Reviving Craft: Reflection of the Mind
Featuring more than 60 artists, a landmark exhibition that traces China’s living craft heritage, exploring objects of art and design as mirrors of the mind.
No booking required
| Dates | 16–27 Sep 2026 |
| Times | Open daily 11am–6pm (last admission 5.30pm) Please note the exhibition is closing early for the day at 4pm (last admission 3.30pm) on Wed 16 Sep. |
| Space | Embankment Galleries South Wing |
| Price | Free |
Across stoneware, ceramics, glass, jewellery, textiles, and furniture, Reviving Craft: Reflection of the Mind explores what craft means – culturally, philosophically and materially.
It traces China's living craft heritage, not as a preserved artefact but as an ongoing conversation between traditional and contemporary design. Digital and immersive elements run throughout, bringing heritage techniques into the present through modern technology and imagination.
Rooted in Eastern thought, it draws on Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism to argue that objects reflect the mind: not just made but thought into being, carrying the inner life of their maker. Reviving Craft: Reflection of the Mind offers a different way of looking, one that challenges assumptions about the relationship between maker, object, and viewer.
Structured around three inward states – Chengxin (clearing the mind), Xiuxin (refining the mind), and Yangxin (nourishing the mind) – the exhibition suggests that craft is neither a relic of the past nor a luxury of the present, but a living, evolving practice.
Reviving Craft is an Official Special Project Partner of London Design Festival 2026.
Essential Visitor Information
Buggies – Buggies are permitted within the exhibition.
Food and drink – Drinks with secure lids are permitted inside the exhibition. Food is not permitted.
Animals – Pets are not permitted inside the exhibition, with the exception of assistance or support animals.
Photography – Visitors are welcome to take photographs and share them. Please be mindful of other visitors when taking photos. Professional photography equipment, including tripods, is not permitted.
Bags – Visitors are advised to bring small bags only. For the safety of the artworks, suitcases and large bags are not permitted inside the exhibition.
Cloakroom – There is no cloakroom or coat check available. Please note that suitcases and large bags are not permitted within the exhibition. The nearest luggage storage facility is at Charing Cross Station, approximately a 10-minute walk from Somerset House.
