A Future Archaeology Drop-in

We're celebrating the creativity of our HAF participants this summer with these self-led and relaxed sessions, open to all.

Drop in to this fun and welcoming space to see what participants have been up to and find everything you'll need for your own activities. Materials and prompts will relate to the heritage and archaeology of Sussex. 

You’re invited to explore the installations in the space and enjoy activities which are free, drop-in and self-led. You'll find pencils, chalk, felt tips, fabric strips, blank postcards and masking tape for adding your work to the wall installation. You will find prompts to help you with ideas for your work.

Prompts include:

How would you draw the wind?

How many different patterns can you make?

What colours are in the landscape?

What would the Eastbourne look like to a seagull flying above it?

Throughout the summer we’ve been working with local young people and artist Laura Ribbons to explore fossils and geodes, maps and photographs from our heritage collection and new art making processes.

We’ve made dyes from fruit, vegetables and flowers, cyanotypes using foraged beach materials, made our own fossils with clay and celebrated the town we live in by sending homemade postcards to friends, family and strangers.

Laura Ribbons (b.1990) is an artist, facilitator and environmentalist.

As a socially-engaged practitioner, Ribbons explores our evolving relationship to plants and landscape within the wider context of the climate crisis. She is inspired by the idea that art has the power to start difficult conversations, while simultaneously bringing people together and creating space for experimentation and play.

Her solo exhibition and community project Plants Make Places at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery (2025 -2026), successfully secured Arts Council lottery funding and explored how plants shape our sense of place, identity and belonging. The project encompassed collaborations with community groups from across Hastings. At the core of her practice, Laura believes that art has the power to transform people’s lives and that it should be accessible to all. 

This programme is supported by the Holiday Activities and Food Programme funded by East Sussex County Council and the Department for Education.