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Floral Watercolours with Joanne Whitaker

Celebrate the Spring season by painting loose watercolour florals with Swarthmore artist and tutor, Jo. During this session you will be taught specific techniques to keep your work bright and fresh.  

You will be under the expert guidance of Jo, who will take you step by step through the process of using watercolours. This session is beginner friendly, but those with more experience will be able to hone their skills and gain useful insights!!

Please note - this workshop is suitable for beginners but they must be 18+
 

Esther’s Revenge – Meet the Writers

Lagos based playwright, Kenneth Uphopho offers support to anyone interested in learning how to write a play. 

This dialogue based workshop will reveal itself as the medium by which a character comes alive. Discussion and conversation will be a key element of this workshop. You will learn about dramaturgical techniques crucial to writing and performing a play such as ‘Esther’s Revenge’.  

Who am I? North African Narratives

An exploration of North African creativity in the North West of England, Leeds and beyond. Join Jessica El Mal (Manchester Morocco) of the Arab British Centre chair a panel with Hannaa Hamdache (Leeds/Algeria) Mohammad Sultan (Manchester/ Libya) to find out more about their work, engage in cross-community dialogue and celebrate North African heritage and its impact on contemporary diaspora identities in the UK.

Programme Highlights:

Traditional & Contemporary North African Dance

Live Music & Spoken Word Performances

Coffee, craft and chat with Bowers

Come and have a cuppa and piece of home made cake, try a new craft or just have a chat!  Meet some of the Bowers trustees and find out about our wonderful building.  

Every Wednesday morning between 10am and 12pm in our central cafe area we will have a variety of crafts available (think knitting, crochet, card making etc…) and our little cafe will be available selling hot and cold drinks, snacks and home made cakes.  Prize bingo at 50p per ticket will be played.  

Lino Printing - An Introduction

Learn the art of lino printing with multidisciplinary artist and experienced tutor Annie Cunniffe.

This workshop will introduce you to safely using the various tools needed to produce stunning prints.  No experience of drawing, painting or printing is needed and this workshop is suitable for all abilities to just experiment and play. Learn how to successfully turn your lino cuts into beautiful prints using a printing press or brayer.

All materials, including paint, lino and cutting tools are provided at no additional cost.

Palette Knife Painting - with Heather Burton

We are thrilled to be bringing this follow up to the popular Painting with Knives workshop with professional artist Heather Burton.

Heather will guide you through the process of making a bold and expressive painting from beginning to end and ensure you create a magnificent painting to take home. Using the palette knife you will learn how to correctly apply and layer colour to a canvas to give you a strong composition and tonal value.
 
This event is for both experienced and beginner artists who want to try something bold and new.  

Easter Watercolours with Joanne Whitaker

In celebration of Swarthmore opening on Saturdays we're offering a selection of fabulously affordable workshops throughout 2025.

These two hour sessions are perfect for you if you're wanting to try something new or if you'd like to refresh your skills!

Enjoy this Easter inspired workshop exploring techniques in watercolour. Produce chicks, eggs and bunnies.

Make four watercolour images which can be inserted into greetings cards to take home and gift to friends.

Life Drawing with Ellie Andrews

Join us for a 3 week life drawing course with Leeds Drawing Club founder Ellie Andrews.

This workshop is designed for those who are interested in learning about different approaches to life drawing and who are looking to build upon their existing skills by using the opportunity to draw 1 long pose each week. Ideal for those who have some experience in life drawing, but beginners are also very welcome. (For absolute beginners we recommend our brilliant Intro to Life Drawing Course with Tessa Houghton)
 

Drawing Heads and Faces - April

A single tutored drawing session focussing on the Head.

Working with a life model for One Pose throughout the session.

Learning and understanding the positioning of facial features and skull structure using comparative measuring.

Looking at examples of how other artists have approached drawing a head and portraiture in their work, and exploring your own personal approach to mark making.

Experimenting with different ways of applying charcoal and pencil to reveal character and feeling.