Bottega Veneta Brings Craft, Community and Contemporary Art Together in Shanghai
Ahead of Qixi, Bottega Veneta has partnered with Chinese artist Zheng Xue to present Traces of Affection, a participatory art workshop at the Tank Shanghai Art Center. Drawing on the brand’s Italian bottega — meaning “workshop” — and its iconic Intrecciato weaving technique, the project explores how craftsmanship can become a medium for expressing affection across family, friendship and generations. Participants are invited to weave personal messages of love into a large-scale installation using natural, tactile materials including bamboo strips, straw rope, loofah, palm fibre, ramie, wheat and cotton.
The collaboration also connects Bottega Veneta’s heritage of craftsmanship with Zheng’s artistic focus on care, domestic labour and emotional relationships, creating a dialogue between Italian artisanal culture and Chinese contemporary art. Brand ambassadors Shu Qi, Yang You-ning and Liu Jun-kun, alongside other guests, have contributed their own reflections on love to the collective artwork, which will be further developed by Zheng Xue and presented during Shanghai Art Week.
The initiative will also extend online through a WeChat mini-program, allowing audiences unable to attend in person to submit their own “letters of love.” Through this combination of craft, participation and community engagement, Bottega Veneta positions craftsmanship not simply as a luxury-making technique, but as a way to preserve personal memories and create shared cultural experiences.
