The Old Ways: Cinematic Threads of Craft and Community

In an age of frictionless downloads and next-day delivery, the pull of the handmade feels stronger than ever. This spring, the Barbican Centre presents The Old Ways (Sun 22 Mar – Sat 16 May 2026), a season of international documentaries and animation devoted to craft, creativity and community. Part of London Craft Week, the programme invites us to watch, mend, knit, swap and gather in celebration of making.

Shades of Indigo (2024) Trailer. Directed by Shigeru Yoshida

Running through the season is an invitation to reflect on how we spend our time — and how making might reconnect us with ourselves and the creative histories we inherit. In Shades of Indigo, steam rises from fermentation vats in rural Japan as cloth is dipped, lifted and transformed from green to luminous blue. We follow young dyer Ryuta Sasaki as he coaxes indigo from leaf to pigment, tending the vat like a living companion. Once widespread, plant indigo has been overtaken by synthetics; here, a slower, more attentive rhythm opens up. Dr Linda Brassington – Chair of the Textile Society and author of Indigo and Resist Dyeing – introduces the film, tracing indigo’s deep roots in Japanese culture and its enduring resonance today...

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Image Credits:

Lead: To Your Hands (2025), Directed by Ana Mouyis. An experimental animated documentary that weaves together the stories of Cypriots who continue the local traditions of hand-made lace and hand-made halloumi.

All further images as credited in captions.