Be Inspired

Did you know that you can access our collections and galleries online? Find information about each gallery, including details about some of our most interesting and unusual artefacts.

Explore our People and Places gallery from your own home, including Van Dyck’s portrait of Basil Dixwell and the nation’s favourite bright pink cat – Bagpuss! Or have a browse around our Garden Room – dedicated to the work of Canterbury-born artist Thomas Sidney Cooper.

Getting creative is a clinically proven way to reduce anxiety, improve mood and boost concentration. But what if you’re not sure where to start? There’s a wealth of inspiration on your computer but there’s nothing quite so inspiring as real life!

Find the most interesting view from a window in your house and pick something to use as a starting point for a drawing or painting. Perhaps the colour of the plants, or the shape of the street signs. Choose something about your view that you find interesting and use it to create a piece of art.

Bored of watching TV? Binge-watched all the box sets under the sun?

Why not watch our newly released Health and Wellbeing Documentary! See what we’ve been up to as a part of our award-winning Health and Wellbeing programme, including interviews with participants, artists and museum staff.

Research shows that writing can help improve health and wellbeing. Not only can writing help to improve mental health by helping us to process emotions, it can also improve our physical health by lowering blood pressure. Set aside some time every day to write – you could keep a diary or have a go at writing your own story. Afterall, Shakespeare wrote King Lear while in quarantine for the plague!