Do I need to have any experience at drawing or being creative?

No! We will provide easy introductions and all materials and anyone of any skill level can participate.

Nothing, just yourself and a desire to get creative!

Is this for a particular age range?

This workshop is primarily for adults, so we advise age 18+ but there is no upper age limit. Teenage children who have a strong interest in creativity and illustration can attend with a parent.

Multiple dates

Threads of Home: A Day of Drawing, Storytelling & Culture

By London College of Fashion, UAL

Join us for a creative day of drawing, storytelling, and culture - it's all about finding the threads that make us feel at home.

Location

London Borough of Newham

Newham Libraries London Borough of Newham --- United Kingdom

Agenda

10:30 AM - 10:45 AM

Welcome & Introductions

10:45 AM - 11:30 AM

Story Circle: Memory, Celebration, Home

11:30 AM - 12:15 PM

Drawing Warm-Up & Individual Expression

Gentle drawing exercises set to South Asian music

12:15 PM - 1:00 PM

Collaborative Artmaking – Part 1

Begin creating a large collaborative artwork informed by individual stories and drawings using a variety of materials

1:00 PM - 1:45 PM

Lunch Break (free lunch provided by South Asian catering Oitij-Jo)

1:45 PM - 2:45 PM

Collaborative Artmaking – Part 2

2:45 PM - 3:00 PM

Closing Circle & Reflection

Good to know

Highlights

4 hours, 30 minutes
Ages 14+
In person

About this event

This South Asian Heritage Month, London College of Fashion is proud to collaborate with Newham Libraries and The Space to present a special series of free creative workshops celebrating the richness of South Asian culture through drawing, storytelling, conversation, and collaborative artmaking.

At the heart of this project is the power of personal and collective storytelling. Participants will be invited to reflect on their own lived experiences and cultural heritage, using these reflections as a starting point for mindful drawing, writing, and shared artistic expression.

Through mark-making and mindfulness exercises, we’ll explore colour, texture, and emotion, creating artworks individually and collectively, that celebrate identity, memory, and connection.

At the workshop, you will produce individual images and text, and work together as a group to create a collaborative artwork. What you can expect at the workshops:

Hands-on creative activities

Story circles and cultural conversations

Artistic expression inspired by heritage and identity

Community connection and collaboration
Celebrate identity, memory, and creativity with your community
Lunch, catered by Oitij-Jo Kitchen

This workshop will run on three dates, across three locations. You only need to register for one date. Dates and location details are below. All workshops start at 10.30 am, and finish at 3.00 pm.

Saturday 16 August 2025 at East Ham Library

[FULLY BOOKED] Monday 18 August 2025 at Skills Enterprise (Aston Mansfield Community Centre)

Thursday 21 August 2025 at Forest Gate Library

After the workshops the artworks will transford into a Virtual Reality experience by our students and teachers, to be showcased in Newham Libraries in November 2025.

Photo by Bhaskar Rao

Organized by

London College of Fashion, UAL

With our philosophy of open and inclusive education, we encourage students to examine the past and question the present. To develop inventive, assertive ideas that challenge social and political agendas. And we give them the skills, opportunities – and above all, the freedom – to put those ideas into practice.

As well as shaping the leaders of tomorrow, we’re transforming the industry from within. Through boundary-pushing research, we unite design, science, engineering and technology, to redefine fashion. Our Student Enterprise programmes, business incubator, and industry collaborations form a dynamic network to help our enterprising graduates launch and grow businesses.

Now that we have moved to a single purpose built site on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, we’re forging partnerships, opening up opportunities, and creating connections with east London’s schools, community and industry. Part of East Bank, a new culture, education and innovation development, our single-site campus will spark collaboration, experimentation, and inspiration – all under one roof.

In doing so, we’ll continue to pioneer how we all consume and practice fashion. Use fashion business, media and design to shape culture, economics, and society.

And through fashion, shape lives.