Tuesday 8 September, 11-12 p.m.: Tour: Textile Design at Charleston Farmhouse with Darren Clarke

Charleston Museum, Firle, West Firle, Lewes BN8 6LL, United Kingdom

Charleston was the modernist home and studio of painters Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, and a gathering place for some of the twentieth century’s most influential artists, writers and thinkers known collectively as the Bloomsbury Group. Set within the Sussex countryside, Charleston became a space where art, decoration, literature and radical ideas were woven into everyday life. Every surface of the house reflects this spirit of creativity, from its hand-painted furniture and walls to its textiles, ceramics and personal objects.

Today, Charleston continues this legacy through a vibrant year-round programme of exhibitions, festivals, educational projects and public events that celebrate art, creativity and experimental thinking.

Event Description
Join Dr Darren Clarke for a special guided tour of Charleston House exploring the histories, relationships and creative collaborations at the heart of the Bloomsbury Group. Accompanied by one of Charleston’s specialist textile volunteers, the tour will offer a closer look at the remarkable fabrics, furnishings and decorative details that make Charleston one of the most distinctive artistic interiors in Britain.

Moving through the house and studio spaces, visitors will discover how Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant blurred the boundaries between fine art, craft and domestic life, transforming Charleston into a living artwork. The tour will highlight the importance of textiles within the Bloomsbury aesthetic, from hand-painted fabrics and upholstery to stitched and woven elements that formed part of the group’s wider artistic language.

Alongside insights into the house itself, the tour will explore the personal and creative histories of the Bloomsbury circle, considering how ideas around art, design, gender, politics and modern living shaped both the interiors and the lives lived within them.

Event Cancellation Policy
All bookings are non-refundable. However, if you let us know that you are unable to attend an event you have booked at least two weeks before the event, we will open up your place. If we find another participant, you will be offered a credit note.

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