- Venue
- Various venues throughout Sussex
- Starts
- Saturday, June 14, 2025
- Ends
- Sunday, June 22, 2025
- Address
- Various venues throughout Sussex
- Location
- South East England
- Organiser
- ROSA Magazine
A new initiative from ROSA Magazine – Sussex Craft Week – encourages people to take part in crafting activities to boost mental and physical wellbeing and to celebrate local heritage. A huge variety of workshops are available to book now.
We live in stressful times and data shows that mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression are at an all time high. But there is something we can do about it. Tactile activities, such as throwing pots, knitting, sewing, hand-printing and woodwork, have been proven to improve mood and lower anxiety. It’s all down to the multi-sensory engagement they offer and the way that repetitive actions allow the mind to enter a ‘flow’ state. It kickstarts happiness-inducing neurotransmitters, while also reducing stress hormones and creating feelings of satisfaction.
Benefits supported by research
A study published by the New Scientist last year suggests that arts and crafts boost well-being more than employment. Researchers at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) analysed more than 7000 responses to the annual Taking Part Survey and found that, even after accounting for factors like health and employment status, engaging in arts and crafts was associated with higher scores across their measures of mental health. Indeed, the positive effect of creative pursuits on a person’s sense that life is worthwhile was 1.6 times higher than employment status.
Helen Keyes, Head of Psychology, Sport and Sensory Science at ARU, said: “There is something about crafting that gives a sense of progress and self-expression in a way that employment often doesn’t. You get to be really proud of what you’re creating and see progress in front of your eyes in real time.”
Sussex heritage
There is a wealth of creative history that Sussex can boast of and it’s this legacy that has led to it being recognised as the hub of the current craft revival. Sussex is the place to take part in arts and craft activities for the sheer pleasure of it, as well as learn ancient skills, many of which are being saved from extinction by master craftsmen and their new disciples.
What’s on offer
Whether you are looking to reduce anxiety or fend off dementia, or simply seeking inspiration, community and fun, then Sussex Craft Week offers ample opportunities. An exciting list of handcraft workshops and demonstrations are on offer as part of a diverse programme of exhibitions, courses and events.
Choose from the likes of willow weaving, book binding or collage at the stylish coaching inn, The Bell in Ticehurst; medieval ironwork, jewellery, woodcut printing, glass engraving or natural dyeing at the renowned West Dean College; sculpting in a beautiful barn in Friston; stone carving at the famous Skelton workshops in Streat; or children’s clay and raku workshops in Eastbourne.
Jessica Wood, of Sussex Craft Week, says: “Sussex is at the forefront of the craft renaissance; leading the way in a backlash against a world dominated by the mass-produced, anonymous and faceless.”
Find out more at www.sussexcraftweek.com
Sussex Craft Week
The Festival of Craft
14-22 June 2025
Venues throughout Sussex
www.sussexcraftweek.com
@SussexCraftWeek
#Sussexcraftweek
Sussex Craft Week is a new festival of making and makers launching across East and West Sussex, 14-22 June 2025. Organised by ROSA Magazine in partnership with national craft college West Dean, Sussex Craft Week celebrates the region’s place as both the heart of the contemporary craft movement and the home of heritage craft.
The festival features a dynamic programme of exhibitions, courses, demonstrations, talks and tours at major Sussex arts venues including Atelier beside the Sea, Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, Emma Mason Gallery, Gallery57, Hastings Contemporary, Marine Workshops, Newlands House Gallery, Ottocento, Towner Eastbourne and West Dean. Makers, galleries and businesses across Sussex will be opening their doors for curated events, and visitors can sign up to guided tours.
A full programme of events will launch at the end of April at sussexcraftweek.com along with an interactive map and calendar.
Tickets: Available at sussexcraftweek.com
Guide: ROSA Magazine is publishing a special Sussex Craft Week Guide in May 2025
Galleries, businesses and individual makers who wish to take part are invited to apply before 15 April 2025 at sussexcraftweek.com
