Art MFA student Quanyi Zhao and Xiangming Mu, an associate professor in UWM’s School of Information Studies, were recognized as winners of the Beyonds Challenge 2026, an international competition organized by the Beyond Lab at the United Nations Office at Geneva.
Their project, The Living Heritage Ledger, was one of six winners selected from more than 600 submissions representing 90 countries and territories. Zhao was invited to present the project at The Beyonds Festival 2026 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Living Heritage Ledger explores how cultural knowledge and traditions can be preserved for future generations. Using traditional counted-thread embroidery from China’s Yangtze River Basin as an example, the project proposes a framework for evaluating whether cultural practices are being sustained or at risk of disappearing.
To learn more about the competition and the project, visit Beyond Lab.