#CreateToRelate – free online tutorials & taster sessions @ Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft

#CreateToRelate, a series of free online tutorials, taster sessions and talks for adults and children, has been launched by Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft to keep us connected during the UK lockdown.

All led by some of the country’s leading craftspeople, who will encourage the use of materials we have to hand, the sessions will teach viewers the basics of the core crafts usually on display in the museum. The programme has been created by the museum to help the country feel connected, creative and calm during this troubling time.

A series of workshops will be broadcast live from the homes and studios of craftspeople across the country, including Philippa Stanton (@5ftinf), textile-printer Sarah Burns (@patternmakers) and natural dyer Ross Belton (@spottedhyenas). Finding inspiration in surprising places and using unexpected items to create is the order of the day.

Primary aged children will be entertained by weekly Virtual Museum Club, broadcast on IGTV every Tuesday at 3.30pm, a digital alternative to the museum’s regular after school club. Worksheets and activity packs will also be available to keep the kids creating. Viewers can keep connected to the museum with behind-the-scenes secrets on the most prized items in the collection. The programme will run until the museum reopens.

Steph Fuller, Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft Director and CEO, said: “It’s a good time to be channelling amazing American artist Corita Kent. Her commitment to social justice and belief in the power of art to unite people is what we need in a time of social isolation.  She wrote, “We can all talk, we can all write, and if the blocks are removed, we can all draw and paint and make things”. I hope #CreateToRelate will bring some of her spirit into your lives.”

Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft reIies heavily on income from entry fees, so the closure is having a serious impact on the museum’s financial security. Donations, which are crucial to the museum’s survival, can be made here:

To see the full programme announcements over the coming weeks, follow the museum on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @MuseumArtCraft