Skill Up Visits: Mapping Space and Stories at the British Library

Skill Up Visits: Mapping Space and Stories at the British Library 

Saturday 10th January 2026, 10am to 2pm  

How do maps and cartography connect to architecture and the spaces we occupy every day? Who creates the maps we use daily and what information do they choose to share? What stories, histories and events are drawn and what is missing?  

Explore the British Library’s brilliant exhibition ‘Secret Maps’, discovering inspiring stories and social histories through maps and objects from the library collection. Get an introduction to digital storytelling and research techniques by the library’s Youth Collective, alumni of the Young Creators Lab. Then try your hand at drawing your own digital or analogue maps. Tracing unheard voices, hidden spaces, temporary events, smells, feelings and atmospheres from your own experiences or inspired by items from the exhibition.  

For young people aged 16-18. This workshop is free, but participants must register. All participants should have permission to travel to and from the workshop location independently. They are responsible for staying with the group for the duration of the session, informing RIBA staff if they need or wish to leave early.    

Skill Up Visits  

Skill Up Visits invites young people with an interest in architecture and design to explore buildings, institutions and exhibitions, thinking critically and responding creatively to what they see. From learning how to work to an architectural brief, developing drawing skills, exploring different creative outputs and architectural languages, these 16 to18 year-olds work both collaboratively and independently to within workshop activities and briefs. Expanding the understanding of architecture as just bricks and mortar.  

British Library Young Creators Lab 

Young Creators Lab is an exciting digital content project for young people aged 18-24 drawing on the British Library’s extensive collection to inspire conversations around the world. Two cohorts of Young Creators have developed and produced short films for social media exploring themes of music, identity and change-makers, inspired by items from the collection. They have since gone on to form part of the library's Youth Collective.  

The British Library 

The British Library is the national library of the UK, holding over 170 million items including centuries-old books, stamps, maps and sound recordings. They have a rich public programme including exhibitions and events.