The daughter of parents who worked at a television station, Ma's childhood was spent in a large courtyard that housed the station's employees, who were of different ethnic backgrounds. On hot, dry summer afternoons, she would sit with her family and neighbors on a carpet, eating watermelon, watching TV, and chatting.

If a family in the courtyard needed to clean their carpet, all the children would come together to help.

"We would use small knives to scrape the dust from it. The carpet holds many such memories for me about home and childhood," she says.

This is why, when she learned in 2021 that the Urumqi-based Gaotai Gallery was starting a project to introduce art to the carpet workshops in Hotan prefecture in Xinjiang to inspire new product development, she joined up without hesitation.

The gallery is seeking to introduce new ideas to traditional crafts, and participating artists are expected to breathe fresh life into the ancient craft through their designs, while also spreading word about the history and skill behind Hotan's handmade carpets.

"Through the innovative designs of the artists, our goal is to transform the public perception of Hotan carpets from being heavy and outdated, to being modern, finely crafted pieces that seamlessly combine strength and softness, with skill and creativity," says Ma Xing, curator of the gallery.

The artists involved in the first round made sketches, which were then brought to life on carpets by weavers in Hotan. The collaborations resulted in the creation of five designs that were later exhibited and made available for sale in limited quantities.