Her Story: Between Light and Shadow — An Asian Women Storytelling Exhibition at Edinburgh Fringe

Sometimes we think seeing is enough. We see a smile in a photograph. We see a title on a resume. We see someone standing in the light. But a full life is never only light. It grows in the space between light and shadow.

On August 15 in Edinburgh, Her Story: Between Light and Shadow opened as an in-person meeting space and interactive online photography project. Hosted by AWDPI and co-organized by Viva la Vida, the project was presented on the Chinese Culture Week platform with support from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Chinese Culture Week.

It was an Asian women storytelling exhibition at Edinburgh Fringe built around a simple idea: share to invite listening, and listen to let hidden stories speak.

A Space to Listen, Not Just See

The event invited guests to move beyond flat labels and closer to complete lives. At the center of the gathering was Dr. Li, who shared her own life story as a starting point.

She spoke about living and moving across cultures, about identity, and about growth. Her story did not stay inside a single category. Instead, it opened a wider conversation about what it means to carry multiple homes, languages, and expectations at once.

When a story steps out of labels, everyone in the room can feel the fuller weight of a life. That was the atmosphere of the event: honest, intimate, and open.

Dr. Li’s Story: Identity, Migration, and Growth

Dr. Li’s sharing was not a performance of success. It was a reflection on movement—between countries, between identities, and between the person one is expected to be and the person one is becoming.

Her experience resonated with many in the audience. For Asian women living across cultures, the question of identity is rarely simple. It can involve translation, adaptation, silence, and courage. It can also involve discovering new ways to belong without giving up one’s own voice.

Her story reminded listeners that growth is not a straight line. It is often folded, repeated, and reshaped—much like the stories collected through the project itself.

Online Life Portraits: Stories Behind the Lines

During the event, the results of the online life portrait project were also shown. These portraits were not only images. They were records of lives, memories, and inner worlds.

A portrait can be drawn in a short time. But understanding a life takes patience. Viewers were invited to slow down and read the lines behind each face—to see not only who someone appears to be, but also what they have lived through.

The online life portraits gave the Asian women storytelling exhibition at Edinburgh Fringe a wider reach. People who could not be in the room could still encounter the stories, and the project could continue beyond a single afternoon.

Audience Voices: Your Story Also Resonates

After the sharing, the conversation continued. The team received honest feedback from audience members.

Becca said that arriving in a new country made one thing clear: the most important thing is to be true to yourself. When you stay faithful to who you are, you naturally meet people on the same wavelength and find your own community. Working in the arts, she also suggested exploring local art circles—there are interesting souls there, and unexpected rewards.

James offered encouragement from his own life experience. Go out bravely. Try your best. Never give up. Do not be anxious about results. Some things need time to settle, but every act of persistence is worth it. Believe in yourself, stay optimistic, and keep going.

Different lives, similar strength. People came with their own stories and left with warmth from one another.

This gathering was not an ending. It was another beginning—a step from seeing toward listening.

Light helps us meet. Shadow helps us know each other. On the road ahead, may we carry this gentle act of listening toward a more complete understanding of one another.

• Why This Collaboration Mattered

For Viva la Vida, this collaboration was about more than documenting an event. It was about helping an Asian women storytelling exhibition at Edinburgh Fringe reach audiences through art, photography, and live conversation.

The project created space for Asian women’s voices to be heard on their own terms. It also showed how storytelling can connect people across cultures—not by erasing differences, but by making room for them.

Special Thanks

Project Team

Support and presentation platform: Edinburgh Festival Fringe Chinese Culture Week

Asian Women Development Plan International (AWDPI)

Lead planner: Chenxing Liu

Photographer: Alyssa Wang

Interview: Dr. Dan

Planning: AWDPI Team

Poster design: Xinyi Chen

Project coordination: Audrey Zhang, Cathy Chen, Lee Li, Shura Wang, Jingjing Zhang

Early activity planning: Diane Dai

Viva la Vida

Planning and overall coordination: Li Qianxue, Xu Qianyuan

Publicity coordination: Chen Yiming

Team coordination: Xueru

Online exhibition planning and technical support: Ma Xinyi

Visual design: Zhao Zixi

Copywriting: Wu Yuruo

About the Brand

Viva la Vida (VIVA) is a global cross-cultural art brand spanning 60+ countries. We believe that art is a universal language capable of recording life stories, fostering cross-cultural understanding, and driving meaningful social change. Through our signature question—"What is your life?"—we invite individuals from every background to share their stories through a single painting.

Over the past eight years, we have partnered with global leaders including the United Nations, Coca-Cola, and Tencent to host 400+ events and collect 20,000+ life portraits. Each artwork becomes a bridge—transforming personal expression into collective cultural dialogue.

AWDPI (Asian Women Development Plan International) is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating discrimination and gender-based violence against Asian women overseas, and to promoting their empowerment and development. The organization evolved from Avoice (Overseas Chinese Women Protection Project), which was founded in 2020. AWDPI advocates for greater attention to the survival difficulties faced by Asian women overseas, provides them with ongoing protection and support, and helps them grow from a vulnerable group into an important force for social progress. In this project, AWDPI was responsible for the planning and execution of the offline exhibition, as well as portrait photography and audio archive collection for 16 Asian women participants.

Chinese Culture Week (CCW) is an international cultural and arts platform based in Edinburgh and held during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Through theater, dance, music, exhibitions, traditional crafts, workshops, and cultural exchange activities, it aims to connect artists from China, Chinese cultural backgrounds, and different regions around the world with international audiences.

CCW’s official organizing body is Intercultural Connections Initiative (ICI), a Community Interest Company (CIC) registered in Scotland, focusing on cultural exchange, artistic innovation, and education. CCW is officially positioned as a platform connecting Chinese, UK, and global artists, cultural institutions, and audiences.