Thank you to our volunteers, facilitators, and participants for warming up the festive atmosphere for the upcoming Year of the Horse. While the workshops have concluded, the Drawing the Horse submission remains open until Tuesday, 10 February. Please read the post for submission requirements.
We hope you all enjoyed the workshops and looking forward to welcoming everyone to our CNY Launch Day on Friday 13th February in One Elmwood. For more information and registration, read the page below.
To celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Horse, The Language Centre and Student Engagement Team One Elmwood are delighted to organise two CNY Arts and Crafts workshops scheduled for QUB students, staff and their families to attend on
Monday 19th January and
Friday 6th February
At the workshops (1-4pm), there are also opportunities to do hands-on Chinese calligraphy and paper crafts for the festive decoration.
2. Drawing the Horse Competition and Exhibition
Alongside the workshops, there is the “Drawing the Horse” competition, accompanied by an online exhibition showcasing submitted entries.
In Chinese culture, the Horse symbolises vitality, perseverance, freedom, and success. It is associated with forward momentum, aspiration, and the courage to pursue new horizons -qualities that resonate strongly with learning, creativity, and global engagement within the QUB community.
We invite students and staff to explore these cultural meanings through art and express their own interpretations of the Horse, whether traditional or contemporary, literal or symbolic. All submitted artworks will form part of an online exhibition celebrating creativity, cultural diversity, and the shared spirit of the New Year.
Join us in welcoming the Year of the Horse through drawing, imagination, and cross-cultural appreciation.
Requirement
Participants are encouraged to employ diverse drawing styles and mediums (e.g., sketching, oils, watercolor, sculpture, etc.) as long as they effectively convey your perceptions of the Horse 马/馬 within your own cultural context or Chinese culture. We welcome authentic forms and techniques of presentation, excluding AI-related works.
Submission
Submissions should consist of one drawing per participant, saved as an electronic copy (JEPG/JPG/PNG format, no exceeding 4MB). Please submit your artwork via the provided submission form, accompanied by a brief bio, including your name, status (e.g., educational/professional background), and a concise description of your illustration.
On Friday, 3 October, despite the adverse weather conditions, the Mid-Autumn Festival and Welcome Event went ahead as planned, bringing together over 50 students, staff (including visiting scholars), and community partners in the McClay Library Auditorium. The celebration featured live music, cultural displays, talks, and refreshments, all showcasing the vibrancy and inclusiveness of Queen’s community.
Decoration with mooncakes and flowers
Decoration with mooncakes and flowers
The event opened with a captivating guzheng performance of Moon Rising High by PhD candidate Li Fei, setting a graceful tone for the afternoon’s celebration of community and civic engagement.
Welcoming guzheng music by LI Fei
Welcoming guzheng music by LI Fei
Jointly organised by The Language Centre and iRise (BAME&I) Staff Network, the event featured welcoming remarks from Thomas (Language Centre Manager) and Bee-Yen (Senior Lecturer, School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Co-Chair of iRise), who both reflected on the cultural importance of celebrating diversity at Queen’s. Mórrigan (Student Officer for Accessible Education) and Claudia (Chair of the International Students’ Association) also spoke, introducing the roles of the Queen’s Students’ Union in supporting a student body representing over 80 countries and regions.
Welcome by Thomas Smith, Language Centre Manager
Welcome by Dr Bee-Yen Toh, iRise Staff Network co-chair
Welcome by Mórrigan McEvoy, Student Officer Accessible Education
Welcome by Claudia Liu, Chair of International Students’ Association
Dr Liang Wang shared greetings from both local and international participants, including a surprise message from Queen’s University, Canada, and highlighted a series of successful student- and staff-led projects in line with the Cultural Diversity Scheme at Queen’s in recent years. He also invited attendees to take part in the new round of upcoming activities. Special thanks were given to student volunteer Shiuh Ting Gho, who delighted participants with beautifully written calligraphy pieces of traditional festival greetings.
Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations at Queen’s
Introduction to Mid-Autumn Festival
Greetings from the participants
Greetings from the participants
Greeting from a special guest from Queen’s University in Canada
Calligraphy display from Shiuh Ting Gho
Highlight 1 – Journal of Eutopia Art and Culture
Highlight 1 – Journal of Eutopia Art and Culture
Highlight 2 – Taste of the World: A Journey Through Food and Culture
Highlight 2 – Taste of the World: A Journey Through Food and Culture
Highlight 3 – QUB DEIB Forum
Highlight 4 – Bridges to China Project
In the cultural display segment, Li Fei further demonstrated her artistry through a traditional tea and incense ceremony, showcasing the elegance and mindfulness of Chinese cultural practices. Attendees showed great enthusiasm, enjoying both the demonstration and a taste of freshly brewed Chinese tea.
The afternoon concluded with networking, mooncake tasting, and refreshments, leaving everyone with warm smiles and shared appreciation for Queen’s commitment to cultural diversity and inclusion.
The Year of Snake arrives earlier than usual in 2025, falling on Wed 29th January. To kick off another festive celebration following the Christmas and New Year holidays, we warmly invite students, staff, and their families to participate in a series of workshops leading up to this special occasion. These workshops reflect the cherished traditions upheld by Chinese-speaking communities as they prepare to welcome the Spring Festival with cultural practices and festivities.
Participants can attend all of the workshops, or choose any one to attend. Children under 18 should be accompanied by their guardian.
Drawing the Snake – A fun competition to show your creativity and imagination across cultures of drawing snakes (蛇 shé), beyond the artistic and professional boundary.
Chinese calligraphy – A great chance to taste the writing of Chinese characters such as 福 (fú, fortune) and many other blessing words, as well as your names in Chinese characters.
Paper crafts – A hands-on experience of developing craftsmanship and making traditional decorations for the Chinese New Year celebration.
