Contemporary Craft – A London Gallery Survey

Tutor: Stefano Santilli
Level: Beginner
Date: A one-day course: Friday 3 May 2024, 10am-4pm
Price: £125

Course details
A walking tour exploring current exhibitions of craft and design/art practices in a range of London galleries.

We will start the day at Dilke House with a screen-based preview of the work and galleries to be visited, to raise some questions and share some thoughts. For example:

Are there some central themes amongst contemporary makers?

What are their motivations and reasoning for particular choices of material and technique?

Why has this work been selected for an exhibition?

The objective is not to seek unequivocal conclusions, but to achieve a greater critical vocabulary through a breadth of opinions - whether you are a creative practitioner yourself or a collector or a curious enthusiast.

This active tour will be mostly on foot; some London Transport bus travel might be included to save time. Each visit will be quite brief so that we can experience a range of venues; however, you will receive a map of the itinerary so you can revisit on another occasion (subject to the work still being current in the gallery programme).

We will return to Dilke House to reflect on our collective thoughts and end the one-day course.

Materials to bring
N/A

Materials included
N/A

Equipment provided
All necessary equipment will be provided for use on the course.

About the tutor
For the last twenty-five years, Stefano Santilli has taught the subjects of design and craft at universities in the UK, Sweden, Italy, Romania and UAE, recognised twice with awards for excellence in teaching and learning.

General information
Short courses are open to anyone aged 18 and over.
The course fee covers tuition and materials where stated. You will need to bring all other items listed under the ‘Materials to bring’ section.

Refreshments
Coffee and tea are included in the course fee, but you will need to bring lunch with you to eat in the refreshments room. There are plenty of local venues to purchase food locally, if needed, though we recommend that you bring a packed lunch.

Refunds and cancellations
Cancellations are permitted up to 6 weeks before the start of a course and subject to a £35 cancellation fee. Refunds will not be given for cancellations less than 6 weeks before the start of a course.

Students who do not attend due to illness, personal or professional commitments do not have the right to a refund. For this reason, we recommend that students take out personal insurance against any unforeseeable circumstances before the start of their course. It is not possible to transfer to future courses.

We reserve the right to cancel a class in unusual circumstances. We try to avoid this where possible, but sometimes it is unavoidable. In this situation, a full refund will be given. We’re sorry that we cannot be financially responsible for extreme weather conditions, travel disruption or any other situations that are outside our control.

Access
If you have any specific access needs, we will need to know about your access requirements in advance. Please tell us about your needs in confidence by emailing: bookingsoffice@westdean.ac.uk

This venue has steps to the front reception, with limited access via a side gate to the ground floor. There is a small lift to higher floors or stairs.

Safety
Short course students are required to sign a safety compliance form as part of West Dean Health and Safety regulations.

Disclaimer
The information given is accurate at the time of publication. However, West Dean College reserves the right to cancel or amend courses if circumstances require.