Get closer to design

Talks, courses and workshops

See what's new in the museum's inspiring programme of events.

Please check the event details below to find out more.

Adult Workshop

Workshop: Create in Clay

Taking inspiration from our exhibition Ai Weiwei: Making Sense, this one-day workshop led by Auriol Herford is an opportunity to have an immersive pottery experience trying a wide range of techniques and approaches.

Adult Workshop

Workshop: Sari Draping

Experiment with different drapes, learn how to style and wear a sari with confidence and discover how the modern sari has evolved and been transformed by a new generation in this hands-on session led by Mehala Ford.

Sessions are sold-out except for the 1 July morning session. Join the waiting list via learning@designmuseum.org

Creative session

Growing Together: Garden Assembly

Join us for an afternoon of green bliss at The Dame Sylvia Crowe garden located next to the museum. The event will feature short talks, guided tours, and horticultural activities for all ages with planting designer Susanna Grant and Hackney Herbal.

Adult Workshop

Workshop: Architectural Drawing

Learn simple architectural drawing techniques to capture details and the spirit of our iconic building on paper in this creative session led by artist and educator Wilson Yau.

Online Lecture

Design History: Ai Weiwei and Chinese Material Culture

Join this online lecture with Rose Kerr, Design Museum curator Rachel Hajek and Chief Curator Justin McGuirk to reflect on the story of porcelain mass production in China, discover this lost history of making and how it invites us to reconsider design history in the contemporary world.

Panel discussion

Manifestos: Architecture for a New Generation 2023

Join our annual collaboration with the London Festival of Architecture showcasing progressive manifestos envisioning a more inclusive London, developed by emerging voices in architecture and the built environment.

Adult Workshop

Workshop: Natural Dyes

In this hands-on workshop learn how to use fresh and dried flowers to naturally dye silk in this eco–conscious workshop with designer Georgia Bosson.

Adult Workshop

Workshop: Pewter Casting

Discover how to make small precious objects from pewter using a technique that dates back to the Vikings in this creative workshop led by RubinoWilson studio.

Adult Workshop

Workshop: Terrazzo Casting

Learn how to cast terrazzo using Eco Resin into silicone moulds to make your own coasters in this creative workshop in this creative workshop led by RubinoWilson studio.

Conversation

On Fashion: Whose Sari Now?

Join us to discuss how the contemporary sari endures as a site of design innovation, self-expression and creativity and explore how a length of folded fabric can unravel complex issues of identity, oppression, resistance, emancipation and autonomy.

Creative session

Workshop: The Write Time

Join an afternoon of creative writing with poet, performer and producer Fausta Joly to produce your own little fictions and poetry inspired by encounters with the exhibition Ai Weiwei: Making Sense.

Design Course

School of Speculation 2023

The upcoming free four-week summer school will include public lectures from leading academics and designers, financial guidance and workshops on funding small practices facilitated by course tutors from the design, museum and gallery sectors.

Access Tour

The Offbeat Sari: Audio Described Tour

Join guides Andrew Mashigo and Lynn Cox for a special audio-described tour of the exhibition  The Offbeat Sari for blind and visually impaired visitors and their companions.

Access Tour

The Offbeat Sari: BSL Tour

Join guide Edward Richards for a special tour of the exhibition The Offbeat Sari, delivered in British Sign Language.

Performance and Workshop

Upbeat Steps

Join the pioneering dance company Step Change Studios for an afternoon celebrating Bollywood dance and community. A specialist team will teach a wide range of dance styles for disabled children and adults, people with long-term health conditions, using dance to improve the mental and physical wellbeing of people from disadvantaged, and underserved communities.

Adult Workshop

Workshop: Crochet Your Own Chest Bag

In this creative class, learn how to crochet the MIY (make it yourself) recycled jersey chest bag designed by the Peju Obasa team for their studio series, encouraging everyone to get crafty.

Adult Workshop

Workshop: Design Your Own Map

In this creative session led by illustrator Lucia Vinti, learn how to combine analogue and digital drawing techniques to create a unique map of a location of your choice.

Adult Workshop

Workshop: Screen Print

Join this introductory workshop inspired by the iconic designs held in the museum’s permanent collection and create your own screen-printed image using stencils on a tote bag or tea towel.

Business Workshop

Design Your Way to Net Zero

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.

get involved

Are you aged 14 – 21 and curious about design?

Join the Ardagh Young Creatives and Design Can for an inspiring afternoon of speed networking with professionals working across different design fields. This is an opportunity for young people to ask the burning questions about what it’s really like to work within design and find out more about creative career paths.

Design a Timepiece for the British Railway

Are you a designer, artist, engineer, architect or a student in these fields? Don't miss out! You have until 13 June to enter this once-in-a-lifetime competition for the design of a timepiece for the British rail network.

For schools

Schools workshops

Sustainable Design Schools Programme

Drawing on our recent exhibition 'Waste Age: What can design do?', these creative, design-led workshops will teach students how to become better-informed consumers and responsible future designers. Enquiry now and bring design to your school.

master's course

MA Curating Contemporary Design

Did you know that the Design Museum offers a Master's programme in Curating Contemporary Design in partnership with Kingston University?

Our collaborative degree is one of the world’s foremost postgraduate programmes for design curators, taught by leading academics, curators and designers.

Applications are open to start in 2024.

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