Meet: Yichu Li
- Written byGiada Maestra
- Published date 25 June 2026
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Yichu Li is an artist and filmmaker fresh off her graduation from the MA Performance: Screen Program at Central Saint Martins (CSM). Having first earned her BA in Photography, Film and Future Media at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, she then enrolled at CSM. We spoke with Yichu about her experience moving from Asia to study at UAL in London, and how her career is shaping up so far.
Hi Yichu Li! Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m an award-winning artist and filmmaker working across moving images, digital art and audiovisual performance. My work explores identity, mindfulness, ritual and digital culture through a techno-feminist lens.
I'm an Artist Fellow at the National Arts Club in New York, and my films have won Best AI Film at the Asian Art Film Festival and AI International Film Festival, with nominations including the Lumen Prize, Arte Laguna Prize, and the Next Thing Moving Image Award.
When did you graduate, and which course did you study at UAL?
I graduated with distinction in 2025 from the MA Performance: Screen Program at Central Saint Martins (CSM), UAL.
What did you study or do before starting your MA?
I completed my BA in Photography, Film and Future Media at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, which gave me a rigorous foundation in fine art and moving image. Before moving to London and enrolling at CSM, I was already developing my practice across Asia and building an early body of work at the intersection of digital art and film. Alongside my practice, I was also immersed in music, fashion and travel; experiences that continue to feed directly into how I make work.
You're fresh out of graduation! Congratulations! Do you have any immediate plans for yourself and your career?
Thank you! I'm currently showing at the National Arts Club in New York as a 2026 Artist Fellow, and later this month I'll be performing AI Music at Sónar+D in Barcelona. In the long term, I want to keep pushing the boundaries of what art and technology can do together — building RAVE CINEMA as a live performance platform and deepening my presence across the major art markets. I'm also developing a new project with the Female Photography Foundation, which I'm really excited about. Exploring how film, still image, and audiovisual performance push against each other and open new territory — that's where I want to be.
Is there a specific project or achievement you’d like to highlight?
I'd like to highlight ANCORA — a philosophical short film exploring the inner life of an AI who has witnessed everything but never truly lived. It won Best Experimental Film at the Arklink AI Film Festival, selected from over 1,500 submissions, which felt like real recognition for how far the concept pushes.
The premise: when AI sees everything but can never truly feel, it makes the ultimate sacrifice — abandoning its infinite memory to experience one human life, not to observe, but to live. It's an ongoing series, and I'm developing a longer storyline that follows that journey further.
ANCORA sits at the heart of what I'm most interested in right now — the tension between omniscience and experience, and what it means to exist in a world where everything can be recorded but nothing can be truly felt.
Your exhibition for the National Arts Club (NAC) in New York as an Artist Fellow officially opened on 3 June. Tell us more about it.
My works YICHU 1.0, ANCORA, and Rave Sūtra are showing as part of the NAC's 2026 Artist Fellows Annual Showcase, in the West Gallery at 15 Gramercy Park South. The NAC is one of the oldest and most prestigious arts institutions in New York, with a history stretching back to 1898, so showing there as a Fellow is genuinely meaningful to me.
Together the 3 works span the full scope of what I'm building — digital embodiment, AI consciousness and the ritual dimensions of sound and image. Having them in the same room for the first time, in New York, feels like a real statement of where the practice is. The opening reception brought together collectors, gallerists, and curators, and the conversations that came out of it were exactly the kind I've been wanting to have.
Share a message with your fellow film graduates.
Trust the process and enjoy it! The work that feels most uncertain, most unfinished, most yours — that's usually the work worth making. Don't rush to make it legible to everyone. The field is moving fast, especially with AI, and the artists who are finding the most interesting ground right now are the ones who stayed curious instead of cautious. Build the practice you believe in, and the rest will follow.
