International Open Access Journal Platform

Platformed Inheritance: Digital Re-mediation, Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Innovative Artistic Expression in China

Haoyang He

Research on Art Design / 2026,2(2): 33−45 / 2026-05-14 51 50

View Download PDF

• Information:

  Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University, Zhuhai

• Keywords:
  Intangible cultural heritage; Platformed inheritance; Digital heritage; Short video; Museum digitization; Chinese visual culture; Artistic innovation
• Abstract: This article examines how Chinese intangible cultural heritage is re-mediated through digital archives, immersive museum interfaces, and short-video platforms, and how such re-mediation changes the relation between artistic inheritance and innovative expression. Developing the concept of platformed inheritance, it argues that digital heritage innovation is not a neutral extension of preservation but a socio-technical process in which practitioner knowledge, institutional authority, interface design, algorithmic visibility, and public participation jointly reshape the contemporary life of traditional arts. The study combines qualitative comparative case analysis with an empirical dataset, including a 72-item pilot corpus, a 2 × 3 audience experiment (N = 240), and a 24-participant interview matrix. Focusing on Digital Dunhuang, Palace Museum/Hong Kong Palace Museum immersive exhibitions, and Douyin intangible-heritage communication, the article identifies four mechanisms: selective visibility, aesthetic compression, participatory re-embedding, and responsible re-coding. The findings show that context-rich presentation improves perceived authenticity, learning intention, practitioner recognition, and support intention more consistently than aesthetic-only display. The article contributes a framework for evaluating digital art inheritance beyond technological novelty, audience scale, or visual spectacle, emphasizing traceability, interpretive depth, practitioner agency, transmission pathways, and global communicability.
• DOI: 10.35534/rad.0202004 (registering DOI)
• Cite: He, H. Y. (2026). Platformed Inheritance: Digital Re-mediation, Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Innovative Artistic Expression in China. Research on Art Design, 2(2), 33−45.