Water, Lacquer & Love: A Contemporary Lacquer Fan Workshop
As part of Double Seventh Cultural Week, Creative Asia Art Centre will host Water, Lacquer & Love: A Contemporary Lacquer Fan Workshop on Sunday 16 August 2026, bringing together contemporary art, traditional craftsmanship, cultural exchange and community connection.
Held at Creative Asia Art Centre at the World Trade Centre Melbourne, the afternoon invites participants to explore lacquer fan making through a contemporary hands-on workshop inspired by Chinese artistic traditions. Using flowing lacquer techniques, participants will create their own uniquely patterned fan to take home.
The workshop forms part of Double Seventh Cultural Week, a broader celebration connected to Qixi, the traditional Chinese Double Seventh Festival. Across the program, Qixi is explored through themes of love, craftsmanship, reunion, creativity and meaningful human connection, bringing historical traditions into dialogue with contemporary artistic practice.
The day begins with the lacquer fan workshop from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm, followed by a complimentary networking session with refreshments from 3:00 pm to 3:30 pm. The afternoon then continues with a seminar from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm, led by Dr Angelina Mirabito in conversation with co-curator Dou Jin and an Threads of Love Exhibition artist.
The seminar, Threads of Love: Reweaving Qixi Through Contemporary Art: From Craft to Cosmos, will extend the conversations unfolding through Double Seventh Cultural Week and the Threads of Love exhibition. It will consider the relationship between Qixi and Qiqiao, women’s creativity and craftsmanship, the evolving story of the Weaving Maid and Cowherd, and the ways contemporary artists continue to reinterpret inherited cultural stories through their own practices.
Central to the discussion is the idea of Qixi as a living cultural tradition: one continually woven, unravelled and rewoven through changing beliefs, social values, artistic practices and lived experience. The seminar will also explore how the metaphor of weaving can move beyond material practice to encompass memory, communication, cultural inheritance, fate, connection and expressions of love.
The afternoon creates an opportunity to experience these ideas in several ways: first through making, then through conversation and finally through deeper reflection on the cultural and artistic ideas surrounding Qixi. In this way, Water, Lacquer & Love extends beyond the workshop itself, connecting participants with the broader creative conversations taking place across Double Seventh Cultural Week.
Water, Lacquer & Love: A Contemporary Lacquer Fan Workshop
sunday 16 August 1-5pm
creative Asia art centre
Level m, 18-38 siddeley street,
docklands, vic, 3008
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Water, Lacquer & Love: Contemporary Lacquer Fan Workshop
Create your own contemporary lacquer fan in a guided, hands-on workshop inspired by traditional Chinese craftsmanship.
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Networking Break
Enjoy complimentary refreshments and connect with fellow participants.
3:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Seminar led by Angelina Mirabito, PhD
The event is free, with registration required.
Register through Humanitix:
https://events.humanitix.com/water-lacquer-and-love-a-contemporary-lacquer-fan-workshop
Presented as part of Double Seventh Cultural Week at Creative Asia Art Centre.
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