Let's Draw Together: Family Print Room Activity

Let's Draw Together is back at the Ashmolean Museum on Tuesday 27 October, one of several family drawing sessions running in the Western Art Print Room. It's a quiet, focused activity led by the museum's own Print Room staff, and it's aimed at children and adults who enjoy calm environments and like to settle in and concentrate. All the drawing materials are provided, and you'll only be using pencils.

The work you'll be drawing from is taken from the museum's current exhibition, Aphrodite: The Making of a Goddess, which runs from 8 October 2026 to 11 April 2027. It's a huge show that draws on more than 5,000 years of history, following Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty and desire — later worshipped by the Romans as Venus — from her earliest origins on the island of Cyprus through the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, Renaissance Europe and into the present day. It brings together archaeology, sculpture, painting, contemporary art and fashion, with more than 150 objects on loan from museums around the world.

Because the session is set in the Western Art Print Room rather than the main galleries, it's a chance to work from prints in a more intimate setting. The staff lead the way, so you don't need to be an experienced artist to join in; it's more about the act of looking and drawing than the finished result. If you're taking a child, it's a good way to spend an hour together in a quiet space.

The session runs from 2:30pm to 3:15pm, and it's free, though booking is essential. Each ticket covers entry to the Print Room for one adult and one child aged 8 and over. If the 27th doesn't work, the session is repeated on 28, 29 and 30 October, and again on 19 December.