Caxton House’s Interactive Exhibition Brings Suzhou Embroidery and Taohuawu Woodblock Prints to Life at LSBU

During the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration season, a unique interactive exhibition – “Usurping the Works of Nature: Suzhou Embroidery and Taohuawu Woodblock Prints” – opened in Caxton House on 24 February 2026. The event attracted over 40 attendees from the LSBU community and the Royal School of Needlework.

In his introduction to the exhibition, Professor Yinong Xu, Executive Director of the Confucius Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine (CITCM), notes that “Suzhou Embroidery and Taohuawu Woodblock Prints are both valued not only for their legacy, but also for their vitality as living traditions.” His words set the tone for an event that celebrated heritage, continuation, and innovation.

At the start of the interactive exhibition, Professor Deborah Johnston, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of LSBU, welcomed the attendees to CITCM and expressed her appreciation of the event as it “deepened our understanding of the histories, techniques and creative philosophies behind these artworks.” She added that such initiatives strengthen cultural dialogues and mutual appreciation within the university community.

The participants were then invited to join the embroidery and woodblock print workshops. At the embroidery workshop, Suzhou embroidery artist Ms Fu Xianghong of Xianghong Embroidery House briefly introduced the artifacts on display and Suzhou embroidery. She then led the 20 participants to embroider the heart of a plum blossom, using three basic stitches. LSBU staff members and students were very pleased with the hands-on experience; CTCM’s own HSK students were fascinated by this craft and tried to communicate with Ms Fu in Mandarin. Through close interaction, participants gained insight in the meticulous craftsmanship.

The Woodblock print workshop, guided by Ms Zhu Lei of Suzhou Art & Design Technology Institute, was equally popular with people queuing to the experience. Participants worked with great enthusiasm and took away their achievements in tremendous excitement. One art and design student from Bangladesh shared that learning about the rich cultural meanings of the character fu – expressing aspects of Chinese folk belief, stories of Daoist immortals, and traditional auspicious signs – sparked in himself a strong interest in woodblock printing. He hoped that he might one day study the craft more deeply and use it as a medium to tell the stories of his own cultural heritage.

By bringing together tradition, hands-on experience, and inspirational interaction, this exhibition not only foregrounded a celebration of the life of these two traditions, but also afforded a rare opportunity for cross-cultural understanding and artistic inspiration.

The exhibition is open to the public on 25 February – 13 March 2026, coinciding with the yearly Lantern Festival display in Caxon House.