Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft

About

Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft is home to a permanent collection that showcases the work of artists and craftspeople living and working in Ditchling – a village which nurtured some of the 20th century’s most innovative and creative ideas in crafts and design.

The museum’s Accredited collection includes the work of internationally renowned craftspeople including Eric Gill, Edward Johnston and Ethel Mairet. The collection tells the story of the Guild of St Joseph and St Dominic - a Roman Catholic artistic community who experimented with communal life and self-sufficiency. Two miles north of the village on Ditchling Common, the Guild built homes, a chapel, and workshops for silversmiths, stone carvers, carpenters, printers and weavers.

The museum presents two new exhibitions a year alongside the permanent collection. Recent exhibitions include Women’s Work (celebrating forgotten 20th-century craftswomen), Corita Kent, Get With The Action (featuring the art of the Roman Catholic nun and activist) and Taking a Line for a Walk: John Vernon Lord and Friends (a celebration of the acclaimed Ditchling illustrator’s career.)

The museum has been shortlisted for Museum of Year, and recently received Silver in the Beautiful South Tourism Awards for Small Visitor of the Year.

A thriving learning programme accompanies the exhibitions, offering a range of activities for all ages.