Chinese Ink Painting Workshop with Pan Li
About this Event
Drawing on her residency at esea contemporary, Pan will introduce key aspects of her practice, including the meticulous brushwork and close observational methods that inform her botanical paintings.
Participants will discover how traditional ink painting techniques can be reinterpreted through a contemporary lens while exploring themes of nature, cultural identity and place. The session will also include a presentation and discussion of works created during Pan's residency, offering a unique opportunity to learn about her research into the English rose, Scottish thistle, Welsh daffodil and Northern Irish shamrock—the national flowers of the four nations of the UK—as subjects for a new series of ink paintings.
Suitable for all levels of experience, this workshop invites participants to explore the expressive possibilities of ink and discover the rich dialogue between East Asian artistic traditions and British landscapes.
All materials will be provided. Advance booking is required.
About Pan Li
Pan Li is an ink artist from Hong Kong whose ancestral home is Shaoguan, Guangdong, China. She studied at the Overseas Programme of the Xu Beihong School of Arts at Renmin University of China (Hong Kong), where she received a Teaching Qualification Diploma in Fine Arts, and completed the Professional Diploma in Chinese Ink Painting and the Advanced Diploma in Flower-and-Bird Painting at the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Working across landscape, botanical and flower-and-bird painting, Pan's practice is rooted in the traditions of Chinese ink while exploring the expressive potential of contemporary ink. Through continuous experimentation and observation, she develops works that balance classical techniques with a distinctive contemporary sensibility.
Her work has been exhibited in Hong Kong and internationally. In 2025, she received the Gold Award in the Landscape/Figurative Open Category at the UOB Art in Ink Awards for Fern Shadows, which also won the UOB Ink Art of the Year Award.
esea contemporary is the UK’s only non-profit art centre specialising in presenting and platforming artists and art practices that identify with and are informed by East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) cultural backgrounds.
esea contemporary is situated in an award-winning building in the heart of Manchester, home to one of the largest East Asian populations in the UK. Since its inauguration as a community-oriented visual arts festival in 1986, esea contemporary has continuously evolved to establish itself as a dynamic and engaging space for cross-cultural exchanges in the British art scene, as well as in a global context.
esea contemporary aims to increase the visibility of contemporary art practices from the East and Southeast Asian communities and their diasporas. It is a site for forward-thinking art programmes that beyond exhibitions also include commissions, research, residencies, publishing, and a wide range of vibrant public events. esea contemporary values creativity, compassion, interconnectedness, and collectivity in implementing its mission.
Learn more at: www.eseacontemporary.org
Photo by Joe Smith.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 5.00 to GBP 10.00
