Discover your new passion with one of these great short courses

Whether you're an absolute beginner or a budding Carrie Bradshaw, CAE has a variety of writing and editing courses to fit your needs or give your skills a bit of a refresh. Get hands-on tutelage in one of the centre's practical courses centred around technique, creativity and versatility. Try the Intro to Creative Non-Fiction or Beginning Creative Writing (Fiction) to kick start your novel, screenplay idea or career as a sassy sex columnist. Or simply boost your writing confidence and have fun as you craft stories in a supportive environment.

Painting and drawing are the building blocks of all visual art forms. Contrary to popular belief, anyone can be taught the artforms, as the skilled teachers at CAE can attest. Wise up on the fundamentals or expand your repertoire: CAE runs classes in oils, acrylic, watercolours, pastels, abstract painting, botanicals and cartooning. Start your journey with a Painting and Drawing for Beginners course or go en plein air with a fun sketching session in the Royal Botanic Gardens.

If some gentle history and culture lessons are more your speed why not try one of CAE's dynamic walking tours. You'll get to reacquaint yourself with our fabulous city while learning about the storied alley ways, street art and communities that make up the Melbourne ecosystem. Grab your camera and see the city through a different lense with the Photographing Melbourne walking tour or delve into the history of Jewish culture and cuisine, urban architecture or specific tours of St Kilda, Carlton, Fitzroy and beyond.

You can’t just whack some flowers in a vase and call it a bouquet. Floristry is an art and there’s no better time to learn it than in spring and summer. As the mercury rises, sign up for one of CAE’s hands-on floristry courses. There’s a one-day floristry workshop, wedding floristry and contemporary floristry workshops available, plus you’ll get to take all your bouquets home. Each class will show you how to identify, prepare, arrange and maintain flowers to keep your bouquets looking fresh for as long as possible.

Being able to make, fix and maintain your own clothes is game changing. Take a hold of your own fashion future by learning to create your own garments. Learn to knit like a seasoned nanna, dye in the traditional Japanese shibori style, discover how to make patterns like a pro or school yourself up on the intricacies of sewing using a machine. Start from scratch at the Sewing: Beginners course. You’re in good hands at the CAE too, with the tutors having previously worked at institutions like the Victorian Opera and the Australian Ballet.