Yalun Li, Assistant Professor of Architecture at AUD, was selected to co-curate the fourth season of the “Next Cultural Producer” program in Shanghai, alongside Qian Mengni.

Co-initiated by the Power Station of Art (PSA) and the CHANEL Culture Fund, the program supports emerging cultural producers and provides a platform for new ideas and interdisciplinary practices in contemporary culture. The winning proposal, Carrier Bags from the Peripherals, is currently on view at PSA from July 16 to October 8, 2026.

Inspired by the “carrier bag” theory proposed by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin, the exhibition moves away from traditional linear narratives and instead brings together fragments of everyday life, inviting audiences to consider the connections between personal experience and the wider world.

The exhibition design, developed by Li’s studio, translates this concept into the physical space. An embracing structure inspired by the form of a “carrier bag” divides the exhibition into interior and peripheral spaces. Visitors begin at the periphery, where a news report and a piece of fictional writing are presented across the outer walls in a fragmented format.

The wooden structures form a folded, elliptical enclosure lined with soft felt, creating an intimate space for 31 multidisciplinary works. Among them is Dunes Dictionary, a work by Dunes Workshop, a collective co-founded by Li. The exhibition is accompanied by a series of public programs exploring its themes, including a dialogue featuring acclaimed South Korean author Kim Ae-ran.