'Cultural Code in the Design Language': Rope Shop Building Hosts the International Exhibition of Student Works
HSE University-St Petersburg continues the tradition of international student exhibition: the first joint initiative of the university and the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (Indonesia) at IPW-2025 gathered more than 100 participants. This year, the finalists of the contest 'Cinema as Cultural Brand' from Russia, France, China, India and Brazil presented their works devoted to visual and communication projects.
The contest of student works is organised by the St Petersburg School of Art and Design and École Intuit Lab, one of the leading private design universities in France with campuses in India, China, Brazil and the UAE. The partnership between the two institutions was established in 2025, when the school founder, Clemenceau Derock, attended the International Partners' Week for the first time. The joint inter-university project 'Culture Mirror' also involved the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. The contest united more than 120 students from five countries (Russia, China, India, France and Brazil). The best finalists' works are displayed at the exhibition at IPW-2026.
'Today, the world can speak without any obstacles in the design language. That is why young people, who took part in the contest, could realise how their peers across the globe think and feel. Such an approach significantly enhances the creative potential and expands the professional ties', underscored Anna Tyshetskaya, First Vice Rector.
The participants chose a film of the partner country, studied the plot, context and artistic language, reconsidered it through their own culture and created full-fledged branding projects for the promotion in the domestic market. The organisers offered films of different genres: from Brazilian realism and Chinese martial arts to French comedy, Indian dramas and modern Russian cinema ('Brother', 'Night Watch', 'Piter FM' and others).
'In the last three years, I visited lots of universities all over the world—from Latin America to South-East Asia—and every time I made sure that the professional design community spoke the unified language of visual culture. Thus, international projects and exhibitions become an integral part of the educational process by creating opportunities for cooperation and experience exchange. I am glad that this exhibition is the first serious step towards the development of our partnership with École Intuit Lab. In the long run, it will open new opportunities for international mobility to our students—from Paris to São Paulo', commented Mitya Kharshak, dean of the St Petersburg School of Art and Design.
Among the contest jury were professors from partner universities, as well as experts and designers at an international level. They selected 25 finalists—their projects formed the exposition in the Rope Shop Educational Space. Fifteen best projects will be included in the mobile exhibition, which will take place at all the educational institutions, the contest participants.
'Creativity has no borders. The transnationality of the visual language and freedom of self-expression are important for us. Last year, I was impressed by the projects by HSE students, their non-conventional perspective and creative thinking. Today's works also show a very high level. It is important that young people did not just interpret a foreign film but shaped a new brand for promoting in their homeland', highlighted Clemenceau Derock, founder and head of École Intuit Lab.
Ksenia Kozyrina, 3rd-year student of 'International Programme in Business and Economics', marked out the works by French students: 'The visuals of the Chinese film 'Farewell My Concubine' spoke to me—I am also keen on fashion and the beauty sphere and follow the trends. All the works are extraordinary with bright colour combinations. It's amazing that HSE University-St Petersburg holds such exhibitions that allow us to exchange cultural codes of our countries, meet other students and professors'.
Anastasia Mezhnina, 2nd-year student of the Bachelor's programme 'Asian and African Studies',underscored the high level of the branding projects: 'I liked the exposition—there are lots of different styles and approaches. As an expert in Asian and African studies, I would like to highlight the work by the Chinese student: he greatly reconsidered the French film 'The Artist' using the hieroglyphs, and the image of a scroll and the red colour add a special charm. I also liked the project by the HSE student, which, apart from design, included painting and graphic elements. It's awesome that such contests allow us to look at world cultures from different angles'.
Professor Abdullah Alamri, IPW guest, Head of the Department of Linguistic Preparation for Arabic Second Speakers at the King Saud University, shared that it was interesting for him to get to know better the Russian culture and St Petersburg students' mindset: 'The exhibition at HSE University-St Petersburg shows the continuity of the artistic style. Taking into account the rich history of St Petersburg and students' talents, I think that such international projects enrich us and inspire us for new collaborations'.
