Duke Arts Create

Free workshops open to Duke undergraduates, graduate and professional students (including health), faculty and staff

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 Duke 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.

Embroidery

Embroidery

Wednesday, February 12 at 6:00pm

Explore the craft of decorating fabric using a needle and thread. Practice creating imagery using colorful thread- students will learn tips and techniques to achieve traditional embroidery styles.

Screen Printing

Screen Printing

Tuesday, February 25 at 6:00pm

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.

March 2025


April 2025


School of Medicine Workshops

Mindful Mending

Mindful Mending

Wednesday, February 19 at 5:15pm

Visible mending is an ornamental approach to repairing an item. Rather than trying to mask the area where the item was damaged, the goal is to highlight these imperfections in a creative, eye-catching way.

Needle Felting

Needle Felting

Wednesday, February 26 at 5:15pm

Make a tiny critter, cat toy, or portrait using colored wool and specialized needles.

Open Community Workshops

Felony & Fiction

Felony & Fiction

Tuesday, February 11 at 6:00pm

Learn how to fictionalize true crime. Choose from selection of cases in the handout (or bring your own) and begin to craft your original, fictional piece.

Intro to Quietude: An Exploration of Meditation and the Inner Life

Intro to Quietude: An Exploration of Meditation and the Inner Life

Sunday, February 23 at 11:00am

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.

Relax, Restore, Renew

Relax, Restore, Renew

Sunday, March 2 at 11:00am

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.

Paper Making

Paper Making

Tuesday, March 18 at 5:30pm

Learn to make paper from recycled materials like junk mail! In this zero-waste workshop, we’ll use a blended pulp to create sheets of paper using the dip method with a mold and deckle.

Modern Fusion Dance

Modern Fusion Dance

Tuesday, April 8 at 6:00pm

Modern fusion for beg/intermediate movers – modern with africanist elements intertwined: polyrhythm, polycentrism, and overall african/jazz influence.

Field Notes

Field Notes

Friday, April 18 at 5:00pm

In this workshop, participants will explore the beauty of the plants, bugs, and surroundings of the Duke Campus Farm, and learn to document their observations in words and sketches.

Stay in-the-know:

Sign up for the monthly newsletter, which includes the full list of classes offered during the following month.

Past Workshops