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Workshops & Courses

Workshops and courses around South Kensington. Learn from our experts, whether it is a new language, illustration, drawing classes, photography or philosophy - these are just some of the new skills you can dive into for adults and children.

Make Beaut and Mend, with Aya Haider

19th June
10am-12pm
Leighton House and Sambourne House Museum
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Parents and carers are invited to join artist Aya Haidar in this free, two hour drop-in session to Make Beaut and Mend sentimental textiles from either their child's or their own childhoods. Do bring an item (or more than one!) that needs mending and embellishing, with guidance and support from Aya.

Lands of the Baltic: Art, Masters, Cities 1750-1900

31st May- 5th June
10:30am-1:30pm
V&A
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Discover the art world of the Baltic region, and learn how artists from Denmark and Norway in the west to Finland and Lithuania in the east emerged as leading figures in European modernism.

Crochet at the Museum with TOFT

26th May, 28th July, 29th Sept, 24th Nov
7pm-9:30pm
Natural History Museum
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Crochet a special edition Natural History Museum creation at our TOFT crochet workshop.

Design Your Way to Net Zero

17th Oct
9:30am-4:30pm
Design Museum Kensington
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In this one-day decarbonisation workshop for businesses, learn about innovative design-led net zero solutions and discover methods and practical tools to measure and reduce carbon emissions in the workplace.

The Birds & the Bees: Queer Ecology of The Royal Parks

6th-20th June
Times vary
Hyde Park
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Throughout June, join ecologist Connor Butler on a 90-minute guided nature walk through the Royal Parks to discover the seedy lives of plants and how Queerness can be found in everything from birds to bugs.

Pollinator Parade Family Walk

3rd July-22nd August
Times vary
The Royal Parks
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The buzzing of bees is the sound of summer! Did you know that it’s not just bees that love visiting flowers? The blooms in the parks are also visited by butterflies, hoverflies, moths and beetles! Join the Parks and = explore and learn about our pollinator pals in the parks.

Family Fun: Bees!

22nd July
11am-12:30pm
Leighton House and Sambourne House Museum
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Bees are so important as pollinators for our food crops and other plants. But do you know how many species of UK bee there are, or how long their tongues are to reach their favourite nectar? Come along to this interactive workshop and discover so much more.

Family Fun: An Introduction to Palestinian Embroidery

10th June
11am-12:30pm
Leighton House and Sambourne House Museum
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Children will learn how to cross-stitch their own birds, a traditional motif in Palestinian embroidery, in this fun, calm and creative workshop, supporting their fine motor skills along the way. Children will also learn more about the significance of this special Palestinian tradition.

Workshop: Create in Clay

Dates and times vary
Design Museum Kensington
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Taking inspiration from our exhibition Ai Weiwei: Making Sense, this one-day workshop will be an opportunity to have an immersive pottery experience trying a wide range of techniques and approaches.

Tatreez: Introduction to Palestinian Embroidery

10th June
2pm-4:15pm
Leighton House and Sambourne House Museum
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Participants will learn how to cross-stitch a tree of life, a traditional motif in Palestinian embroidery, in this calm and creative workshop. Participants will also learn more about the history and significance of Palestinian embroidery.

Photography Summer School

13th-18th July
10am-5pm
Leighton House and Sambourne House Museum
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Led by Cheryl Newman, this five-day course is a mixture of practical assignments, history of photography talks and visits to photographers' studios and galleries, that will inspire you to start taking photographs with confidence and skill.

Down to Earth

17th June
2pm, 3:30pm and 5pm
Institut français
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Explore the notion of concrete, and the numerous forms it can take with Architecture studio Cookies, in partnership with Imperial College London and Institut français. The workshops is open to a wide audience, from children to adults.

Tapestry Weaving Workshop

15th June
6pm-9pm
The Royal Society of Sculptors
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This weaving workshop will equip you with the fundamentals of weaving on a frame loom and introduce you to the creative possibilities of weaving using a verity of fibres and sculpting materials. Produce a small tapestry, and learn exciting techniques to set you up for future projects.

State of Clay

20th July
6pm-8pm
The Royal Society of Sculptors
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Experience a session throwing miniature porcelain ceramic works on a specialist small wheel, decorated with coloured slips. Pieces will be fired in an electric kiln after the event.

Arabic Calligraphy Workshops by Soraya Syed

23rd & 24th June
3pm-5pm
Cromwell Place
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Enjoy this hands-on session with artist and calligrapher Soraya Syed. Working with ancient materials in a contemporary context, connect with earthly tools and materials.

Artist Talk: Joumana Medlej - Words to Paint the Invisible

8th June
6pm
Cromwell Place
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Joumana Medlej describes how she uses the visual power of a lost calligraphic tradition to create compositions made of pure meaning, and how she selects and prepares materials to achieve their fullest expression.

Masterclass Courses

Dates and times vary
Natural History Museum
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Join the Museum's leading scientists and curators as they discuss contemporary research themes through up-to-the-minute scientific discoveries, current research and the enormous natural history collections housed within the Museum.

Online Learning at Goethe-Institut

Online
Goethe-Institut
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Learn German Online - anywhere, anytime and as part of a group! You will not be learning alone but in a small group of between six and 16 participants. The course will introduce you to the German language on the basis of everyday situations, and you will practice your German skills in various ways.

Institut français: Learn French online

Online
Institut français
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Have you always wanted to learn French but never had the time? Or felt self-conscious amongst a group of strangers in a classroom? Well now you have no excuses! The Institut français has a dedicated team of native speakers who can teach you one-to-one - or even with a group of friends.

Image credit: Getty images

Tailor-Made German Courses at the Goethe-Institut

Various
Online & Onsite
Goethe-Institut
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Study German at the Goethe-Institut London with their tailor-made courses. Whether online in their virtual classrooms at your own pace or onsite in South Ken, choose your level from beginner to intermediate to advanced.

V&A Academy

Summer 2023
V&A
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With V&A Academy, bring the richness and rigour of the museum into your home with online courses and practical workshops, or study in-person in at V&A South Kensington. Learn from world-leading experts with V&A Academy this summer – last chance to book.

V&A Academy Courses

Give the gift of creative education, no matter where they are in the world, with V&A Academy online courses. From the studying the colours of Van Gogh, to the learning the history of jewellery, they make the perfect gift for yourself or a loved one.

The Web(s) of Life

19th Jun-17th Oct
Serpentine
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From June to September 2023 Serpentine will present The Web(s) of Life, a major new exhibition by artist and researcher Tomás Saraceno. The exhibition will present a series of artworks, activities & experiences that explore the ways life forms, weather systems and climate change are connected.

Serpentine Arts Technologies

May-October
Serpentine
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Challenging the role that technologies play in culture and society is part of Serpentine’s commitment to supporting new artistic experiments. The programme initiates and supports artists in developing artworks that deploy technologies as a medium, tool or topic, often operating beyond gallery walls.