Sharpay Chenyue Yuan is a London-based illustrator, community practitioner and educator whose interest sits in exploring inter-relations between site and its social histories and those who struggle in living there. She usually combines field visiting and archival methods to develop retroactive, multi-voiced narratives, and her work shows her growing commitment to apply participatory process to give voice to the community. Her work usually relies on drawing and text, using both traditional and digital media, and she is currently expanding her practice into ceramics — applying narratives in space rather than on paper.
Chenyue’s illustration has been recognised by New York Times and De Zeit, and she is also the recipient of V&A Illustration Awards 2022 (Student Runner-up). Currently she is working on a Children’s Book titled Partridge on the Pasture, which will be published soon in China.
Welcome to say hi or discuss any potential collaborations!
CONTACT
EDUCATION
RECENT
POSITIONS
RESIDENCY
SELECTED
EXHIBITIONS
EDUCATION
RECENT
POSITIONS
RESIDENCY
SELECTED
EXHIBITIONS
chenyue.yuan@network.rca.ac.uk (for International)
yuanchenyue0115@163.com (for Mainland China)
@yuan_chenyue
Royal College of Art (RCA)
MA Visual Communication 2019-2021 | London, UK
Sun Yet-Sen University (SYSU)
BA Archival Science 2015-2019 | Guangzhou, CHI
Sessional Lecturer
at Universtiy for the Creative Arts | UK | since 2022
Associate Lecturer/Visiting Practitioner
at Central Saint Martins | UK | 2023
Guest Lecturer
at Royal College of Art | UK | 2023
Shunde Social Innovation Centre
+Social Practice Lab
Drifting Lands Artist Residency | CHN | 2024
Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration
Graduate Residency | UK | 2021
Renewal: A Former Town (SOLO)
CantonBon | Shunde | 13 September-27 October 2024
Centre In Progress
Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration | London | 8-18 September 2022
V&A Illustration Awards 2022
V&A Museum | London | 20 July-9 October 2022
Finding Home—Late at Tate Britain
Tate Britain | London | 3-5 December 2021
yuanchenyue0115@163.com (for Mainland China)
@yuan_chenyue
Royal College of Art (RCA)
MA Visual Communication 2019-2021 | London, UK
Sun Yet-Sen University (SYSU)
BA Archival Science 2015-2019 | Guangzhou, CHI
Sessional Lecturer
at Universtiy for the Creative Arts | UK | since 2022
Associate Lecturer/Visiting Practitioner
at Central Saint Martins | UK | 2023
Guest Lecturer
at Royal College of Art | UK | 2023
Shunde Social Innovation Centre
+Social Practice Lab
Drifting Lands Artist Residency | CHN | 2024
Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration
Graduate Residency | UK | 2021
Renewal: A Former Town (SOLO)
CantonBon | Shunde | 13 September-27 October 2024
Centre In Progress
Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration | London | 8-18 September 2022
V&A Illustration Awards 2022
V&A Museum | London | 20 July-9 October 2022
Finding Home—Late at Tate Britain
Tate Britain | London | 3-5 December 2021
SELECTED
CLIENTS
LECTURES
+ TALKS
OTHER
EXHIBITIONS
PRESS
CLIENTS
LECTURES
+ TALKS
OTHER
EXHIBITIONS
PRESS
New York Times, Die Zeit, ‘A Space’ Arts Gallery,
Zhejiang Photographic Press, Noema Magazine,
Architectural Review, 栩栩多多 (New York Times
for Kids China), It'sFreezinginLA, Ambit Magazine,
Golab Agency, etc.
Camberwell College of Art (UAL, UK), University
for the Creative Arts (Farnham, UK), TodayDesign
(Design360, China), Academy of Visual Arts
(HKBU, Hong Kong), Konstfack (University of
Arts, Crafts and Design, Sweden), Chelsea
College of Art (UAL, UK), University of Brighton
(Brighton, UK), Royal College of Art (London, UK),
New Designers (London, UK)
Plant Forest at Home
Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture | Taichung | 2 Oct-27 Nov 2024
Madrid IllustraFest
Universidad De Diseño, Innovación Y Technología | Madrid | April 2024
Shaping the Marginal
125 New Bond Street | London | 30 March-7 April 2023
Bologna Children’s Book Fair
Via della Fiera, 20 | Bologna | 6-9 March 2023
‘I am Many Stories/The Stories of a Better Tomorrow’
Chapel Arts | Cheltenham | 23 February-5 March 2022
Tell Us a Story...
Gerald Moore Gallery | London | 13 January-19 February 2022
Yilooook Art Festival 2.0—Collective Exhibition
LINKHEAD Gallery | Suzhou | October 2021
Terminal
Ugly Duck | London | June 2021
RCA 2021
Online | Royal College of Art | June 2021
Work in Progress Show 2021
Online | Royal College of Art | January 2021
Confession of Shanghai - Illustrator Collection II
The Mix Place | Shanghai | August-September 2020
Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration
A Q&A with illustrator Sharpay Chenyuè Yuán
It's Nice That
Illustrator Chenyue Yuan digs deep into social histories to tell the story of
Chinese labourers living and working in factories
Creative Boom
Illustrator Chenyue Yuan tells the story of Chinese factory workers in
Pearl's Daughters
Social Practice Lab(社实SPL)
袁琛玥:艺术一定要由艺术家来做吗?|浮土志访谈
英国VA博物馆 (V&A Chinese Official)
我的V&A|学生插画家亚军夏朴:追随直觉,创作出能被人记住的故事
Design 360
海边的女儿:追忆父辈80年代工厂生活,平实朴素的画面中涌动着真挚情感
GroundOohArt
Ooh Art Saturday | 夏朴 Sharpay
Messimage
Messimage Talk | Sharpay Yuan在叙事图像中体验微妙又实在的刺痛感
Zhejiang Photographic Press, Noema Magazine,
Architectural Review, 栩栩多多 (New York Times
for Kids China), It'sFreezinginLA, Ambit Magazine,
Golab Agency, etc.
Camberwell College of Art (UAL, UK), University
for the Creative Arts (Farnham, UK), TodayDesign
(Design360, China), Academy of Visual Arts
(HKBU, Hong Kong), Konstfack (University of
Arts, Crafts and Design, Sweden), Chelsea
College of Art (UAL, UK), University of Brighton
(Brighton, UK), Royal College of Art (London, UK),
New Designers (London, UK)
Plant Forest at Home
Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture | Taichung | 2 Oct-27 Nov 2024
Madrid IllustraFest
Universidad De Diseño, Innovación Y Technología | Madrid | April 2024
Shaping the Marginal
125 New Bond Street | London | 30 March-7 April 2023
Bologna Children’s Book Fair
Via della Fiera, 20 | Bologna | 6-9 March 2023
‘I am Many Stories/The Stories of a Better Tomorrow’
Chapel Arts | Cheltenham | 23 February-5 March 2022
Tell Us a Story...
Gerald Moore Gallery | London | 13 January-19 February 2022
Yilooook Art Festival 2.0—Collective Exhibition
LINKHEAD Gallery | Suzhou | October 2021
Terminal
Ugly Duck | London | June 2021
RCA 2021
Online | Royal College of Art | June 2021
Work in Progress Show 2021
Online | Royal College of Art | January 2021
Confession of Shanghai - Illustrator Collection II
The Mix Place | Shanghai | August-September 2020
Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration
A Q&A with illustrator Sharpay Chenyuè Yuán
It's Nice That
Illustrator Chenyue Yuan digs deep into social histories to tell the story of
Chinese labourers living and working in factories
Creative Boom
Illustrator Chenyue Yuan tells the story of Chinese factory workers in
Pearl's Daughters
Social Practice Lab(社实SPL)
袁琛玥:艺术一定要由艺术家来做吗?|浮土志访谈
英国VA博物馆 (V&A Chinese Official)
我的V&A|学生插画家亚军夏朴:追随直觉,创作出能被人记住的故事
Design 360
海边的女儿:追忆父辈80年代工厂生活,平实朴素的画面中涌动着真挚情感
GroundOohArt
Ooh Art Saturday | 夏朴 Sharpay
Messimage
Messimage Talk | Sharpay Yuan在叙事图像中体验微妙又实在的刺痛感
Visual histories of labour: Imagining, archiving and
interpreting illustrations of Chinese workers from the
1880s and 1980s
collaborative, featured in Colouring in-The Past, ISSN 2752-9533
4th Young Battle Awards
Young Jury | China | 2022
2022
V&A Illustration Awards Student Runner-up
World Illustration Awards Alternative Publishing Shortlist
Signature Art Prize Drawing and Print Finalist
2021
Graduate 360 Top 10 Annual Art Graduate of China
Young Battle Award Top 10 Annual Art Graduate of China
World Illustration Awards Book Cover Longlist
The Cheltenham Illustration Awards Highly Commended
IJUNGLE Illustration Awards Comic Merit Award
2020
Communication Arts - Illustration Annual Award
Personalized Award of Excellence Trophy
The Cheltenham Illustration Awards Highly Commended
IJUNGLE Illustration Award New Talent Merit Award
interpreting illustrations of Chinese workers from the
1880s and 1980s
collaborative, featured in Colouring in-The Past, ISSN 2752-9533
4th Young Battle Awards
Young Jury | China | 2022
2022
V&A Illustration Awards Student Runner-up
World Illustration Awards Alternative Publishing Shortlist
Signature Art Prize Drawing and Print Finalist
2021
Graduate 360 Top 10 Annual Art Graduate of China
Young Battle Award Top 10 Annual Art Graduate of China
World Illustration Awards Book Cover Longlist
The Cheltenham Illustration Awards Highly Commended
IJUNGLE Illustration Awards Comic Merit Award
2020
Communication Arts - Illustration Annual Award
Personalized Award of Excellence Trophy
The Cheltenham Illustration Awards Highly Commended
IJUNGLE Illustration Award New Talent Merit Award