Talk and Weave with Anna Pope

Session 1 - in this session, maker Anna Pope will talk about her practice, beginning with her work as a jeweller and then exploring her move towards community-based projects.

In this session, maker Anna Pope will talk about her practice, beginning with her work as a jeweller and then exploring her move towards community-based projects focused on the threatened traditional craft and heritage of crab and lobster traps, known as withy pots (Jewelwithy in 2016 and WithyLore in collaboration with Storylines CIC in 2025).

Anna will reflect on her work collaborating with museums, archives and community groups, exploring how her practice has changed through this expansion into broader social and heritage contexts – and how this can help build a more resilient and sustainable practice.

Throughout the session, Anna will lead a weaving activity, offering a chance for participants make while listening, and also providing a practical demonstration of the work she will be speaking about.

Anna will be leading another session at the Museum of Cornish Life on 29th June. You do not need to attend both sessions, but you are most welcome to if they are both of interest.

This workshop is part of Built to Last: practical ways to sustain a creative practice – a series of workshops designed to help artists and creatives build a practice that is personally and financially sustainable. Led by local artists and people working in creative and cultural organisations, the sessions will explore how to apply creative skills to a broad range of public, social and heritage contexts – building resilience through diversifying how you work without compromising your fundamental focus or motivation. We are grateful to The Goldsmiths’ Foundation for supporting this programme.

About Anna Pope

Anna Pope is a Cornwall-based maker and educator with over a decade of experience specialising in jewellery design and heritage crafts. From her studio in Porthleven and home in Helston, she creates work deeply inspired by the natural world and traditional techniques, particularly the endangered craft of withy pot making and basketry. Through her creative workshops for adults and children, as well as her community-led art projects, Anna is dedicated to documenting the stories of traditional craftsmanship and fostering a meaningful connection between people, place, and the environment.

Pricing

This event is free for members of Creative Kernow Associates. CKA members can find their code to book a free ticket on their members portal at associates.creativekernow.org.uk/my-account. There is a small fee of £5 for non-members, just to cover costs as the event is funded through membership fees.

Creative Kernow Associates membership starts at £5/month: associates.creativekernow.org.uk/membership.

Cancellation

Tickets cancelled before more than 7 days before the event will be fully refunded.

Tickets cancelled within 7 days of the event will be partially refunded (50%) and tickets cancelled within 24 hours of the event will not be refunded.

Capacity

There is a maximum of 12 spaces at this event.

Accessibility

All accessibility information about the museum can be found here: https://museumofcornishlife.co.uk/visit/access/.

Please email [email protected] if you have any questions.

Refreshments

The museum has a small pop-up cafe which takes cash, and serves tea, coffee and biscuits. There are also a number of cafes, shops and restaurants within close walking distance.

About Creative Kernow Associates

This talk is part of the programme of events for members of Creative Kernow Associates, a membership programme for the creative and culture sectors in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and a legacy of Creative Kernow’s hugely successful EU-funded Cultivator programme. Members have access to exclusive opportunities, an extensive selection of resources, 1-to-1 support, a tailored programme of workshops and events, and special benefits offered by partner organisations.

Find out more: associates.creativekernow.org.uk

Image courtesy Anna Pope