Artist Research Workshop with Elsa James

Elsa James’ Artist Research Workshop will take participants on a guided tour through James’ practice, using the new publication Drax of Drax Hall by Paul Lashmar as a springboard. The workshop will look at the vital role that interdisciplinary research holds in artist practice and invites participants to explore Afro Dadaism, a new strand in her artistic research. James uses Afro Dada to explore the intersections of Black British identity and the British Empire through experimental methods and materials. As part of the workshop you are invited to bring materials for collage that can be used to explore personal and historical narratives of your own.

This event is part of a collaboration between The Other MA(TOMA) and The Old Waterworks and is supported by Pluto Press and The Reading Room. You can buy a copy of the book at the event.

Elsa James is a British African-Caribbean artist and activist who grew up in West London and now lives and works in Essex. Her collaborative, research-led practice interrogates constructions of identity, modes of belonging, and the enduring legacies of the British Empire. Working across live performance, moving image, sound collaborations, and text-based works in screenprint and neon, her interdisciplinary approach centres Blackness as a methodology for cultural resistance, speculative inquiry, and critical hope. As a descendant of the Windrush generation, James draws on the legacies of migration and cultural survival, grounding her practice in Caribbean diasporic histories and an intuitive connection to her African heritage.

The Old Waterworks is an artist-led charity in Southend-on-Sea that provides studios, facilities, and research and development opportunities for artists as well as quality arts events and experiences for our surrounding community. TOW addresses the need for spaces for artists, a venue for cultural activities and workshops to take place, and a site for research and development.

The Other MA is an 18-month artist-run learning programme based in Southend-on-Sea supporting artists who have faced barriers accessing art education and the ‘art world’. TOMA was set up in 2016 to offer affordable, accessible and responsive art education to artists and we are the only postgraduate level art programme in Essex after all others were stopped by their host universities.

The Reading Room: is a new collaborative project where people can read, learn, listen, and share ideas. Through linking up with other spaces across the country, Pluto Press and the Left Book Club have created libraries stocked with thought provoking books, where reading groups and opportunities to meet authors are being established, providing resources and activities that hope to catalyse creativity, collaboration and conversation.