Creative letter writing

Location: 7 Owen Gate

Date: Friday 16th August 2024

Time: 10am-12pm 

Join artists Bex Harvey and  Sarah Li in this free workshop exploring Oriental Museum collections to discuss LGBTQIA+ histories, respond to the collections through creative letter-writing. Imagine stories, characters and alternative romanticised worlds in this queer take on communication in a digital age. Inspired by “platonic love letters” that the artists wrote to each other during lockdown. 

All welcome, no experience of writing necessary! Sarah and Bex will be offering creative writing prompts and idea-generating exercises which will result in both individual and group devised pieces.  

Please sign up to the workshop beforehand as this workshop has a limited number of places. 

Image description: black and white images of a postcard on a baby pink background. The front of the postcard is a black and white image, exterior. A large tree grows by a narrow river. The rest of the landscape is sparse. On the reverse of the postcard is text, at the top it says, “Carte Postale”. It is addressed, “Chère Cher, Bisous, Sonny.” The letter writing reads, “Her garden was her haven. It was one of the few places where she was safe. It was the only place where she could create, flourish and nurture. She took refuge in the plants. Hiding out; waiting. She withdrew to its house but lived in it. The house was its extension, not the other way around. Apparently she sold her flowers at the cemetery- I guess she also needed the money. As she bent down to the soil, using nothing but her hands, she whistled the same two notes absent-mindedly. If she allowed herself to think, who knew what havoc that would wreak. Only to herself.”

Find out about the accessibility of the Oriental Museum here:

Oriental Museum | AccessAble

Please do get in contact if have any access requirements or you have any questions at all. artcollection@durham.ac.uk