West Dean College of arts and crafts opens in the heart of London
Ahead of launching a new campus for both full-time degree and diploma courses and part time courses in September 2024, West Dean College arrives in Bloomsbury from the Sussex countryside, giving Londoners the chance to make their mark this Spring and Summer with an inspiring range of short courses.
Between 4 April and 27 June 2024, Londoners and visitors to the capital looking to learn new skills, meet new people, and boost wellbeing after the long winter months, will be able to choose from an eclectic range of over 100 one-day, two-day and weekend creative courses across the arts, craft, design and conservation.
Since opening in 1971 as a centre for education and training in conservation and the visual and applied arts, with a specialist focus on artisanal craftsmanship, West Dean has built a global reputation as a home for groundbreaking creativity and world-leading conservation. Housed within a stately home, nestled in the idyllic environs of the South Downs National Park, the college offers the widest range of full and part time courses on its rural campus.
Now, for the first time, the magic of West Dean will be transported from West Sussex to London where a selection of its signature classes taught by accomplished and award-winning experts, from published novelists to calligraphy masters, will be offered. From traditional techniques passed down through generations, to modern twists on classic creative pursuits, the programme will feature courses in painting, life drawing, photography, textiles, printmaking and writing, alongside highly specialised courses, from ceramic conservation and Japanese woodblock printmaking, to Passementerie weaving to writing crime fiction. Encouraging fresh approaches that are sustainable and promote a sense of wellbeing, all courses will be rooted in West Dean’s founding belief that ‘making makes lives better’.
The short courses will take place in the light-filled studios of West Dean’s newly renovated London HQ, located in Bloomsbury in the heart of London’s thriving Knowledge Quarter - a stone's throw from the University of London, SOAS, the British Library and the Museum of London. Tailor-made for Londoners with busy lives, day courses will start mid-morning to allow for travel while evening courses ensure people can attend after work. Please see the full list of courses here.
From September 2024, full and part-time students studying on degree and diploma courses at West Dean’s KLC Design School will also be based at the campus, following a move from their current location in Chelsea Harbour.
In recent years, interest in art, craft and making of all kinds from ceramics and book binding to interior design, has seen huge growth. For over fifty years, West Dean has trained the artists and craftspeople who have kept alive endangered heritage and artisanal skills now being valued once again. Well before ceramics became the chosen hobby and mindfulness refuge of hipsters and Hollywood stars, West Dean understood the health and environmental benefits of making. West Dean's bold expansion, stands in contrast to declining provision for creative courses in further education and higher education.
Images courtesy of West Dean College
Find out more:
www.westdean.ac.uk
@westdeancollege
Between 4 April and 27 June 2024, Londoners and visitors to the capital looking to learn new skills, meet new people, and boost wellbeing after the long winter months, will be able to choose from an eclectic range of over 100 one-day, two-day and weekend creative courses across the arts, craft, design and conservation.
Since opening in 1971 as a centre for education and training in conservation and the visual and applied arts, with a specialist focus on artisanal craftsmanship, West Dean has built a global reputation as a home for groundbreaking creativity and world-leading conservation. Housed within a stately home, nestled in the idyllic environs of the South Downs National Park, the college offers the widest range of full and part time courses on its rural campus.
Now, for the first time, the magic of West Dean will be transported from West Sussex to London where a selection of its signature classes taught by accomplished and award-winning experts, from published novelists to calligraphy masters, will be offered. From traditional techniques passed down through generations, to modern twists on classic creative pursuits, the programme will feature courses in painting, life drawing, photography, textiles, printmaking and writing, alongside highly specialised courses, from ceramic conservation and Japanese woodblock printmaking, to Passementerie weaving to writing crime fiction. Encouraging fresh approaches that are sustainable and promote a sense of wellbeing, all courses will be rooted in West Dean’s founding belief that ‘making makes lives better’.
The short courses will take place in the light-filled studios of West Dean’s newly renovated London HQ, located in Bloomsbury in the heart of London’s thriving Knowledge Quarter - a stone's throw from the University of London, SOAS, the British Library and the Museum of London. Tailor-made for Londoners with busy lives, day courses will start mid-morning to allow for travel while evening courses ensure people can attend after work. Please see the full list of courses here.
From September 2024, full and part-time students studying on degree and diploma courses at West Dean’s KLC Design School will also be based at the campus, following a move from their current location in Chelsea Harbour.
In recent years, interest in art, craft and making of all kinds from ceramics and book binding to interior design, has seen huge growth. For over fifty years, West Dean has trained the artists and craftspeople who have kept alive endangered heritage and artisanal skills now being valued once again. Well before ceramics became the chosen hobby and mindfulness refuge of hipsters and Hollywood stars, West Dean understood the health and environmental benefits of making. West Dean's bold expansion, stands in contrast to declining provision for creative courses in further education and higher education.
Images courtesy of West Dean College
Find out more:
www.westdean.ac.uk
@westdeancollege