About

In an age of accelerating digital production, the Barbican’s season-length film programme The Old Ways (Mar – May 2026) speaks to the growing contemporary appreciation of things handmade. Through a selection of international short- and long-form documentaries celebrating crafts and artisanal traditions from around the world – from quilting and candle-making to indigo dyeing and flower arranging – this season highlights global craft practices and the stories of identity, place and community they embody.

It includes the UK premieres of feature-length documentaries Historjá – Stitches for Sapmí (Thomas Jackson, 2022), a portrait of artist Britta Marakatt-Labba whose large-scale embroidered art weaves together the political struggles and magical mythological worldview of the indigenous Sámi peoples; The Colour of Ink (Brian D. Johnson, 2022), about Jason Logan, a visionary Toronto inkmaker whose pigments are crafted from foraged materials and used by master calligraphers and illustrators around the world; and Shades of Indigo (Shigeru Yoshida, 2024), profiling a handful of the few specialist artisans left in Japan producing and working with non-synthetic indigo.

Expanding the season beyond the screen, audiences will be able to knit along to a bespoke selection of textile-themed animations and children can enjoy two special programmes of handmade cut-paper and wool-based animation alongside free crafting workshops.