Thaumatrope Workshop with Frances Willoughby

Saturday 19th December | 11am - 1pm Double Vision: Make Your Own Thaumatrope Join 173 Annual Open exhibiting artist Frances Willoughby, for a family‑friendly workshop exploring the magic of early animation. Together, participants will create thaumatropes — Victorian optical toys that blend two images into one when spun. Through drawing, collage, and simple illusion techniques, the workshop invites people of all ages to think about how we see, how images move, and how perception shapes what we understand. The activity offers a playful entry point into the ideas behind The Gaze; Frances’ kinetic sculpture in the 173rd Annual Open Exhibition. Suitable for families, adults, and anyone curious about making! Booking is advised. Tickets are also available at the Welcome Desk on the day and tickets include a day pass to explore the 173rd Annual Open Exhibition. About Frances Frances Willoughby is a Bristol‑based multidisciplinary artist working across sculpture, installation, photography, and collage. Her practice explores the shifting boundaries of the human form — its vulnerability, transformation, and ties to personal, familial, and technological narratives. Blending autobiography with speculative fiction, she creates hybrid bodies that embrace fragmentation and ambiguity. Frances has extensive experience delivering creative workshops for children, families, and adults, with a focus on tactile making, accessibility, and playful experimentation.