The visa, insurance, accommodation and round-trip transportation expenses of the participants should be borne by themselves.Registration completed before October l, 2023 enjoy early bird discount, registrationfrom October 2 according to the standard registration fee.

Foreigners and overseas Chinese with permanent residence permits should pay by cross-border bank re-mittance, while Chinese registrants are required to pay the fee via WeChat.

All registration fees must be fully paid prior to the conference. If the conference fees have not been paid before the beginning of the conference, the conference organization cannot allow the participant to access the conference venue. The conference is free of charge only to the students and teachers of the organization that hosted the conference （CAFA and 7 parallel univercities)

Cumulus is the leading global association of art and design education and research. It is a dynamic ecosystem for global mobility, knowledge exchange, and collaboration in art and design pedagogy, research, and practice. The 2023 Cumulus Beijing conference will be hosted by the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, China in November, with the theme of this year's conference being "NARRATIVES OF LOVE ——TOWARDS HEALING, TRANSFORMATION AND TRANSCENDENCE”.

At present, the environmental, health, social, economic and other ongoing crisis facing the world force us to re-examine our ecological foundation, lifestyle, production relations, and the meaning of life. The diverse advancements in artificial intelligence have created a dilemma for human self-understanding and the ethics of human-machine interaction, evoking a mixture of hope and fear. With the increasingly intensifying climate warming, cultural conflicts, economic fragmentation, and scientific iteration, how do humans react to standards of morality, ideas of design, thought of art, and methods of education? These common issues in the field of art and design will provide us with important references for strategic adaptation, structural reshaping, and redefinition of values.

Over the ages, "Love", as the matrix of human sensibility and rationality, the enlightenment of ideology and idealism, is the harmony of Tao, nature, and human wisdom. Love permeates every aspect of human civilization. Chinese civilization, Greek civilization, Islamic civilization, Indian civilization, Egyptian civilization, and the Maya civilization, among almost all major cultural systems, unanimously cherish and emphasize the importance of 'Love'.

From the symbiosis of humans and nature, the healing of collective traumas, the compatibility of heterogeneous perspectives, the stability of social structures, to the innovation of art and culture, "Love" has always been created, interpreted, applied, and disseminated through a harmonious beauty, providing solace to life and nurturing existence. We firmly believe that facing an uncertain future, "Love" will continue to be the immortal energy driving the evolution and progress of human civilization, enduring through the ages and persisting eternally.

The current Cumulus Association International Art and Design Conference has chosen "Narrative of Love" as its annual theme. Through the means of art and design, the conference aims to explore and interpret the ideas and forms of "Love" in multiple dimensions, including the individual, family, ethnic group, nation, world, nature, even the supernatural. It will delve into the realms of thoughts and thinking, discussing interdisciplinary topics such as culture and ecology, society and education, policy and economy, science and ethics, philosophy and faith. The conference seeks to gather cross-cultural wisdom to explore the future directions and methodologies of art and design.

Beijing, as the capital of China, stands as a profound embodiment of rich historical heritage, serene ecological surroundings, avant-garde fashion districts, vibrant community life, efficient service systems, and endearing folk traditions. These multifaceted elements have forged a distinctive design culture with worldwide influence, making Beijing an indispensable gateway and an enchanting source of inspiration for global designers, artists, and scholars to experience the essence of "Love",Chinese culture and the grandeur of Eastern civilization.

We eagerly anticipate the gathering of Cumulus members from around the world in Beijing in November 2023, where we can unite in our efforts to forge a sustainable future imbued with the essence of "Love," igniting passion, motivation, and hope.

May the radiance of "Love" illuminate the Earth once again, blessing future generations for eternity.

The inspiration for the "Narrative of Love" is work being undertaken under this name by Scherto Gill and David Cadman on behalf of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David' s Global Humanity for Peace institute.

Q1 : How do I submit the academic paper?
A1 : Submissions must be submitted online through the conference system. Participants need to register through the Cumulus Beijing conference website first, and then submit their papers through the system. Submission information will be automatically generated after the completion of submission. * As our submission system is being upgraded, please wait patiently, the registration and paper submission system can be used by 24th July.

Q2: How do I choose between different tracks? Can I submit more than one paper?
A2: The 2023 Cumulus Beijing Conference consists of the Beijing Conference and six parallel Conferences located in six different cities in China(Chongqing, Guangzhou, Xi’an, Nanjing, Jingdezhen, Xiamen). Participants can contribute according to the topics of different tracks. Participants can submit multiple papers to the Beijing conference track and parallel conference track. As the parallel conference will be held at the same time (November 27 - November 28), The Academic Committee will select a maximum of one paper each from the Beijing Conference track and the parallel conference track. Please do not submit the same academic paper to the Beijing Conference track and parallel conference track at the same time.

Q3 : What is the format of the paper?
A3: Requirements for Academic Papers Authors need to submit a full contribution, formatted according to a template through the submission system. Only papers written in English are accepted. All papers from academics should be restricted in length to a maximum of six (6) pages (references excluded), all papers from doctoral and masters’ students should be restricted in length to a maximum of four (4) pages. All papers need to follow the APA publication style for in-text citations and reference lists. Files should be submitted in both word and pdf versions. Other formats are not accepted. Please use the templates for full paper submissions – (the template can be downloaded on the website)

Q4 Deadline:
A4 September 18, 2023 23:59 UTC+8

Q5: Is there any fee for attending the meeting?
A5: Participants are required to submit a fee. Participants will pay their own expenses for transportation and accommodation during the Beijing session of the conference. Please refer to the detailed cost standard on the official website.

Q6: How can creative works be delivered?
A6: Please refer to the "Creative Works" track on the website for more information. Currently we only accept electronic documents, no physical works are accepted. Participants are not required to do the installation on site

Q7: ls it allowed to give a speech at both the Conference site in Beiing and one of the other Parallel sites?
A7: lf all submitted papers are approved at the same time: Allowed.

Q8：ls it allowed to skip the Conference in Beijing and only attend the Parallel conference?
A8 : No, unless specially approved by the Organizing committee.

Q9: Do you allow free choice of Parallel sites?
A9: Yes, but the submitted application needs to be approved after internal coordination of the Organizing Committee.

Q10: Does the speech manuscript need to be submitted to the organizing committee in advance?
A10: Yes, we need to do technical support tests to make sure it will function accrodingly.

Q 11:ls the fee refundable?
A11: Payment is not refundable in principle.