Dates:
27 Jun 2023
People:
Location:
Block 336, London
Project:
ICF x KAKAZI studio are collaborating on a workshop series titled Crafting Intimacy & Play, inviting Black women and non-binary people to engage with personal archives and stories through making art and intergenerational discussions.
We are delighted to open the series with London-based artist Charmaine Watkiss, who will lead a drawing workshop on Tuesday 27 June, 6-8pm in Brixton.
During the event, Charmaine will hold a conversation with her close friend Taffaswa Balgobin, discussing her artistic journey and influences, as well as the care and creativity that has set the foundation of their 20 year friendship. This will be followed by a drawing workshop led by Charmaine, which all workshop participants are invited to take part in. The materials needed for the workshop will be provided.
Charmaine Watkiss is a London based Artist. She creates narratives primarily through research connected to the African Caribbean diaspora, which is then mapped onto female figures. She draws herself only as a conduit to relay stories which speak about a collective experience; starting with a theme then allowing intuition and a dialogue with the work to take over. Her practice addresses themes including, ritual, tradition, ancestry, mythology and cosmology.
OPEN CALL
We are extending an open call to Black women and non-binary participants – particularly those with a relationship to Brixton – to join us for this Drawing workshop on Tuesday 27 June 2023, 6-8pm at Block 336. There are only 12 spaces available, so please only sign up if you are able to join the session.
About the project
Crafting Intimacy & Play is an opportunity for a small group of people to come together to engage with artists and different art forms across ceramics, fashion design, drawing, sound and scent. These creative activities help us imagine ways of connecting to the past, present and future, while exploring various paths to self-expression. The workshop series intends to connect Black women and non-binary peoples’ experiences to curiosity, play and joy.
About Charmaine Watkiss
Charmaine Watkiss was born in London to Jamaican parents, she lives and works in London. She completed her MA in Drawing at Wimbledon College of Art, 2018. Her work is concerned with what she calls ‘memory stories’. She creates narratives primarily through research connected to the African Caribbean diaspora, which is then mapped onto female figures. She draws herself only as a conduit to relay stories which speak about a collective experience; starting with a theme then allowing intuition and a dialogue with the work to take over. Her practice addresses themes including, ritual, tradition, ancestry, mythology and cosmology. Charmaine has recently shifted her gaze towards the natural world, investigating the herbal healing traditions of Caribbean women, especially those of her mothers generation, and connecting those traditions through colonisation back to their roots in Africa. The result of which was her first solo show in London, called The Seed Keepers.
About ICF
International Curators Forum (ICF) was founded by artists and curators in 2007 to offer a programme of commissions, exhibitions, projects, publications and events that respond to the material conditions and cultural contexts impacting creative practitioners today.
About KAKAZI studio
Based in London, UK, KAKAZI studio is a design and research platform producing lifestyle pieces, alongside special projects and an oral histories platform. Bringing together African and Caribbean diasporan life experiences, KAKAZI studio focuses on platforming the nuances and of contemporary womanhood.
Header image: Charmaine Watkiss, The Warriors Way: Recalling the Lost Legacies (2022). Image courtesy the artist.
People:
Project:
ICF x KAKAZI studio are collaborating on a workshop series titled Crafting Intimacy & Play, inviting Black women and non-binary people to engage with personal archives and stories through making art and intergenerational discussions.
We are delighted to open the series with London-based artist Charmaine Watkiss, who will lead a drawing workshop on Tuesday 27 June, 6-8pm in Brixton.
During the event, Charmaine will hold a conversation with her close friend Taffaswa Balgobin, discussing her artistic journey and influences, as well as the care and creativity that has set the foundation of their 20 year friendship. This will be followed by a drawing workshop led by Charmaine, which all workshop participants are invited to take part in. The materials needed for the workshop will be provided.
Charmaine Watkiss is a London based Artist. She creates narratives primarily through research connected to the African Caribbean diaspora, which is then mapped onto female figures. She draws herself only as a conduit to relay stories which speak about a collective experience; starting with a theme then allowing intuition and a dialogue with the work to take over. Her practice addresses themes including, ritual, tradition, ancestry, mythology and cosmology.
OPEN CALL
We are extending an open call to Black women and non-binary participants – particularly those with a relationship to Brixton – to join us for this Drawing workshop on Tuesday 27 June 2023, 6-8pm at Block 336. There are only 12 spaces available, so please only sign up if you are able to join the session.
About the project
Crafting Intimacy & Play is an opportunity for a small group of people to come together to engage with artists and different art forms across ceramics, fashion design, drawing, sound and scent. These creative activities help us imagine ways of connecting to the past, present and future, while exploring various paths to self-expression. The workshop series intends to connect Black women and non-binary peoples’ experiences to curiosity, play and joy.
About Charmaine Watkiss
Charmaine Watkiss was born in London to Jamaican parents, she lives and works in London. She completed her MA in Drawing at Wimbledon College of Art, 2018. Her work is concerned with what she calls ‘memory stories’. She creates narratives primarily through research connected to the African Caribbean diaspora, which is then mapped onto female figures. She draws herself only as a conduit to relay stories which speak about a collective experience; starting with a theme then allowing intuition and a dialogue with the work to take over. Her practice addresses themes including, ritual, tradition, ancestry, mythology and cosmology. Charmaine has recently shifted her gaze towards the natural world, investigating the herbal healing traditions of Caribbean women, especially those of her mothers generation, and connecting those traditions through colonisation back to their roots in Africa. The result of which was her first solo show in London, called The Seed Keepers.
About ICF
International Curators Forum (ICF) was founded by artists and curators in 2007 to offer a programme of commissions, exhibitions, projects, publications and events that respond to the material conditions and cultural contexts impacting creative practitioners today.
About KAKAZI studio
Based in London, UK, KAKAZI studio is a design and research platform producing lifestyle pieces, alongside special projects and an oral histories platform. Bringing together African and Caribbean diasporan life experiences, KAKAZI studio focuses on platforming the nuances and of contemporary womanhood.
Header image: Charmaine Watkiss, The Warriors Way: Recalling the Lost Legacies (2022). Image courtesy the artist.
Dates:
27 Jun 2023
Location:
Block 336, London
