Education Exhibition. Beyond the Weave: Crafting Tradition, Sparking Play
30 July – 2 August 2025
Beyond the Weave... explores the intersection of art and craft. Each work provides a playful response to tradition through experimental making that engages the senses, offering a living exploration of connection, materiality and communal play that mirrors the exhibition’s theme. Tapping into the histories of traditional crafts framed within a contemporary context, these artworks reveal a synergy between the individual and the collective.
The concept of Beyond the Weave is central to the exhibition, visually manifesting as a wooden pole, around which visitors can strap-weave recycled fabric strips. As the show unfolds, these strips will build into ever-growing braids, offering a live exploration of connection, materiality and communal play. The work, created by Esther Adesigbin and the OG Youth Collective, playfully nods to the European maypole, where communities celebrate spring by dancing around a tall pole.
ZOUBIDA, established by Sophia Kacimi, reimagines Moroccan craftsmanship through close collaboration with local artisans. Large-format photographs taken by Osama Ahd show the installation of brightly coloured chess pieces in fabrics of yellow and pink, evoking joy and creativity. Each piece tells the story of an authentic collaboration between passionate craftsmen united by ancestral skills. ZOUBIDA has reimagined traditional codes to offer a new perspective on art and craftsmanship.
The OG Youth Collective present a collaborative mixed-media fabric piece adorned with sculptural and textile elements. Created during drop-in sessions around a communal table, the cloth captures the flux and flow of many gatherings. On display are also works by individual members of the OG Youth Collective.
Speaking in Colour, created by the Coram Fields girl's group, layers emojis, textures and personal symbols to investigate identity and belonging. Their art examines themes of self-expression, history and the power of being seen and heard, inspired by October Gallery's female artists. Through playful and vibrant visuals, the girls show how creativity becomes a tool for speaking up and shaping culture.
The Grimshaw Foundation bring their architectural eye to the exhibition with an installation designed and crafted by eight students. Using reclaimed fabrics sourced from TRAID, the work is composed of a series of 3D modular forms and embodies each student’s unique creative voice. Woven together, these elements form a unified response to themes of sustainability, storytelling and collaborative design - bringing forward the Foundation's mission of elevating creativity as an essential skill for the future.
Other collaborative artworks displayed are those by our Artist Educators and local school and community groups, including:
Edith Neville Primary School and Brecknock Primary School have worked with visual artist Georgie Fay and composer Arthur Keegan to create a ‘listening tent’, made from hand-printed fabrics and recorded sounds inspired by Aubrey Williams’ interest in ancient Mayan Civilisations. This ‘listening tent’ forms an imaginative, intimate space blending sound, textiles and personal narratives.
Students from William Ellis Secondary School and Lilo Amaral, alongside students from Acland Burghley Secondary School working with Kelly Franks, explore the connections between materials, modes of expression, journeys, and natural patterns. Meanwhile, Regent High Secondary School, in collaboration with Tascha von Uexkull, presents a richly textured, collaborative paper weaving installation.
New Horizons Youth Centre and Kirsty Reynolds present a hanging artwork experimenting with playful and explorative processes, including puncturing, weaving and mark making, inspired by techniques of artists Sokari Douglas Camp, LR Vandy and Naomi Wanjiku Gakunga.
Swiss Cottage SEN Secondary School students and Hannah Little-Jones were inspired by ZOUBIDA’s fabric chess pieces. They have explored fabrics and textures to create their own game board and pieces, each with their own individual character.
Students from Belvue SEN Secondary School and Alison Lam explored ‘time travel’ inspired by artist Nnenna Okore and have created a woven web of tactile clay objects to send messages to their past or future selves.
We are also pleased to have contributions from our Artist Educators including work by Eliza Groth, Usva Inei, JILO, Natalie Keymist and Alison Lam.
October Gallery’s Education Department aims to reflect the diversity of global and UK cultures through exhibitions and workshops with schools, families, community groups and artist educators. OG Education strives to establish a model for best practice in participatory arts and develops projects with a variety of schools and communities, offering art expertise, excellent teaching and high-quality results.
This exhibition and the work of the October Gallery Education Department are kindly supported by John Lyon’s Charity, Camden Council and St Andrew Holborn Charities.