Creative Workshops and Community Engagement with Sara Choudhrey
Sara Choudhrey has delivered creative workshops and short courses for a variety of community groups, arts organisations, clients and institutions, including the V&A Museum, King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts, Leighton House Museum, Rabbits Road Press, ACAVA, The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and Bletchley Park.
These hands-on, practical workshops cater to all-levels, from beginners to advanced participants. They present an opportunity for community activity and co-creation, focussing on pattern-making, geometric principles, Islamic art, drawing, colour theory and painting techniques. They provide a step-away from everyday life, appreciating nature and mathematics through a visual language, whilst developing new creative skills.
Sessions can be delivered in-person and online. Feel free to reach out to arrange a workshop.
Wellbeing workshop: Geometric Patterns from Nature
V&A Dundee
2026
Run in collaboration with V&A Dundee alongside their exhibition Maggie’s: Architecture that Cares, this workshop explored geometry as an underlying formula and inspiration for design in the world around us.
Focus on Torrijos Ceiling
V&A East Storehouse
2025
Geometric workshops for drop-in visitors to the V&A Storehouse on the occasion of the Focus On: Torrijos Ceiling event. Based on analysis of the 15th woodwork ceiling in the V&A’s collection, participants were led through the process of constructing an 8-point star and rosette motif using compass, ruler and pencils.
Curvilinear Roundels
King's Foundation School of Traditional Arts
2024 – 2025
Based on research on architectural and manuscript design, these sessions have taught participants how historical compass-based radial designs were produced in Islamic Spain and North Africa.
Patterns of Palestine
Rabbits Road Press
2023
Starting with an introduction to the architectural gems of Al-Quds, participants then used the traditional method of compass and ruler to construct the geometry of a stained glass window from the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. They finished their drawings with floral motifs and symbolic colours.
Iznik Biscuit Art
Leighton House Museum
2023
Run in collaboration with artist Ella Hawkins, local families were invited to design and paint edible biscuits using Iznik style patterns and motifs inspired by ceramics at Leighton House Museum.
I designed custom templates for painting on to hexagonal biscuits and participants were able to take their handouts away with them too.
MKIAC/Bletchley Park
2020
Tile-able geometric patterns and floral motifs inspired by Islamic architecture brought together as a digital artwork projected on the iconic Bletchley Park huts.
All community patterns were digitised in collaboration with digital technologist Pete Cleary to turn their creations into a large-scale outdoor animated projection for the Digital Light: Code Makers event.
Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea
2020
Drawing and painting floral motifs inspired by Iznik ceramics
2020
A series of workshops which ;ed to a collaborative public art installation incorporating local community geometric floral drawings. The display was for and with those affected by the Grenfell tragedy.
Arts for Wellbeing
ACAVA & NHS
2018
A short-course supported by the NHS, teaching local residents in North kensington to create Islamic geometric patterns and techniques for painting with ink and various colour-based media
