Rui Shu is a Chinese visual artist, educator and curator based in Edinburgh and Chongqing. I enjoy drawing, making and collaborating with others to create inclusive art and education spaces for children, young people and adults. Rui’s works often focus on creating space for craftsmanship and culture.

As an art educator, I highlight artists committed to sharing skills and passion for craft with a new generation. I have taken a deep interest in employing craft workshops as catalysts for social change and, in effect, positively impacting a community. Working directly with the artists themselves, adults and children shares a combined experience of exploring contemporary art-making via a hands-on experience.

In terms of curator, I am light-footed, unbureaucratic and responsive to opportunities for us to connect with like-minded organisations and people all over the world, whether these are artists and arts organisations or not. Central to my ethos is the pursuit of valuable function for art, which I explore through commissioning, curating, making and education. This means that many of our projects put craft skills, collaborative production and the expertise of non-artists at centre stage.

My curatorial project is about crafting that is happening https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/macat2022/the-projects/sustainable-craft-education/