CHINESE WOODBLOCK PRINTING WORKSHOP

Wed 10 Feb 2027, 10.30am-4pm

At the Museum

One-day practical session in the Ashmolean Learning Studio

Tickets are £150. Booking is essential.

Please note tickets coming shortly.

With Asma Hashmi, printmaker

This workshop will introduce you to the techniques of Chinese woodblock printing. You will carve your own woodblocks with images or patterns and use them to print artworks on paper using water-based media.

The workshop will begin with a tour of the exhibition Sisters, Brothers, Others: Nationality and Modern Chinese Art. The exhibition features many woodblock prints, from both before, during, and after China’s Communist revolution.

A Chinese propaganda style-print depicting a students stepping off a train

Ancient Temple on the Plateau black and white stylised woodcut showing a stylised scene of Tibetan incorporation into People's Republic of China

Woodblock prints on show in the Sisters, Brothers, Others exhibition in the Museum's Chinese Paintings Gallery 11

In the 20th century, woodblock printing was promoted as a folk-art, especially well suited for spreading revolutionary ideas, promoting class consciousness and cultural diversity, and uniting the nation. It has a centuries-long history in China and was first developed in the Tang dynasty (618-907) as a means of reproducing religious texts and technical manuals. from which it developed into a popular folk-art practice.

No prior experience is needed for this workshop, just a willingness to experiment with texture, form and the creative possibilities of printmaking.

This event is part of our Love & Legacy season of events.