Tag Archive for: Utopia

Utopia: A New World for Everyone

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Design, Make & Build Your New World

Brand new for 2022, this project started in April this year. The brief for our participants, to create their own ‘New World.’ Over ten sessions, the final works will be displayed at this summer’s Waterloo Festival which is attended by around 500 people each year. By completing this series of workshops, participants also have the chance to win one of our annual Accumulate scholarships to attend an Access to Higher Education course at either Ravensbourne University or Morley College!

Workshop poster

We are thrilled to partner with Allford Hall Monaghan Morris Architects on this project, giving our participants the chance to work with professional architects and designers to bring their vision to life. We are also so grateful to our funders Arts Council England and Foyle Foundation for their support.

Collage inspiration

Building up their own ‘Utopia’ ideas using collages, sketches and mood boards was a great starting point. So much imagination and thought going into each individual design. Each participant has their own sketchbook so they can carry on developing their ideas and creativity in each session and outside the workshops. The group also worked on models creating ‘mini me’s’ that will live in their own ideal world.

Creating mini me’s! Photo Credit: Chez Christiealice

Discussing and presenting ideas to each other is an important part Accumulate, so everyone can engage, learn and support each other. Climate change and sustainability are major themes for discussion in this project, with tutors showing how they incorporate such important elements into building projects and how they would be central to a new Utopia. Participants took this expertise and then discussed how they would like to incorporate it into their own plans before starting to build their own Utopia models with a focus on the environment.

Photo Credit: Chez Christiealice

Photo Credit: Chez Christiealice

As the weeks past it has been incredible to see how much their model-making skills have developed and their confidence has increased – especially when it comes to discussing their own works and explaining their vision to others. They are an amazing group of people, giving so much support and encouragement to everyone. Our creative community is flourishing!

Photo Credit: Chez Christiealice

Within this project, participants have tried their hand at embroidery and textile design, creative writing, music and voice workshops. All of these elements have been incorporated into the final project including a song that the group have written and will perform at the festival!

Working on lyrics in the Music & Voice workshop

Ten weeks of hard work and creativity are now complete and we are so thrilled to be able to present the participant’s final works to our supporters with a private view event on 7th July, prior to the exhibition at the Waterloo Festival. At this event, we are also presenting the scholarships to selected participants so they can continue their creative education. Join us! We’d love to see you there to help celebrate. DM us over on Instagram for all the details!

 

 

 

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Accumul8 at Utopia Fair at Somerset House

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Accumul8’s director Marice Cumber spent last weekend at the wonderful Utopia Fair at Somerset House. The Utopia Fair was all about showcasing community projects and initiatives that work towards ideal principles and creating a better world. These projects were based around energy, surplus food, well-being, recycling, climate change, society and engaging the disenfranchised. All showed how people can really make a difference with small actions, passion and persistence to change the negative, and enable community action towards a positive outcome.

It was really rewarding and refreshing to be around so much positive energy and in such an uplifting environment – especially at the beautiful Somerset House! Accumul8 were there with our delicious Preserves with a Purpose – using surplus fruit to make jams and chutneys that we sell to raise funds for creative activities for young people living in hostels. We had a great time and it was so rewarding being able to meet and talk to so many people about the work we do. Here is Accumul8’s director, Marice Cumber, at the Utopia Fair – just look at that range of Accumul8 preserves!

Marice selling Accumul8 Preserves with a Purpose at the Utopia Fair

Marice selling Accumul8 Preserves with a Purpose at the Utopia Fair

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Accumul8 at Somerset House

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This coming weekend, 24 – 26 June, we will be at The Utopia Fair at Somerset House, Charing Cross, London. The Utopia Fair is a celebration of 25 different projects that have been selected to showcase their work in creating their own Utopia and ideal world, whether through food, fashion, recycling or arts and crafts.

So as Accumul8’s Preserves with a Purpose are made from surplus fruit and are sold to raise money for creative activities for young people living in hostels, we tick quite a few of the Utopia boxes, well, we try our best too!

At the Utopia Fair, we will be selling good old favourites such as Apple Pie Jam, Pear and Vanilla Jam and Nectarine and Amaretto Jam plus lots of new flavours including Green Coriander Chutney, Aubergine Pickle, Peach, Lemon and Almond Jam and Plum and Brandy Jam. Yum, yum, yum.

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