London is positioning qipao and intangible heritage craft as living cultural practice, not museum material.

What happened: - Monica Yan, founder of CQ London, created the contemporary fabric jewellery series Between People using traditional Pankou craft. - In April 2026, Monica Yan delivered a guest lecture at Queen Mary University of London on contemporary innovation within Chinese intangible cultural heritage. - The lecture was presented to students from across the world. - From 1-2 June 2026, works from Between People will be exhibited at the FIVE LEAF Conference on Law and Aesthetics at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies at Queen Mary University of London. - Monica Yan will serve as curator of the Intangible Cultural Heritage section within Chinese Culture Week at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2026. - CQ London is powering the Edinburgh programme.

The details: - Between People explores how human relationships leave traces on the body and in the imagination. - The Queen Mary appearance is described as one of the first instances of this practice entering a Western university classroom as methodology rather than cultural content. - The FIVE LEAF Conference brings together scholars and practitioners from the UK, Europe, North America, Australia and Scandinavia. - The conference covers fashion and luxury, film and photography, theatre and performing arts, live art, and architecture and culture. - The Between People works will appear in the official conference catalogue. - The works may also be published through Routledge. - The conference inclusion marks the first time Between People enters a formal academic context as a reflective body of work. - The academic framing centers intimacy, aesthetics and the limits of standardisation. - The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is one of the largest arts festivals in the world. - The Chinese Culture Week ICH strand presents Chinese intangible heritage in a global public arts forum rather than an exhibition setting. - The Edinburgh programme places Chinese intangible heritage in dialogue with contemporary practice from around the world.

Between the lines: - Monica Yan is building a cross-cultural practice that links Chinese heritage techniques with Western institutional platforms. - The strategy appears aimed at normalizing intangible heritage as a method for contemporary creation, not just as preservation. - CQ London’s repeated appearances at major fashion and craft events suggest a broader push to make qipao culture legible in mainstream international venues.

What’s next: - Between People will appear at the Queen Mary conference in early June 2026. - Monica Yan will curate the ICH section for Chinese Culture Week at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2026. - The conference catalogue publication, if completed, could extend the work’s academic reach through Routledge. - CQ London is likely to continue using academic and public cultural stages to expand the series’ international profile.

The bottom line: - Monica Yan is taking Chinese intangible heritage from the workshop to the university and the festival stage, with Between People as the bridge.