A New Goalpost for Xiang Li Art: What We Learned from Our Multi-Sensory Chinese Empress Experience at JMAC
May 24, 2026 · Fei Wu
On Thursday, May 21, we gathered at JMAC in Worcester for the opening reception of my mom Xiang Li’s newest solo exhibition, Multi-Sensory Chinese Empress Art and Culture Experience.
The exhibition runs from May 13 to May 24, 2026, with takedown on May 25. But in many ways, the evening of May 21 already gave me something I did not fully expect: a clearer vision for what Xiang Li Art exhibitions can become.
The reception was from 6 to 8 PM, and around 30 to 35 people came. I know that number may not sound enormous in the world of big museum attendance, but it felt deeply meaningful. It was the right crowd: warm, curious, and generous with their time. We had old friends, new friends, adults, children, artists, educators, supporters, and people who simply wanted to experience something beautiful together.
Some friends drove in from Boston, Lincoln, Andover in addition to the general Worcester area, and a number of them stayed for over an hour. I had also personally reached out to another 20 or 30 people who couldn’t make it, so even with the group in the room, I felt surrounded by a much larger circle of support.
What surprised me most was how present everyone felt. People did not just walk in, glance at the art, take a photo, and leave. They lingered, talked, asked questions, explored the activity bags, watched the children create, and connected with one another in a way that felt natural and unforced.
That is exactly the kind of experience I want Xiang Li Art to continue building.
Beyond Looking: What Multi-Sensory Art Can Feel Like
For this exhibition, I wanted to move beyond the traditional idea of viewing art on a wall. My mom’s work is already visually rich. Her Chinese empress paintings are detailed, colorful, historical, and filled with symbolism. But I kept thinking about the world around the paintings too.
What if visitors could touch materials, smell scents, draw, play, create, reflect, and take part in the story?
That was the beginning of the multi-sensory tote bags.
Inside each bag, I included items for both children and adults: sensory toys, drawing pads, stencils, markers, pencils, sharpeners, and simple tools to help people observe the artwork and create their own Chinese-inspired drawings. I also included small tea-scented perfumes and references to tea and fragrance. While these modern scents are not exactly how perfume was made in ancient China, they still opened a door into imagination, memory, and conversation.
The point was not historical perfection. The point was invitation.
Come closer. Notice more. Use your hands. Use your senses. Try something. You are allowed to create here.
That simple shift changed the feeling in the room.
Children Reminded Us What Engagement Really Looks Like
One of the most beautiful parts of the night was watching children interact with the exhibit. Some were around six, seven, or eight years old, and at that age, it is easy to assume that a formal art exhibit might not hold their attention for long. But these kids were completely engaged.
They drew, explored the sensory materials, looked at the art, and then returned to their own creations. A few seemed proud to show what they had made in front of my mom, which moved me deeply.
One of the messages behind Xiang Li Art has always been that art is not only for experts, collectors, critics, museums, or people who know the “right” words to say. Art belongs to everyone. Children understand that instinctively because they do not ask whether they are qualified to create. They just begin.
Somehow, through this exhibit, I felt adults were invited back into that same feeling too.
A Full-Circle Moment with Worcester Art Museum
Another highlight of the evening was seeing three guests from the Worcester Art Museum (WAM): Aileen Novick, Alex Stevens, and Caroline Cannon.
They are part of the education world at WAM, and over the years, we have collaborated with their team several times. Through those experiences, I learned so much about how museums engage families and children: how to encourage drawing, create accessible hands-on activities, think about photography and backgrounds, and design moments of participation instead of passive viewing.
So to see them at JMAC, enjoying the evening and experiencing the show as guests, felt incredibly rewarding. In many ways, it felt full circle.
This exhibition was built from everything we have learned from the community around us: museums, libraries, cultural organizations, families, teachers, children, and people who told us what they loved, what they wanted more of, and what helped them feel welcome.
Xiang Li Art has never grown alone. It has grown through relationships.
What This Reception Taught Me
The May 21 reception gave me a new goalpost.
Moving forward, I do not want Xiang Li Art exhibitions to be only about hanging beautiful paintings on the wall, although that will always matter. My mom’s paintings are the heart of everything we do. But I want every future show to include a deeper invitation.
I want people to be able to look closely, smell something, touch something, make something, ask questions, play, reflect, take something home, and feel proud of what they created. Most of all, I want visitors to feel welcome.
This matters to me because the art world can sometimes feel intimidating. There are invisible rules in many spaces. People may wonder whether they know enough, whether they are dressed correctly, whether they are supposed to speak quietly, or whether their interpretation is “right.”
But I do not believe art has to begin with judgment.
For Xiang Li Art, I want the experience to begin with love.
The Message Behind Xiang Li Art
My mom has spent decades creating art with extraordinary discipline, patience, and care. Her Chinese empress paintings carry history, technique, beauty, and cultural memory. Underneath all of that, the message we keep returning to is simple: we are all made equal, and everybody is a creator in some way.
Art can be a bridge. It can bring joy. It can help us remember that we belong to one another.
That is the feeling I want visitors to leave with. Not that they were tested on Chinese history, or that they had to understand every symbol perfectly, or that they had to decide whether a painting was “good” or “bad.” I hope they leave feeling welcomed into a world, invited to participate, and connected to something beautiful.
From JMAC to What Comes Next
Our next event will be an Artist Talk and Book Signing with Xiang Li on June 13, 2026, from 1 to 3 PM at Creative Hub Worcester.
I am already thinking about how to bring more of this multi-sensory approach into that event too, including more objects people can interact with, more ways for families to engage, and more opportunities for everyone to slow down, play, and create.
I am also realizing that the more we share Xiang Li Art with the community, the more ideas we receive in return. Since I began promoting my mom’s work more actively, especially here in Massachusetts, I feel like I have met hundreds and hundreds of people through art: organizers, educators, museum staff, artists, parents, children, friends, volunteers, and strangers who became supporters.
These relationships have changed the way I think about exhibitions. An exhibit is not just a display. It is a gathering place, a conversation, and a chance to create a temporary world where people can meet through beauty, culture, curiosity, and love.
Thank You, JMAC
I am grateful to JMAC for giving us the space to try this.
This show reminded me that a gallery can be elegant and playful at the same time. It can honor traditional Chinese art while inviting a child to pick up a pencil. It can hold silk paintings of empresses and also make room for sensory toys, tea scents, drawing pads, and laughter.
That combination feels right to me.
It feels like the future of Xiang Li Art.
And it feels like a promise I want to keep: to continue creating art experiences where people do not only come to see, but also come to feel, create, connect, and leave with a little more joy than when they arrived.
