Leilei Xia
Education
Rhode Island School of Design, BFA, Film Animation, Video
Virginia Commonwealth University, MFA, Kinetic Imaging
Biography
Leilei Xia was born in Guangzhou, China. She is a multi-media artist who works in tactile art, experimental animation, video art, and participatory collective art. As the founder of the tactile art collective Tactileye and one of the editors of the independent science zine Icosa Magazine and, Leilei explores how tactility and bodily feelings are manifested in different mediums, and is interested in combining the process and result of creating art, treating art not merely as a noun but as a verb.
Her workshops have been hosted at UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, The Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, Chengdu A4 International Artist Residency. Her films and animation have been awarded or selected in the Ann Arbor Film Festival, Stop Trik Animation Festival, Berlin Female Film Festival, Paris International Animation Festival, SPAM New Media Festival and many others. Her works have been exhibited internationally in New York, Greensboro, Richmond, Guangzhou, and other cities. She was also one of the speakers at TEDxVCU 2023. She holds a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA at the Virginia Commonwealth University. She is currently teaching at University of North Carolina Greensboro.
Subject(s) Taught
- Interactivity I
- Interactivity II
- Variable Topics in New Media and Design
Scholarly Creative/Research Activity
2025
SPAM New Media Festival, Seattle, WA, USA ”Expect” Screening, Beijing Leping Foundation, Beijing, China
2024
Judson-Morrissey Excellence in New Media Award Winners Exhibition, onlineVCUarts Graduate Thesis Show, Richmond, VA, USA”Films on Shadow” Screening, Accent Sisters, NY, USA”Shadow’s Touch” Screening, Unicorn Screening Room
2023
NAFI FUTURE Nanjing Art International Expo Exhibition, Nanjing, China“Coming Into Contact” Group Exhibition, The Anderson Gallery, Richmond, VA, USA;“Here Be Dragons” Group Show, Greensboro, NC, USA;“What if we hug in The JCPenny” Group Show, Richmond, VA, USA;“Recycled” Group Show, ArtWorks, Richmond, VA, USA;“Diverging Path” Group Show, Governor’s Island, New York, NY, USA;NAFI·Future Nanjing Art Fair International;Aranya Theater Festival, Migratory Birds 300 Special Program, Selected for Screening, China