Bow Arts hears from Sandra Lam, Curator: Programme and Engagement at Bow Arts about the East London Arts Prize Events Programme and how it showcases the talent inside east London’s artist community.
As a local resident of east London, I always enjoy exploring its diverse neighbourhoods and discovering the creative communities. The East London Art Prize has been an insightful opportunity to work with 12 bold and impressive artists, who continuously push boundaries and actively contribute to east London’s unique blend of creativity, diversity and innovation through their dynamic practices.
I first met the artists at their respective studios in December 2024. Since then, we have held continuous conversations on how we can collaborate in shaping the year-long programme of events that fosters dialogue, experimentation and community engagement, partnering with eight institutions in east London. I’m struck that through the prize, the artists reflect their multiple experiences of London’s historic borough, bringing contemporary voices and new narratives to weave into the rich cultural landscape that already exists, and make their voices and experiences accessible to east Londoners and visitors to the Nunnery Gallery in a new way.
The Events Programme kicked off at UCL East as we continued the ongoing series of artists & academics knowledge exchange labs. We heard from shortlisted artist Joseph Ijoyemi, and runner-up Lydia Newman who talked about their multidisciplinary practices and reflected on their identities. They were joined by UCL academics Dr Kara Blackmore and Libby Ireland who shared their experiences of bringing an ethics of care to their work.
Working closely with The Line, we hosted two interesting walks and workshops. With Joseph Ijoyemi, we worked with local families to make coloured origami boats that reflect their own culture and heritage and collectively create an installation to be positioned near the canal in east London. With another shortlisted artist Gusty Ferro, our group walked along part of The Line’s public art trail, before engaging with a hands-on and collaborative workshop to explore the relationship between urban infrastructure and public space.
Participants felt inspired to hear from shortlisted artist Kuda Mushangi and Marianne Shillingford, Creative Director at Dulux, in a talk on how they interpreted colour differently. We also had so much fun in the following workshop where we experimented with a spectrum of new colours and created our own bespoke colour palette. In conversation with Vyonne Mirara, our Gallery Assistant at the Nunnery Gallery, Kuda gave us insights into his life of working and practicing as an artist and architect in east London at Good Growth Hub, London Legacy Development Corporation.
Over the past 6 months, the Events Programme has provided opportunities for artists, as well as enabled encounters between people within local communities in east London. We have been grateful to welcome visitors and participants to the exhibition and its accompanying programme who are visiting the gallery for the first time, and finding touchstones through the variety of art that the prize supports that resonates with their lived experiences.
Looking forward, we endeavour to be more ambitious, fuelled by the learnings and successes of our previous events. In September, we will visit the British Council Collection, and speak with the team to learn more about the opportunities for artists to engage with the Collection after their works are acquired.
In October, shortlisted artist Darcey Fleming will take over the main gallery at London College of Fashion as a pop-up studio for a week to present a series of ‘wearable’ sculptures made from discarded baling twine donated to her by local farmers. I would encourage visitors to stick around in the evening on the 8th for a special late opening!
In the same month, we will have another exciting event taking over Whitechapel Gallery to celebrate the East London Art Prize with an evening of music, performances, workshops and screenings. The event will feature live performances by Gusty Ferro, Joseph Ijoyemi and Lydia Newman; a collective weaving workshop by Darcey Fleming; a participatory installation by Liang-Jung Chen; an immersive talk by dmstfctn and films by Laisul Hoque, Eugene Macki and Yang Zou, plus DJing by NTS host/resident babyschön. In collaboration with the newly opened V&A Storehouse, shortlisted artist Mo Langmuir will lead an interactive and collaborative workshop diving into questions about climate change, exploring objects from the V&A’s collection and creating a fabric ‘parachute’ map to reflect on local history through cyanotype.
For the final event of the programme, we return to UCL East for another artists & academics knowledge exchange lab. Screening two moving image works, The Purpose was to Document the Other Side (2023), from Prize winner Laisul Hoque, and I love you, life. I hope it’s great again (2024), a documentary from fellow shortlisted artist Yang Zou. The pair will speak on themes and issues related to relocation, migration, memory, identities and cultural fluidity, joined by UCL researchers and academics.
I am immensely proud to work with each of the 12 shortlisted artists, and it has been an absolute pleasure working with them to showcase their thought-provoking practices in east London. Through a constellation of panel discussions, live performances, participatory workshops and film screenings, the East London Art Prize Events Programme highlights the importance of collaboration and imagination in shaping the way we experience and engage with art.
Find out more about the East London Art Prize.