Explore our remarkable collection of over 20,000 art and craft objects like never before. As we mark 40 years of Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, It Takes a Village invites you to rediscover familiar works, uncover hidden treasures and play a role in shaping the museum’s future.

Created with over 50 contributors, the exhibition presents rarely seen discoveries alongside well-known pieces by craftspeople, including Ethel Mairet, Eric Gill, Joseph Cribb, David Jones and Amy Sawyer.

This is not just an exhibition – it’s an invitation to participate. Local residents can add their own piece of local history to the museum’s Wunderkammer to help build a growing, community-sourced collection. Contributions will be located on a specially designed map of Ditchling by illustrator Neil Gower, creating a living record of the village’s life and creative legacy.

A key part of the exhibition looks at the work and legacy of Eric Gill. In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, survivors of abuse have co-curated the display which focuses on the experiences of Gill’s daughters, Petra and Elizabeth, offering space for a thoughtful and sensitive retelling of their stories, family lives and creative careers.

Ditchling was, ultimately, a hive of creativity, where many thrived, and made lasting, beautiful things. It’s important to remember that too – The Times, July 2025

Alongside this, interactive displays created with disabled and neurodivergent co-curators will bring Ethel Mairet’s workshop Gospels to life. The displays will invite visitors to smell dye plants, try their hand at weaving and experience the sights and sounds of daily life in the workshop.

Throughout the exhibition, you’ll see craft in action – from interventions by local craftspeople and museum conservators to live residencies where contemporary makers will work with historic equipment, including a 100-year-old loom and the museum’s 200-year-old Stanhope printing press.

Marking 40 years of Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, It Takes a Village looks at the people, places and ideas that have shaped our collection – and considers what comes next.

Listen to oral histories and explore the Sussex Retold project.

It Takes a Village has been developed in partnership with Sussex Retold, The Sensational Museum, The Methodist Modern Art Collection and The Methodist Survivors’ Advisory Group.

Curated by Gregory Parsons.

Sussex Retold is supported by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Impact Acceleration Account (IAA), at the University of Sussex.

This exhibition includes a section that addresses themes of child sexual abuse, located in a separate room. This area is not recommended for visitors under 16. Visitors can explore the rest of the exhibition without entering this room if they choose.  

For more on our approach to presenting Eric Gill’s work, along with resources and support, click here.

Top image: Our Lady of the Hills by David Jones (1924) Collection: Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft