V&A Academy Unlocked days invite you behind the scenes, bringing you face-to-face with the V&A's extraordinary collections.

Your study day will begin with an introductory lecture by the Course Director Jennifer Wearden on the influence of The Great Exhibition of 1851 on textile design. This will be followed by a gallery tour through the British Galleries led by Jennifer Wearden which introduces you to a variety of textiles to fire your imagination and inspire you beyond the study day through discovering story-telling and the designing/making processes. You will join a show and tell session with internationally acclaimed textile designer, Sarah Campbell, who co-founded the renowned design partnership Collier Campbell with her sister Susan Collier, to learn about her making process and practices and hear how the V&A’s collections inspires her.

This Unlocked study day is designed to complement the 12-week online Summer term course ‘Textiles:1800 to 2000’ led by Jennifer Wearden but you do not need to be enrolled on any online course to join an ‘Unlocked’ event.

Book here