Tag Archive for: exhibition

Wonderland – 2023 Art Exhibition and Scholarship ceremony

Wonderland

As we approach the Summer break it feels like the perfect time to look back at the incredibly special summer showcase event we held at the beginning of July. Sponsored by MTD Group and hosted by Conductor London, One Crown Place and Sun Street Hotel in the City of London, we celebrated the creative achievements of all our participants in the last year.

Wonderland Exhibition –  July 2023. Big thanks to Patrick Fry for the amazing graphics!

The exhibition was absolutely brimming with incredible art, all produced by our participants during our programme of creative workshops throughout the year. Guests on the night viewed ceramics, visual art, fashion, film and photographs. All created by people affected by homelessness.

Headpieces on display from our ‘Wearable Art as Fashion’ series of workshops

Beautiful ceramics designed and created by participants

Images from our Analogue Photography workshops

This year we wanted to make the exhibition as interactive as possible so we treated our guests to live screen printing workshops run by the wonderful Nicole Line as well as drawing workshops led by Joshua Beatty. We even had our own DJ booth, designed, built and painted by a group of participants along with Poor Collective.

Screen printing workshop so guests could give it a go too!

One guest loved the print so much that she printed it onto her trousers! Looks so good!

Our DJ booth created together with Poor Collective

As we all gathered together to celebrate the creativity in the room, we felt so privileged that participants Sam and Deon agreed to speak to the audience about their own Accumulate experiences. Sam, as a participant and scholarship winner in 2022, and Deon who is taking part in the MATTA programme, working so hard to inspire creativity in others. Listen to their stories in their own words via our Instagram posts. Sam’s is HERE Deon’s is HERE

Sam spoke about this Accumulate journey

Deon spoke about her experience as a participant on our MATTA course.

As part of the evening were just so excited to present certificates to each participant who attended our workshops as well as the highly anticipated scholarships to selected participants so they can continue their developing their creativity in higher education.

Participants were all presented with a certificate by Chair of Trustees Michelle

After a heartwarming speech from our Director and Founder Marice Cumber, our Chair of Trustees Michelle presented the scholarships to each winner along with their delighted sponsor.  They will study, fully funded, on Access to Higher Education courses in Fine Art, Design and Digital Media and Fashion at either Ravensbourne University or Morley College. Huge congratulations!

Stuart won the Accumulate Ian Shaw photography prize and also received an award of a camera and a year of mentoring by tutor Giulio Mazzarini.

Congratulations Alicia and thank you to sponsor Debra from Grove End Housing

Congratulations Ya’aesh and thank you to sponsor Debra from Grove End Housing

Congratulations to Alexandria and thank you to BOP Consulting for their sponsorship

Congratulations also to scholarship winners Hayley and Sana (not pictured) and sponsors AHMM Architects and EC Bid London.

To round off the celebrations, we were treated to a fashion show of participants all modelling the incredible headpieces they created in our series of workshops ‘Wearable Art as Fashion’. The show was led by previous Accumulate scholarship winner Nikol who really got the crowd going! Check out a video of the show HERE

Nikol led the fashion show!

Amazing pieces! Well done to all the participants.

Accumulate, after it all, is about community. We are so thrilled that so many participants past and present attend our events. A true testament to the experiences they have taken part in and the lasting friendships they have formed.

This was a truly special evening. The perfect showcase for all our participants for their achievements this year. We can’t wait to see what’s next for you all.

Photo credits: Ben Peters Photography

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming Soon! Wonderland

COMING SOON!

Accumulate, the Art School for the Homeless presents………Wonderland

On Thursday 6th July we will treat our guests to a spectacular display of ceramics, visual art, fashion, film and photographs created by people affected by homelessness. We are so excited to also include a Wonderland live screen-printing and drawing workshop on the night so everyone can get involved!

This exhibition will display the striking creative work of the Accumulate participants which they have worked so hard to produce this year. We will hear their stories and witness how creativity has made a positive difference to their lives.

 

 

The Accumulate Wonderland exhibition is all about community and working together to achieve better things. It celebrates the creative achievements of a group of people, living in hostels and temporary accommodation, who participated in this year’s Accumulate Wonderland workshops, created their own supportive community and advanced and developed their skills and confidence through creative learning.

This event will also celebrate Accumulate’s  Wonderland community of creative practitioners, cultural and creative organisations, funders and sponsors who work with, collaborate and support Accumulate and help us to achieve so much meaningful and transformative impact and experiences for our participants.

Our participants have worked so hard on their creativity throughout the year

Part of this event will also include the scholarships which will be awarded to selected Accumulate participants so that they can continue their creative education and study, fully funded, on Access to HE courses in Fine Art, Design and Digital Media and Fashion. An amazing opportunity and all part of their creative journey with Accumulate.

It promises to be an inspiring evening. There’s still time to RSVP for your ticket to attend. Drop us a message if you’d like to come along.

  • Email us at info@accumulate.org.uk
  • Follow us on Instagram & Twitter @acccumulate_ldn

 

Accumulate 2020/21 Showcase Event

The end of June brought us what felt like a rare chance to join together with participants, supporters and friends to look back at an incredible year. The aim of Accumulate, the Art School for the Homeless, is to improve peoples’ lives through creativity and we are proud to say that we have achieved this despite a very challenging year. A year when we couldn’t meet as a group and our participants were more isolated, and feeling even more lonely and vulnerable than ever. Even though our annual jam packed exhibition had to be reinvented for 2021, we still managed a celebration of what we have achieved through our showcase which was held at The Barbican, in Cinema 1.

Accumulate at The Barbican

We premiered our Accumulate 20/21 film, which you can watch HERE, in which we celebrated all that we have done over the past year. From pivoting during lockdown to online workshops, to distributing over 4000 Art Kits to hostels across the UK and launching the Book of Homelessness, it has been extremely busy but rewarding time for all of us.

Participants Stories

During the event, we were honoured to hear from three past Accumulate scholarship winners who took to the stage and spoke so candidly about their own personal experiences of homelessness and how they were empowered to move forwards positively with their lives. It really was very moving to hear these stories and the impact that art and creativity can have. Check out all three videos HERE

Nikol DeHaan speaking at the Accumulate Showcase. Photo Credit, Williamz Omope

 

Mitchel Ceney speaking at the Accumulate Showcase. Photo credit Williamz Omope

 

LisaLouise MacGregor speaking at the Accumulate Showcase. Photo credit Williamz Omope

Scholarship Awards

This event also gave us the opportunity to present our annual scholarship awards, giving the recipient the opportunity to continue their creative education at Ravensbourne University in September. We are so thankful to each scholarship funder for supporting these awards, without who they just would not be possible.

The well deserved winners were:
  • Keattch family scholarship awarded to Jade Amoli-Jackson
  • Say Property travel bursary scholarships to Whitney Stewart and Reuben Dehaan. (The Say Property scholarship is covered through sales of Book of Homelessness, as they bought nearly 200 copies!)
  • Jon Drori scholarship to Anita Karklina
  • The Keattch Family also awarded  £1000 each to Mitchel, Ola, Nikol and Anne to help with their continuing creative studies.

Debra Yudolph from Say Property presenting two scholarships. Photo credit Williamz Omope

 

 Keattch Family presentation. Photo credit Williamz Omope

Huge congratulations to all award winners. We are so proud of you all and can’t wait to see your continuing achievements. Thank you also to everyone who was able to attend this event and who followed along on social media with us. We are so happy to have your support on this very special and happy day.

 

 

 

 

Youth Culture – An Accumulate Exhibition

The Accumulate 2019 Exhibition launches April 2019!

On the 9th April, ‘Youth Culture’ the Accumulate exhibition for 2019 launches at Autograph in Shoreditch, East London. We are so looking forward to showcasing the incredible creative achievements of the group of participants who have taken part in the Accumulate programme this year.

Our group have covered a wide range of creative mediums in a really short space of time, given we only started with the group in January! We have introduced new workshops this year including fashion and sculpture which the group have absolutely loved. Collaborating with some big industry names which has been an absolute thrill for all of us involved.

The Road to Youth Culture

The start of the year brought together the group of participants. Each person taking part is affected by homelessness. Participants have come to from 7 hostels across London. For the first of our workshops we worked with our exhibition hosts and long term collaborators Autograph. Participants got to hear about the context and background to their extensive photographic archive as well as learning new skills with the camera before shooting on location around Shoreditch. Getting out of the hostel environment is a very important element to our project. Participants enjoy the experience of visiting and exploring new places as a focus to their workshop, helping them gain confidence away from the hostel.

On location in Shoreditch (Photo credit Sabela Peinado)

Fashion Workshop

2019 was the first time we have worked with a fashion theme in the Accumulate programme. We collaborated with international fashion brand Levis, London cultural space Somerset House and the photography archive, Youth Club Archive on this workshop. Participants got inspired, working with the theme of Youth Culture, reviewing Youth Club’s amazing social history archive of images. They then went on, using these influences to customise the iconic Levis Trucker Jacket to give it their own unique and personal look. An amazing outlet for self expression, learning new skills and finding inspiration working together as a group. The levels of creativity and imagination was just outstanding!

Customised denim jackets (Photo credit sabelapeinado.com)

With the jackets complete, the group took part in photoshoots outside Somerset House and on location at the Printworks venue in East London. The group were fashion models and photographers for the day! The took  it in turn to photograph each other, perfecting their newly learned camera skills!

Shannon Stevenson Glowing Out Of Turn

Photo Credit Shannon Stevenson, Accumulate Participant

Sculpture Workshop

Along with a fashion workshop, we were so excited to introduce Sculpture to the programme this year. This workshop was kindly funded by Art UK as part of their ‘Art is all around you’ UK wide sculpture project. We also partnered again with our friends at Autograph. We were very excited to hold part of the workshop at the BBC Broadcasting House! Inspired by the sculptures and history surrounding this iconic building, our participants worked on themes that influenced their identity and own ideas of youth culture. They began modelling their sculptures first from cardboard then covering them in plaster before finally painting them with breathtaking results!

Adding plaster to a sculpture (Photo credit sabelapeinado.com)

Zine Making

Amongst all this we also found time to create Issue 4 of the Accumulate zine Decay!! The creative ideas were first produced by our group, putting their own thoughts and feelings down on paper. This work was then passed on the 60 graphic design students at Ravensbourne University who worked to create the final spreads seen in the zine.

Creating at the zine workshop

 

The Youth Culture pop up exhibition will feature all the work our participants have produced during these workshops, including a show of the stunning customised Levis jackets and the official launch of Decay 4. As part of this event we will also be awarding scholarships to selected Accumulate participants, giving them the opportunity to further their creative studies on the Access HE course in Design and Digital Media at Ravensbourne University London. A life changing opportunity.

There is still time to register for this free event – click here.  Please show you support for our participants and come along. We would all love to see you there!

Accumulate Autumn 2018

We thought we had a busy Summer….well Autumn and up to end of 2018 has been jam packed!

V&A Photography Workshop and Exhibit

September saw a photography workshop collaboration with participants from Freedom from Torture. This charity supports people who have been through immeasurable suffering as victims of torture. It was amazing to see this group of people come together and support each other, learning new skills. A couple of weeks later the images these individuals had produced were proudly exhibited at the V & A museum. Was wonderful to see these smiling faces launching their own exhibit!

 

 

 

Edible Utopia

We took part in an absolutely fascinating workshop at Somerset House. So weird and wonderful and something completely different for our participants. Experimenting with different effects, they produced some stunning images of fungus. They just loved working on these technical aspects, capturing the astonishing forms of the mushrooms! We were thrilled that the images were used by Somerset House projected onto the wall of ‘The Deadhouse’ as part of World Fungus Day!

Jump Up!

We got together again with our friends at Youth Club Social, checking out their latest exhibition ‘Jump Up’ celebrating 50 years of Notting Hill Carnival. After being inspired by the amazing photography on display, our participants got creative designing their own Carnival backdrops!

 

 

 

 

One Festival of Homelessness Arts

This was our second year being involved in this incredible event founded and directed by our great friend the Artist David Tovey. A celebration of the works of art, in so many forms, created by artists who have or are experiencing homelessness. We had the privilege of exhibiting images from our photography workshops ‘Portraits and Potential’. This workshops involved participants from YMCA Walthamstow who had their images captured by Accumulate Tutor and visual artist Othello De Souza Hartley. Afterwards we gathered together to discuss what each person saw in their own portrait and then reflect & share their hopes for the future. Inspiring.

 

 

House of St Barnabas Art Hang

We were beyond delighted to see the work of the Accumulate Zine DECAY 3, produced back in the summer, exhibited on a large scale at the House of St Baranabas in Soho. Such a proud moment so see our stunning pieces exhibited in this incredible setting.

 

 

 

Latest Workshops

As the dark nights drew in, we worked with a new group from Broadwater Lodge. A hostel for families in North London. It was just wonderful to see this group have fun with creativity and learn new skills. We also rounded off the year with workshops with participants from YMCA North London and Evolve in Stockwell who were perfecting their technical skills.

 

 

Alexandra Palace

As a final creative project of 2018 we worked together with artist Cristina Otto on the incredible project at Alexandra Palace. This installation is on display in the new East Wing at the palace and it really is quite a sight!

 

 

 

Student Successes

We are beyond proud to see 2017 Scholarship winner continue his creative education, enrolling on the BA Advertising and Brand Design course at Ravensbourne University! Luke said “Thank you for all this and the opportunity. I am nervous as hell but very excited to start a new life.”

2018 student Nisha Zala was also accepted in the Access to Fashion course at Morley College. We are so excited for you Nisha!

 

 

 

 

 

Hello 2019!

2019 is already shaping up to be an exciting year for Accumulate…….thank you so much for following along, your support means the world to us.

 

 

 

 

House of St Barnabas Art Hang 2019

We are delighted to include the creative work of the Accumulate zine, Decay 3, in the bi annual Art Hang 2019 exhibit at House of St Barnabas. This exhibition launched in London’s Soho last week. We are so proud to exhibit next to so many other incredible not for profit artists and in such a stunning setting.

Photo Credit Nic Serpell-Rand

The artwork on display came from Decay Issue 3. This is the Accumulate zine that showcases the words, images and random thoughts of people affected by homelessness. We collaborated with House of St Barnabas and their Employment Academy team back in the Summer.  The Employment Academy graduates, employees and members all sat round a large table to produce creative content together. By doing so formed their own creative community, whilst producing inspiring creative pieces. As part of this collaboration, students from Ravensbourne University’s Graphic Design course developed the ideas from the workshop into the final visuals you see on display.

Photo Credit Nic Serpell-Rand

It is just incredible to see the artwork displayed on such a large scale. It looked stunning! On the night,  we also sold copies of Decay 3 along with prints of individual artworks. All profits from sales are split with the artist so they can earn from their creativity and with Accumulate so we can continue to support more people affected by homelessness find empowerment through creativity.

Photo Credit Nic Serpell-Rand

It has been a privilege to work with this inspiring organisation and support their vital work with people affected by homelessness and we hope we can work together in the future on more creative workshops.

Accumulate Scholarship Winner LisaLouise Machregor shares her joy with her mother

Accumulate Exhibition 2018

The Accumulate Exhibition 2018 took place at The Guardian building in Kings Cross. 20 people, who are affected by homelessness, who took part in the 15 week Accumulate photography course showed their work at the exhibition and what makes the private view special is not just that they can see their creative work displayed so expertly in a curated exhibition, but that the people that attend are interested in them, in their stories and in their creativity. It really is a very special night and has a feeling of a celebration about it, a celebration of talent, achievement, determination and collaboration.

More people than ever turned up to this year’s Accumulate exhibition private view, which made it into even more of a party atmosphere.

The Accumulate Exhibition 2018

The Accumulate Exhibition 2018

We also did audio recordings of each of the participants talking about their photographs and their experiences of coming on the Accumulate project and what it meant to them. One of the participants, Olive Douglas, spoke about how good the project made her feel, she even spoke to her doctor about it – who, as a result, reduced her medication.

Olive Douglas, an Accumulate participant, shares her story with an Accumulate exhibition visitor

Olive Douglas, an Accumulate participant, shares her story with an Accumulate exhibition visitor

Scholarships were awarded to three Accumulate participants so that they can continue their creative education and study on the Access to HE Diploma in Design and Digital Media at Ravensbourne University London. This is life changing. The recipients of the scholarships are Max Sita-Mbele, Lisalouise Macgregor and Jahmel Anderson Hendricks. Many many thanks to the sponsors of the scholarships – Brickworks London, Straight Forward Design and Ruth Keetch – they have all changed someone’s life forever.

 Max Sita-Mbele with Professor Linda Drew, Marice Cumber and Ruth Keetch


Max Sita-Mbele with Professor Linda Drew, Marice Cumber and Ruth Keetch

Accumulate Scholarship Winner LisaLouise Machregor shares her joy with her mother

Accumulate Scholarship Winner LisaLouise Macgregor shares her joy with her mother

Displacement - The Accumulate 2018 Exhibition

The Accumulate Exhibition 2018

The Accumulate 2018 exhibition opens at The Guardian building at 90 York Way, Kings Cross, London in just 5 days time. This year, we have 21 people, from 6 hostels, who completed the 15 week Accumulate photography course, learnt new skills and made new friends. The theme of this year’s exhibition is Displacement, and on the course we visited places and exhibitions around London that related or drew influence from the theme, such as Peckham, Dalston and Shoreditch and the Basquiet exhibition at The Barbican.

Displacement - The Accumulate 2018 Exhibition

Displacement – The Accumulate 2018 Exhibition

As ever, the build up to the exhibition is full of anticipation and expectation. Accumulate participants have recently put themselves through the task of applying for a scholarship to continue their creative education and study on the Access to HE Diploma in Design and Digital Media at Ravensbourne. This year, three scholarships are up for grabs and these will be announced and awarded at the Displacement Exhibition Private View on 17th May. It is a life changing opportunity for those that are successful and selected for a scholarship. Our thanks go to Brickworks London, the Ethical Estate Agency, Straight Forward Design Company and Ruth Keetch, a Ravensbourne governor, for supporting and funding these scholarships.

The Accumulate exhibition is not just about displaying the photographs taken by the Accumulate participants. It has a bigger role to play – it showcases the talents of a group of people that may feel marginalised and excluded from the mainstream and it becomes an educational tool of how much talent exists that is under utilised and needs to be nurtured and supported. Most of all, on the exhibition private view evening the Accumulate participants celebrate their achievements, learning and developments and others celebrate with them and admire their work. All of this is part of the positive learning journey that helps people to believe in themselves, their potential and ability to self progress onto a better place in life.

All of the photographs in the Accumulate Displacement exhibition are for sale, with profits split between the participants, so that they can earn money from their creativity, and Accumulate so that it can continue its services and provide more creative workshops to people affected by homelessness. It is possible to purchase the Accumulate exhibition 2018 photographs from our online shop here 

 

The Accumulate group at the ceramics workshop

The Accumulate group tries out yoga and ceramics.

The Accumulate group tried out yoga and ceramics this year. Both of these are new activities for the group, and the participants left these both wanting more – which is always a good sign!

We now have a community of learning and this is something we want to build on as the project continues and grows. The Accumulate participants now greet and high five each other and are linked through their creativity and their talents, they are empowered, positive and are ready to take on new challenges. And that’s what Accumulate is all about, and that is success for us and for the participants.

The Accumulate group at the ceramics workshop

The Accumulate group at the ceramics workshop

Olive, a participant, emailed in after the Accumulate ceramics workshops and said “I felt so confident in myself when you told me I’m doing well and showing me new task and how to make things easier  for me” and here she is, very proud, with the plate and bowl that she made.

Olive with the bowl and plate that she made

Olive with the bowl and plate that she made

Thank you to our new partners for these activities – Level Six Yoga at Peckham Levels and the learning team at The Victoria and Albert Museum.

We are now starting to get ready for the Accumulate photography exhibition. Once again we will be having the exhibition at The Guardian building in Kings Cross. Our thanks are due to them for their continued support. The theme of the exhibition is Displacement and at the private view on May 17th we will also be awarding three scholarships for selected Accumulate participants to be able to study on the Access to HE course in Digital Media and Design at Ravensbourne. Please do email info (at) accumulate.org.uk if you would like to attend the private view and are not already on our mailing list.

The Accumulate group try out yoga at Level Six Yoga Studio, Peckham Levels

The Accumulate Photography Workshops 2018

The Accumulate Photography Workshops 2018 are nearly over for another year. They start in January and end mid-May with the exhibition,  and, this year, two things have really stood out, friendship and trust.

Friendship: We have people from different hostel groups, different countries and different age groups this year, more so than previously. We have an ex basket ball player from Kuwait, a retired gardener, a gospel singer, a chef and a cricket fan amongst our group. They come every week, sun, rain or snow, and what has been really apparent is that friendships have been made, people are hanging out with different people, they meet outside of the Accumulate photography workshops and they all “high five” each other when they arrive and hug at the end.

Friendship is so positive, and sometimes we can take it for granted. Friendship counters loneliness – which can be a trigger for mental health issues and depression, and it means you are connected to other people in a positive way. The Accumulate participants are not connected together because they live in a hostel and have the same life circumstance. They are connected together through their love of doing something creative, they communicate and share themselves through this, and they witness and experience a bond with people who they look forward to seeing each week and spending time with.

Mask-making-at-the-Identity-Workshop-at-The-Victoria-and-Albert-Museum-1030x687

Trust: When we began the Accumulate 2018 photography workshops, there was a wariness, aloofness and inhibition that spread across the group. No one wanted to put their hand up to ask a question, there was a bit of “them and us” going on, and there definitely wasn’t a sense of trust or security. Everyone started off a bit unsure of what they had embarked on, a bit unsure of themselves and definitely unsure of the other people in the room. Slowly, trust has built up. Trust between the participants, the participants and the student helpers and between the participants, student helpers and the tutors. Once that trust began to take place, we started to introduce other creative activities, beyond photography. The group made visual art in response to the Basquiat exhibition at The Barbican, made their own protest t.shirts for a London Fashion Week activity and made masks for the “Identity and Culture” talk at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

But out of all of this creativity, one activity has stood out above all else and has been the emotional and rewarding highlight of the project so far – Yoga. This past week the Accumulate group had their first yoga lesson. That this actually happened is a sign that these 18 people, the Accumulate participants, now all trust each other, feel good about themselves and have found their self-confidence to try something new and outside of their comfort zone. This was is the biggest achievement of the project so far. It also symbolises what Accumulate stands for and sets out to do – to build confidence, trust and empowerment through creativity. Seeing the Accumulate group participate in a yoga lesson, love it and want to do more just shows just how far they all have come.

The-Accumulate-group-try-out-yogat-at-Level-Six-Yoga-Studio-Peckham-Levels-1030x687