Colours in Peking Opera: Exhibition and a painting workshop

Venue: New Glasgow Society Exhibition Hall, G3 8TL

Dates:

• Stage 1: June 2–4, 2025

• Stage 2: July 29–31, 2025

Time: Open daily from 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Entry: Free

• Book free tickets on Eventbrite for the painting workshop

• Walk in without tickets to visit the exhibition only

Contact the organiser for enquiries: h.yang.4@research.gla.ac.uk

Exhibition

Join us for an engaging intercultural experience that brings the vibrancy of Peking Opera to life through a multimodal exhibition and interactive workshop.

This exhibition opens a window into the rich aesthetics and deep symbolism of Peking Opera’s colour traditions. Featuring traditional costumes, stage designs, authentic opera props, and multimedia displays, it explores how colours convey character, meaning, and cosmology through the lens of the Chinese Five Elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

Visitors are invited to explore how the symbolic language of colour in Peking Opera is translated into English and expressed through multimodal forms. The exhibition offers an inclusive opportunity to share your perspectives on how colour intertwines with identity, symbolism, emotion, and cultural expression.

Workshop

After exploring the colourful exhibition, you’re invited to express your own interpretation of the colours through art. Using our provided acrylic paints, you can create a unique design on a tote bag or framed canvas. All materials are provided, and if you’d like to try a Chinese style, we offer easy-to-follow painting samples inspired by Chinese artistic patterns.

One free ticket covers one painting per person or group (feel free to come with friends or family). Each painting session is designed to be completed within 1 hour. You’re welcome to take your artwork home for free!

In exchange, we kindly invite you to participate in a 5-minute recorded interview for academic research purposes. This short interview will ask about your prior knowledge or exposure to Chinese culture and your reflections on the exhibition panels and overall experience.

Participation in the workshop and interview is entirely voluntary. You’re also welcome to visit the exhibition at any time during opening hours without tickets.