When migrant women workers pick up paint brushes

What is considered “creation”? Is taking a photo on your phone creation? What about writing a journal entry or copying someone else's painting? For artist Jingyuan, creation isn’t about the format—it’s about the process. To her, true creation begins when a person truly sees life, questions themselves, and transforms that experience into expression. That reflection, she says, is the essence of creating.

In this talk, Jingyuan shares her journey with Sweat, Stop, Rewrite, a free creative mentorship program for grassroots women. She believes that everyone deserves an authentic creative experience—and through it, people can sense, and even reimagine, how they relate to the world. When you create with intention and self-reflection, what emerges is a sense of equality, clarity, and dignity. Born in Guangxi in 1979, Jingyuan studied Fine Arts at Concordia University in Montreal and earned her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work spans documentary film, painting, and participatory art. She launched Writing · Mothers, a five-year literary project focused on women’s narratives, which has published five volumes. In 2018, she developed Sweat, Stop, Rewrite as an extension—specifically aimed at helping migrant women workers explore written and visual storytelling. She's also led writing workshops through various nonprofit platforms. Through her ongoing exploration of “ordinary people’s creativity,” Jingyuan challenges the line between what is professional and what is personal, and uses the power of creation to foster mutual recognition and support among those often excluded from dominant narratives.