Stage, Spectacle, Story: Weaving Through the Art of Peking Opera
An exhibition mapping the four archetypal figures of Peking Opera – Sheng, Dan, Jing, and Chou – across layers of silk and pigment, rhythm and voice.
ARC Public; ARCSpringFling
Date: Monday 07 April 2025 - Thursday 17 April 2025
Time: 08:30 - 19:30
Venue: Advanced Research Centre
Category: Exhibitions
For centuries, Peking Opera has been more than just performance – it is a dialogue between movement and stillness, sound and silence, past and present. It is the art of transformation, where a single gesture can carry the weight of history, and a flick of the sleeve can whisper untold stories.
From 7 to 17 April, an exhibition will unfold, mapping the four archetypal figures of Peking Opera – Sheng, Dan, Jing, and Chou – across layers of silk and pigment, rhythm and voice. Visitors will move through curated text panels, authentic costumes, historical props, and performance excerpts, encountering the many faces of an art form that has shaped and reshaped itself across dynasties, across borders.
Then, on 17 April, the final day of the exhibition, the space will transform. The stage opens, not just for observation, but for participation. A drop-in cultural event will invite audiences to step inside the world of Peking Opera as a bridge between art and ritual, theatre and life, one culture and another. Through a series of interactive sessions, participants will touch, listen, move – painting masks, tasting tea, feeling the weight of a costume, tracing the contours of an ancient melody. More than a celebration, this event is an exploration of heritage as a living, breathing presence – one that asks to be inhabited, experienced, and reimagined.
This project is supported by Thinking Culture funding 2024-25, a cultural programme from the School of Culture and Creative Arts, awarded to PhD student Yidan Hu and collaborator Peking Opera Society.