Duke Arts Create is a series of free hands-on arts workshops designed to help all Duke students including undergraduates, graduates, and professionals (including health professionals), faculty, and staff develop a variety of creative skills in the visual arts, dance and movement, creative writing and more. While most of our workshops are exclusive to the Duke community, each month includes a few open community workshops that are free and open to the general public – no Duke affiliation required!
Explore our workshops below.
Most workshops are held in the Arts Annex, the Rubenstein Arts Center or the Trent Semans Center and are typically held weeknights from 6-8 p.m.
Registration for workshops opens every Friday morning at 9 a.m. for the following week’s events. Sign up in advance to guarantee your spot. If you miss your chance to reserve, stop by – we always reserve space for walk-ins and waitlist registers and will do our best to accommodate you.
Questions? Email DukeCreate@duke.edu.
Duke Arts Create is made possible by the Heaton Wellness Through the Arts Endowment.
Stitch a sample of Gingham Cross Stitch and learn the basics of the vintage technique that uses a few basic stitches.
Take a much needed break for some deep relaxation. Open to all levels, this 90-minute Restorative Yoga workshop is about deep rest through supported poses, guided breathwork, and stillness.
Whether you’re new to a practice of quietude or a long-time practitioner, this workshop will allow us to access simple, effective techniques that expose the truth of our experiences. Here we will sit and chat and practice the ancient ways of settling our minds in their natural state of gentle, peaceful luminosity.
Students will be provided with a mini loom and selection of yarns. Together we will work through some simple weaving stitches and create something decorative.
Learn how to hand sew for textile repair.
This two-hour workshop is designed to help you discover and strengthen your unique artistic style, also known as your “visual voice.” We’ll play with a variety of hands-on art-making experiments that will help you understand what makes your work special and where you can grow.
In this beginner friendly workshop, Hyewon Grigoni will take you through some basic drawing exercises and give away all her drawing secrets.
Join Alexsandra “Tigresa” Frias for a night of Afro-Brazilian history, music, and movement.
Learn how to throw pottery on the wheel! In this introductory class, you will learn the basics of centering and throwing cylinders.
We will learn to make botanical gel prints straight from plants! Each print will give you two beautiful images- a silhouette and something resembling a photocopy.
In this workshop, we’ll practice using embroidery on paper to highlight the natural beauty of vintage photographs and create a new piece of art.
Participants are invited to bring their new, old, and/or current cameras (even your phone), and we will spend time going through some examples of types of photography.
Taught by Pamela Mischen Community Workshop: Open to all – no Duke affiliation required! Meet the Instructor
We will learn to make botanical gel prints straight from plants! Each print will give you two beautiful images- a silhouette and something resembling a photocopy.
This two-hour workshop will cover the basics of screen printing: putting images on screens (making a stencil), ink mixing, and how to effectively use a squeegee.
Participants will learn gel-plate printing, collage, and construct a two-pamphlet Z-fold book.
Engage in hands-on sculpting while practicing embodied meditation, fostering relaxation and artistic expression.
Students will be provided with a mini loom and selection of yarns. Together we will work through some simple weaving stitches and create something decorative.
Engage in hands-on sculpting while practicing embodied meditation, fostering relaxation and artistic expression.
Take a much needed break for some deep relaxation. Open to all levels, this 90-minute Restorative Yoga workshop is about deep rest through supported poses, guided breathwork, and stillness.
Whether you’re new to a practice of quietude or a long-time practitioner, this workshop will allow us to access simple, effective techniques that expose the truth of our experiences. Here we will sit and chat and practice the ancient ways of settling our minds in their natural state of gentle, peaceful luminosity.
Learn how to hand sew for textile repair.
This two-hour workshop is designed to help you discover and strengthen your unique artistic style, also known as your “visual voice.” We’ll play with a variety of hands-on art-making experiments that will help you understand what makes your work special and where you can grow.
In this beginner friendly workshop, Hyewon Grigoni will take you through some basic drawing exercises and give away all her drawing secrets.
Join Alexsandra “Tigresa” Frias for a night of Afro-Brazilian history, music, and movement.
Participants are invited to bring their new, old, and/or current cameras (even your phone), and we will spend time going through some examples of types of photography.
Taught by Pamela Mischen Community Workshop: Open to all – no Duke affiliation required! Meet the Instructor
Sign up for the monthly newsletter, which includes the full list of classes offered during the following month.
Duke Arts Create participants show off jars of homemade kombucha at Duke Campus Farm.
Participants of the Soul Sweat + Stretch workshop in the Ark Dance Studio
The Duke School of Medicine participating in a zine-making workshop in the Trent Semans Center
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