A quick introduction to the world of crafts

At a time when we all appear to be obsessed with work – finding it, doing it and keeping it – it seems that the concept of learning a trade has fallen into neglect. In the past, learning a trade and mastering a technique were extremely important, since everything was hand-made with care, using techniques that were passed on from masters to apprentices. Although we are now in an age of mass production, there is still interest in crafts, as demonstrated by the Entre Talleres i Museus programme, which, on 6 May, will offer eleven crafts workshops in which you can learn the basics of a number of different crafts techniques. The initiative will take place thanks to the collaboration between Barcelona Council, ICUB and A-FAD, together with the city’s museums.

Each workshop will consist of two sessions, one starting at 11am and another beginning at 1pm, with a total duration of 75 minutes. At the Design Museum there will be a jewellery master class with the participation of Laura Brichs. At the Music Museum, we can learn more about making instruments with Xavier Lozano and Alberto Carreño. The Museum of Natural Sciences proposes an introduction to the techniques involved in preparing natural collections by two taxidermists, Jessica Martínez and José Carrillo. The Frederic Marés Museum will offer a wood carving workshop with Núria Albalat, while the History Museum of Barcelona will focus on blowing glass with Ferran Collado. The Born Center of Culture and Memory will offer a hat making workshop with Andrea Vietc, and the Ethnological Museum will host two workshops: one on basket weaving with Joan Farré and another on textiles and clothing with Assumpció Espada. Meanwhile the Monastery of Santa Maria de Pedralbes will be hosting a workshop on the world of aromatic seeds and perfumes led by Ernesto Collado. Finally, the City History Museum will hold a workshop on contemporary handwriting with Keith Adams, and the Photographic Archive will explore the world of cyanotypes with Kind of Cyan.

All of these workshops are scheduled for the same time and are designed for small groups, so those interested are advised to sign up early at the following link.