This year’s theme for the Ashmolean Museum’s annual One World Family Festival was Nature, and OVADA took part with a workshop titled Weaving the World.

Many thanks to everyone who joined us for a hands-on workshop creating God’s Eyes (or Ojo de Dios) using natural yarns and sticks. The activity explored spiritual symbols and global stories connected to the Pleiades star cluster. Originating with the Indigenous Huichol people of what is now Mexico, Ojos de Dios were traditionally believed to offer protection against evil, danger, and disease.

With our tables nestled among the stunning artefacts of the Ashmolean’s Ancient Egypt collection, the workshop offered families and visitors of all ages the chance to slow down, connect with the materials, and embrace the meditative nature of weaving. Participants left with their own creations, as well as an understanding of how this tradition links nature, navigation, and shared sky knowledge across cultures and seasonal change.

Reflecting this year’s celebration of the natural world, the workshop focused on weaving as a slow, rhythmic process and explored the Pleiades as a shared point of sky knowledge used by cultures around the world to mark time and seasonal change. Together, these elements encouraged participants to reflect on humanity’s long-standing relationship with nature — through materials drawn from it, practices shaped by its cycles, and stories written in the night sky.

This marked OVADA’s third year at the Ashmolean Museum’s One World Family Festival. Previous contributions included creating rangoli patterns from dal inspired by the museum’s collections in 2025, and a block-printing workshop accompanied by Garba dance in 2024. As always, the festival offered a wonderful opportunity to take part in a wide range of engaging activities, including embossed printmaking, river-themed collage, storytelling, and an imaginative eco‑pilgrimage with lantern-making.