We caught up with short course tutor Sophie Bowen ahead of her Pigment Week slow marks course in February. Here she tells us about her creative journey, finding beauty in the imperfect, and using creativity as a catalyst for discovery.

Ahead of his woodturning courses in our new autumn/winter programme we sat down with tutor Richard Findley to discuss the value of making, the addiction nature of woodturning and why in-person tuition still trumps all.

Ahead of her upcoming short courses in lampshade making we sat down with Moji Salehi to discuss inspiration, creativity and why it is so essential for humans to engage with it.

We’ve listened to your feedback about wanting greater value, flexibility and choice when eating at West Dean, so we are introducing some important changes to our catering services for our short course students from 1 October 2025. 

We spoke with Arms & Armour Conservation course tutors David Edge and Deborah Lee about getting their footings in arms and armour conservation, why this holds such an importance and key challenges being faced in the industry right now.

On the final day of his recent water colour short course we sat down in the Oak Hall with Brian Smith to discuss his upcoming courses as part of the West Dean x Petworth House collaboration.

If you're attending a summer school at West Dean London Campus in Bloomsbury this August, you're perfectly situated to enjoy a rich array of evening activities. Discover the top five things to do nearby after your classes.

We spoke to Brenda Keneghan, a conservation consultant in modern materials and West Dean’s Identification of Plastic Materials course tutor about the historical development of plastics, the future of plastic artefacts in museums, and the challenges and considerations facing plastic preservation.

Akiko Fujikawa talks us through the significance of the Fujimoris' visit from Japan and why it is so crucial to keep traditional Japanese papermaking alive for future generations.