AI Artist · Projection Designer · Filmmaker
Between stage, film, media art & machine intelligence.
Associate Professor at Beijing Dance Academy, National Level 2 Stage Art Designer, Ph.D. in Digital Media (MUST). Stage multimedia, digital light sculpture, XR, AI film — designer for the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Games ceremonies. Silver Medal, 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games.
Based in Beijing · Macau
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Wu Zhen is an AI artist and stage visual designer, Associate Professor at Beijing Dance Academy, with a Ph.D. in Digital Media from Macau University of Science and Technology. He is a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Irvine, and a Guest Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at Shinawatra University, Thailand. His work integrates digital media art, artificial intelligence, XR technologies, and performance, focusing on interdisciplinary creation across dance, film, and interactive media.
He served as multimedia designer for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games. His work Yingge Dance won the Silver Medal in the Single Routine Dance Category at the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games. His AI film Heart of the Machine received multiple international awards, including First Prize in the AIGC Innovation Track at the 2025 China Innovative Video Competition. His film works have been screened at Lincoln Center in New York and numerous museums and biennales worldwide.
Wu has led the development of the DanceLab motion database and the Theatre of Tomorrow (TOT) smart performance platform, both of which have received national-level science and technology innovation awards. His research and creative practice focus on the integration of embodied intelligence, generative AI, and digital performance systems.
Education
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A selection of recent projects across projection, film, robotics, and immersive platforms.
英歌舞
Chief Creator
A humanoid-robot dance piece reinterpreting the traditional Chinese Yingge folk dance through robotics and motion choreography. Awarded the Silver Medal in the Single Routine Dance Category at the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games.
Venue · World Humanoid Robot Games 2025
机器之心
Director · AI Film
An AI-generated short film exploring the emotional interior of artificial beings. Selected for the 1st Robot and Art Design Biennale (Beijing, 2025); First Prize in the Professional Category, AIGC Innovation Track, 2025 China Innovative Video Competition; Outstanding AI Film Award, Beijing Film Academy Awards 2025.
Venue · Robot and Art Design Biennale, Beijing
Opening & Closing Ceremonies
Multimedia Designer
Multimedia designer for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games, contributing large-scale projection and visual storytelling to a global audience.
Venue · National Stadium, Beijing
生生不息
3D Light-Mapping Artist
A digital projection-mapping work selected for the “Encounter: 90 Seconds of Light and Shadow” programme at the Nanshan Sub-venue of Shenzhen Design Week 2024 — a brief encounter in light reflecting on cycles of growth and renewal.
Venue · Shenzhen Design Week 2024
舞美动作数据库
Principal Investigator
A motion-capture based dance action database and analysis system recognized under China's National Science and Technology Innovation framework (Ministry of Science and Technology, 2023). Supported by a Beijing Municipal Education Commission research grant; software copyright registered.
Venue · Beijing Dance Academy
明日剧场
Platform Lead · Co-developer
A virtual exhibition and performing-arts platform built with digital game technology. Recipient of the Excellence Award at the TCDIG Global Digital Creativity Competition and Second Prize (Greater Bay Area) at the 2023 LiChuang Competition. Incubated at the Macao Youth Innovation Centre; selected as a National Exemplary Case of Metaverse Innovation in 2024 and 2025.
Venue · Asia-Europe Expo · Shanghai
微观世界
Director · Fulldome
A fulldome film of the unseen living world at the edge of perception. Selected for the 15th Macon Fulldome Festival and the France 360° Film Festival; incubated by Sandbox Immersive Arts Festival.
Venue · Macon Festival · France 360°
光明之城
Projection Mapping Artist
An architectural projection-mapping work selected for the lighting performance programme of the 2019 Shenzhen–Hong Kong Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture — awarded Third Prize. A successor piece, City of Light II, was later featured at the 2022 Shenzhen Contemporary Art and Urban Planning Hall.
Venue · Shenzhen–Hong Kong Biennale
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From Lincoln Center to Shenzhen Design Week — selected public screenings, installations and awards.
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Peer-reviewed papers, book publications, and journal articles on new media, motion capture, and the digital stage.
Modern Film Technology, Issue 11 · China S&T Core Journal
Modern Film Technology · China S&T Journal Citation Report
EI Compendex
EI Compendex
Journal of Lighting Engineering, Vol. 35, No. 6
Entertainment Computing — ICEC 2023, Springer · DOI: 10.1007/978-981-99-8248-6_41
Dance (ISSN 0512-4204)
Performance Technology, Issue 196
Performance Technology, Issue 194
Journal of Physics: Conference Series, Vol. 1828 · EI
HCI International · Springer Nature · EI
Book · Hohai University Press (ISBN 978-7-5630-3746-9)
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Graduate and undergraduate teaching at the intersection of dance, technology, and artificial intelligence.
Academic Appointments
Associate Professor · Master's Supervisor
Beijing Dance Academy
Department of Art & Design · 2015 – Present
Lecturer
Beijing Dance Academy
Department of Art Communication · 2007 – 2015
Doctoral Supervisor
Shinawatra University, Thailand
Digital Media Arts
Visiting Scholar
University of California, Irvine
Department of Drama
Council Member & Research Fellow
Macao International Youth Think Tank
Committee Member
CAAI Education Working Committee
Founding Young Editorial Board
China Illuminating Engineering Journal
Courses Taught
Intermedia Performance Art
Graduate · Central Academy of Drama · Department of Digital Theatre
Digital Dance Creation
Graduate · Beijing Dance Academy
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
Undergraduate · Beijing Dance Academy
Robot Dance
Micro-program · Beijing Dance Academy
Research Direction
Current research centers on embodied intelligence and humanoid dance robots, generative AI in stage creation, AI-assisted choreography, immersive intelligent virtual environments, and the protection of intangible cultural heritage dance through motion capture and VR.
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Open to collaborations in performance, installation, and AI-assisted image-making.
Studio
Beijing Dance Academy · Artificial Intelligence Research Institute
No. 1 Wan Shou Temple Road / Zhongguancun AI Latitude Community, Haidian District, Beijing
Phone
+86 138 1074 5684