Opening Night: Dialogue in The Making

Celebrate the launch of a new exhibition by the Art Department at Thomas Tallis School

About the exhibtion

In a profession that often separates artist from teacher, or studio from school, Dialogue in the Making offers an alternative perspective: that making and teaching, memory and imagination can inform one another. Bringing together the practices of ten art teachers and the technicians integral to the school community, the exhibition invites reflection on the possibilities of creative dialogue.

What happens to creative practice when it unfolds in the margins of daily life - between lessons, in sketchbooks, in moments carved out from the pressures of teaching life?

From the spiritual gatherings documented by Jannell Adufo, to Louisa Barry’s photographs of places shaped by time, to fictional landscapes constructed in the sculptural worlds of Lily Pym. For Kerry Gibson, scale slips into abstraction through layered paper studies, while Tamsin Wildy’s fragile structures reveal the unpredictable behaviours of plaster, found objects and light. Some return to unfinished ideas, such as Luke Roszkowski’s early moving-image work, whilst others shape their practice around the demands of care, labour and the pressures of time.

This show continues the momentum of the acclaimed exhibition Dianne Minnicucci: Belonging and Beyond at Autograph, exploring how vulnerability, identity and creative practice intersect in the work of an artist-teacher at Thomas Tallis School. Here, Dialogue in the Making embeds that idea across the whole Art Department, providing space and freedom to see how creative practices can evolve and be challenged beyond the classroom.

Read more on Autograph's website

Your visit / accessibility at autograph

Everyone is welcome at Autograph. Our gallery is located at Rivington Place in Hackney, London. Our iconic building is England’s first permanent public space dedicated to diversity in the visual arts.

Autograph is an accessible venue that welcomes people with all types of disabilities.

Have a look at our Visit Us page, it has full information about accessibility at Autograph.

About our openings

Everyone is welcome to Autograph's exhibition openings. This opening will take place in the Gallery at the Thomas Tallis School and there will be light refreshments. This is an informal event, you could arrive and leave at any time. Please report to the front desk on arrival to the school.

During busy times, there may have be a short queue to enter the building or gallery.

Part of the project

The Visible Practice Residency is a three-year project to support and expand the personal practice of art and photography teachers from global majority backgrounds, elevating the teacher as artist and artist as teacher.

Photography / filming at this event

Please note that photography and/or filming may take place at this event. Images from this event may be used by Autograph and external press for marketing and promotional use, including: printed and online publicity, social media, press releases, or other use.

Visit the exhibitions

After the opening night, the exhibition will continue at Thomas Tallis from 23 January - 30 January 2026. Book a free, timed ticket in advance.

Supported by

This exhibition is supported by Freelands Foundation and Arts Council England.

The Visible Practice Residency is in partnership with Thomas Tallis School and The Photographers' Gallery.

Autograph ABP Registered in England no. 2285116 | Registered Charity no. 1127712

Images: 1) Banner image: Jannell Adufo, from the series The ground on which you stand is holy ground, 2025. © and courtesy the artist.