Summer Short Courses
Our short courses are a great way to explore a specific art form or approach. You can try your hand at a new art form or develop and progress in an art form you’ve experienced before. Most courses last eight weeks.
Where funding is available, we can provide your place free of charge if you are on a low income or receive means-tested benefits. To find out about the cost of the course and entry requirements please visit our ‘Creative Courses’ page by clicking here.
If you have any questions about the courses, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.
COURSE DATES
Starting: week of 13 May 2024
Half term break:
27 - 30 May 2024
Ending: week of 8 July 2024*
*unless otherwise stated
“This course was amazing and genuinely helped my mental wellbeing immeasurably. The tutor was supportive and inspiring.”
Suitable for beginners or those new to the art form
Suitable for those with some experience in the art form who want to progress
Short Courses
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Writing for Children
WAITING LIST
This is a 7-week course
with Antonia MaxwellExplore and celebrate children’s stories and develop your own writing for children. Through shared reading and discussion, you will investigate different genres of writing for children, and use these as a basis to develop your own writing for children. You will learn about idea generation, how to create believable characters, how to build a fictional world and how to plot a story. You will investigate different writing techniques to develop your own voice and produce a scene or short chapter which will form part of or a starting point for a story for children.
Suitable for beginners or those with creative writing experience. You must have an intermediate level of reading, writing, listening and speaking in English.
Tuesdays 2-5pm
City Church, 12-14 Cheddars Ln, Cambridge CB5 8LD -
Exploring Art
WAITING LIST
with Sa’adiah Khan
Explore a variety of different art materials using playful techniques that will spark inspiration. Through guided demonstrations you will have the freedom to explore each technique. You will experiment with approaches including string art, decoupage, ombre art, stencil art and splatter art to create your own collection of artworks.
Suitable for beginners or those new to the art form and for those with some experience in the art form who want to progress
Wednesdays 1.30-4.30pm
Church of the Good Shepherd Hall, Mansel Way, Cambridge, CB4 2ET -
Discover Drama
CALL US TO APPLY
with Rosina Piovani
This fun introductory course will allow you to explore drama techniques collectively with the aim to re-connect with yourself, others and with our environment. Using our imagination, we will go through an introduction to theatre and ways of expressing ourselves using games, improvisation, and scene study.
Suitable for beginners or those new to the art form.
Tuesdays 10.15am-1.15pm
Lichfield Road Community Hall, Cambridge, CB1 3SJ -
Printing in Nature
WAITING LIST
with Sarah Strachan
Start or rediscover your connections with printmaking in this introduction to techniques and approaches inspired by nature. Spend time outdoors, explore green space and tune into nature’s conversations. Then use your experience to experiment, play and create print-based art works indoors and outdoors, on your own and with others. This course can involve spending time outside, but this can be adapted to meet mobility needs.
Suitable for beginners or those new to the art form.Mondays 1.30-4.30pm
St Martin’s Church Hall, 127 Suez Road, Cambridge, CB1 3QD -
Online Become a Nature Poet
CALL US TO APPLY
with Nancy Pardo
This course is for those who want to explore their relationship with nature through poetry. You will make close observation of nature, think deeply about the connections between external and inner landscapes, and experiment with poetic form and techniques (free verse, slam, haiku, etc). Using examples, discussions, practical exercises, and conversation with guest speakers, you will develop the key skills needed to write your own portfolio of poems.
Suitable for beginners or those with creative writing experience. You must have an intermediate level of reading, writing, listening and speaking in English.
Wednesdays 11am-1pm
Online -
Online Painting Nature
WAITING LIST
with Sasha DeWitt
This fun and exploratory course will introduce you to the basic methods of a sketchbook practice, with a focus on nature. By the end of the course, you’ll will be able to use the methods to keep a nature sketchbook and create artwork using various media and methods, based on observing the natural world.
Suitable for beginners or those new to the art form.
Mondays 2-4pm
Online -
Online Introduction to Creative Arts
8-week course 23 April – 11 June
with Melanie Missin, Belona Greenwood, Sasha DeWitt & Dan Donovan.
4 tutors | 4 creative subjects exploring nature
This course aims to introduce you to the creative arts, online. Explore materials, media and techniques to begin mark making with no fear of a blank canvas or page. This course is suitable for learners who haven’t had much opportunity to play creatively, or those who want to return to a starting point from which to explore anew from. Sasha, Mel, Belona and Dan will guide you to explore accessible, provided materials to quickly realise your creative potential. You will experiment with words, textiles, and paint, in response to nature and your creative experience.
Watch the intro video by clicking here.
Suitable for beginners. Fenland district and Whittlesey residents will be prioritised.
Tuesdays 10.30am - 12.30pm
Online - Zoom
Past Short Courses