News Center

Published February 19, 2026

CAPTION: Pictured L-R: Scholarship recipient Jacob Chambers, ULM President Dr. Carrie L. Castille, Anna Tan, Hualian Liu, Xiaoan Wang, Dr. Jun Tan 

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MONROE, La. – A new photography exhibit is now on display in ULM's Walker Hall – Through the Lens of Tianyu Wang: Shaanxi Province in the 1960s-2000s. This exhibit celebrates and honors Tianyu Wang, an esteemed Chinese photojournalist. 

Mr. Wang is intimately connected to ULM through his daughter, Xiaoan Wang, and son-in-law, Dr. Jun Tan. In summer 2025, the Tan family created a memorial scholarship in Mr. Wang's honor, the Tianyu Wang Endowed Scholarship in Communication. This scholarship supports an upperclassman pursuing a degree in communication with interests in photojournalism.  

“I see the power of photography and my dad’s contribution in the field of photojournalism. I want to share his passion for photography and his lifelong work with a bigger audience. In my dad’s own words, photography presents a way to ‘remember our brilliant history in order to motivate us to make progress in the future,’” Xiaoan recalled. 

To continue his legacy, the family, in partnership with the ULM Foundation, is exhibiting selections of his work in conjunction with the Chinese New Year. Through the Lens of Tianyu Wang: Shaanxi Province in the 1960s-2000s features eighteen photographs that documented daily life, cultural traditions, and landscapes while China was undergoing a period of dramatic change. The Tan family invites viewers to explore the exhibition as a way to engage in cross-cultural and intergenerational dialogue. 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Thursday, February 12, 2026. Community arts advocates, ULM administration, and employees gathered to celebrate this momentous occasion.  

"This exhibit is exactly where it should be in the entrance to Walker Hall, where our students, faculty, and staff will get to view this great work and the history behind it, and how masterfully it is done,” said ULM President Dr. Carrie L. Castille. “We’re very grateful to the Tan family and very honored,” she added. 

The photography exhibit will run through May 15, 2026. Hours of operation are Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. 

“We are deeply grateful to the University of Louisiana at Monroe and the ULM Foundation for helping us honor Tianyu Wang’s legacy through this exhibition and the endowed scholarship. Together, they reflect his commitment to education, mentorship, cultural understanding, and responsible storytelling, and we hope his work continues to inspire learning and meaningful dialogue in the community,” said Xiaoan Wang.  

Learn more about the Tianyu Wang Endowed Scholarship in Communication here.  

Xiaoan Wang stated that the Tan family chose to organize the photo exhibit to amplify the impact of the Tianyu Wang Endowed Scholarship. The family invites the ULM community as well as the larger Monroe/West Monroe community to connect with history and culture through Mr. Wang’s lens. “We wanted to honor my father’s belief that photography could educate, preserve history, and inspire progress,” said Wang.  

The photos in the exhibition were taken in Shaanxi Province, China, where Mr. Wang was a lifelong resident, from the 1960s to 2000s. Mr. Wang traveled extensively throughout Shaanxi Province over the course of his career, using his camera to document the people, events, and landscapes around him and capture thousands of photos. The photographs in the exhibit are divided into three categories: News Photography, Arts and Culture, and Landscapes. The family says they curated a collection of photos in these three categories to demonstrate how Mr. Wang understood photography as both documentation and storytelling.  

“We hope viewers will get a glimpse of the people, places, and moments captured in the photos, and we hope it will spark curiosity for viewers to learn about the modern and ancient history of China. We also hope it will inspire viewers to appreciate photography as both an art form and a historical record and to consider the impact of photographs on how audiences reflect on and interpret their significance and meaning,” said Xiaoan Wang. 

A learning resource page was developed to provide historical context and encourage further exploration. 

About Tianyu Wang 

TIANYU WANG | 王天育 

Tianyu Wang was an award-winning photographer, author, and journalist (born 1939, Baoji, China – died 2024, Xi’an, China). Over the course of his decades-long career, which spanned news and documentary films, photojournalism, and news reporting, he held posts including Senior Photojournalist at the Shaanxi Daily, the Vice President of the Shaanxi Art Photography Society, and the Vice Chairman of the Shaanxi Branch of the China Photographers Association. 

Tianyu Wang was a self-taught photographer, refining his technique and creative approach through experimentation and hands-on practice. He was passionate about photography and believed photography could educate, preserve history, and inspire progress. He was a strong supporter of higher education and mentored other aspiring photojournalists who went on to be successful. 

Over the course of his career, Wang took tens of thousands of photos and edited and published more than 50 editions of pictorial magazines. Many of his works were exhibited domestically in China and showcased abroad. He also penned articles on the theory and practice of news photography, which were published by outlets such as the Shaanxi People’s Fine Arts Publishing House and lauded by his peers as “a selfless contribution to China’s news photography industry.”  

Wang also authored books showcasing photos and text to represent the rich culture, natural scenery, and beauty of Shaanxi Province in China. His publications received praise from critics as rich and detailed records that capture the interweaving of the ancient and modern traditions of the region in a colorful, encyclopedic epic.