Free Art School

curated by Lindsay Mapes and Anna Harding

Free Art School E20 Exhibition and workshop programme
50 Celebration Avenue, Stratford E20 1DB

PRIVATE VIEW: Thursday 30 November 6-9
EXHIBITION OPEN: 1 December – 7 January
Friday – Sunday 12 – 5pm
(Closed for Christmas 21 Dec – 31 Dec)
Admission is free and open to all.
Curated by Anna Harding and Lindsay Mapes
Kindly supported by Hypha Studios and Get Living

About Free Art School E20

Free Art School comes from our desire to create an inspiring and inclusive exhibition with accompanying events for local residents at a time when more people than ever are put off accessing creative arts in school or higher education due to prohibitive costs and uncertain career prospects. Creating a space for meeting between creative people from all walks of life. Workshops by exhibiting artists will contribute to an experimental, free “art school” environment for people of any age or outlook.
Connecting artists to fellow artists with different skill sets and levels of experience, building relationships across the community and enabling artists to get involved with the local community where they live and work.

The exhibition takes place in the new E20 neighbourhood area which was the former Olympic Athletes village. Artists were selected who live and work close by and are contributing workshops for free.

Exhibited work will include virtual reality, painting, drawing, furniture design and site-specific text.
Free and low-cost workshops to unlock your creativity will take place on Sundays 10 December and 7 January from 12-6, delivered by artists in the exhibition.

Workshops must be booked in advance via Eventbrite:

Sunday 10 December 12-2pm
Introduction to Virtual Reality Storytelling (with multiple VR experiences on view) by Electric Skies FREE
RSVP HERE

Sunday 10 December 2-4pm
Riding the White Elephant through Westfield.
Artist Dunya Kalantery invites you to take a walk with them through the wild lands of the Olympic Park and Westfield: gathering sensory and psychic impressions for a collective art work. £6 – all ages welcome.
RSVP HERE

Sunday 10 December 2-4pm
Borrow and steal like an artist
Collage workshop for all ages with Alex Fox £2
RSVP HERE

Sunday 10 December 4-6pm
Drawing Portraits with Wilfrid Wood
In this workshop we will one by one draw volunteers from the group for 15 minutes. The idea will be not to attempt photorealistic drawings but to find the most characteristic elements of the way a person looks and to slightly emphasise them. £5, materials provided
RSVP HERE

Sunday 7 January 12-1.30
Sing, Sound and Doodle with Uran Apak
Join Uran on an immersive journey to unlock the potential of your voice through improvisational games, sound painting, live looping, and a collaborative doodling and sounding session. £6
RSVP HERE

Sunday 7 January 2-4
Collective Creativity
Make a large scale painting collectively with Lindsay Mapes. All ages welcome. Family friendly FREE
RSVP HERE

PERFORMANCE for the opening 30th November
The Creative Exhibitionist 2023
Uran Apak
1hour Durational Performance using voice, loop station, paper and pen
‘Witness the artist creating in the moment’

Artists

Alex Fox @alexjrfox
Blake Carlson-Joshua @blakepaulcj
Dunya Kalantery @d.unya.k

Edward Reardon @edreardon
Electric Skies www.electricskies.io
Francis Visagie-Brooks @fvisagiebrooks

Uran Apak @uranapakart
Wilfrid Wood @wilfridwoodsculptor

Anna Harding @annahardinganna
Lindsay Mapes @lindsaymapes

About The Artists

Alex Fox
Alex Fox is a painter from London. He graduated with an MFA from City & Guilds of London Art School in 2009 and has since exhibited his works at the Royal Academy, London Art Fair and the V&A. His public art projects feature in a former stately home in Runnymede as well as Stone Studios, Hackney Wick and The Amelia in Tunbridge Wells. These paintings comprise sporting activities and pastimes that have taken place in various locations in East London – specifically Stratford, Hackney Wick, Walthamstow, Leyton and Epping. ‘Stretch’ and ‘Set’ refer to the sporting activities in the 2012 Olympics which took place in Stratford. Rowers navigate the River Lea running through Hackney Wick, “Rower” & “Sculling”. Nearby Walthamstow was well known for its dog track, “Greyhounds” and Leyton for pigeon racing, “Highflyer”. Further west lies Hackney Marshes, famous for its Sunday football leagues, “Warm Up”, and Lee Valley Riding School, “Unhorsed”. Epping Forest, was the location of different forms of hunting in mediaeval times, including falconry, “3 Falcons”. @alexjrfox

Anna Harding
Based in Stratford, Anna has worked as a curator and educator (John Hansard Gallery, Camerawork London, Kettle’s Yard Cambridge, Goldsmiths MA Curating) and studio organisation director (www.spacestudios.org,uk). She recently started her own art practice, studying at the Royal Drawing School, The ESOP and completing the Turps Off Site programme in 2023. These paintings of buildings reflect on abandoned dreams, from a time before the failure of optimism, when people still believed in the future.These individualistic modern villas were built as personal statements invested with hope and aspiration. Today it may seem hard to believe this really happened. After a traumatic era, can we restore a belief in the future?
www.annaharding.co.uk
@annahardinganna

Claudia Rao Hackett @raohackett
Inside my Head, sound installation
‘Inside My Head’ is an interactive audiovisual installation that invites you to sit and listen. Exploring the topic of mental health and internal dialogue, it encourages viewers to contemplate the complexities of the inner self and to question how we think and perceive the world around us.
Claudia Rao Hackett is a London based artist. Her work explores various forms such as installations, painting, print, and craft. With a focus on infusing psychology with art and design, her creations aim to inspire self-reflection and foster connections.

Blake Carlson-Joshua
Blake is a Minnesota born product and experience designer with a studio based in Wembley. He graduated from the Royal College of Art with his MA in Design Products, and runs a furniture and experience design studio (B.C. Joshua)
Blake will be exhibiting his “What are you?” series which is a set of 3 chairs that explore the contrasts and fluidity within personal identity, the grey area in which one finds conflict with how they feel inside vs how they are often perceived by others. Each chair represents a singular emotion, and actively embodies this feeling within its framework.
www.bcjoshua.com
@blakepaulcj

Dunya Kalantery
Dunya Kalantery (b.1986) is an Iranian/Croatian artist and researcher based in London and Helsinki. Their work is concerned with the interrelation of places, species, cultures and materials beyond hierarchies.
I ride the white elephant kicking up dandelions as I go is a piece of feminist psychogeography in response to dispossession, Stratford and the Olympics. It speaks of repossessing our lands by the force of our own desire. Published by TACO! in 2021.
@d.unya.k

Edward Reardon
Edward Reardon (b.1992) is a painter based in Hackney Wick. Edward attended University of Plymouth graduating in 2014. Most recently he completed the Turps Off Site Programme in 2023.Reardon’s paintings interpolate organic and inorganic elements. He is interested in creating an atmosphere, one that is unsettling, pointing to something dark and unresolved.
@edreardon

Electric Skies
Electric Skies is an award winning, immersive content production company that creates innovative, story-led, interactive experiences. Our mission is to tell stories in a way that has never been done before – exciting, engaging and educating users at home, in the community, and in location-based installations.
Based on the remarkable true story of one aspirational LGBTQ+ parent’s groundbreaking journey through the adoption process in the U.K. Selected in competition for the 79th Venice International Film Festival, KINDRED is an animated virtual reality story of family and belonging.
https://www.electricskies.io/kindred
Trailer: https://youtu.be/jaI7irvT5pk

Francis Visagie-Brooks
Francis Visagie-Brooks is a painter living and working in Hackney, London. She completed the Turps Off Site Programme in 2023, having previously graduated with a BA in Philosophy, at Birkbeck, University of London.
Francis Visagie-Brooks’ paintings are based on an archive of photographs of her food-waste bin. While climate anxiety is present in the work, the focus is on considering the relationship between potential and failure. For at the edge of failure is potential, and the feeling that there should or could have been more — something almost impossible to think about, something transparent and slippery. This welcoming of the fuzziness of potential is mirrored in the paintings themselves, there is an avoidance of finality in the works, with a concerted effort to paint lightly. The starting point of the work, the anaemic under-painting and energised drawing, remains visible.
www.francisvisagiebrooks.com
@fvisagiebrooks

Lindsay Mapes
Originally from the USA, Mapes studied Painting at San Francisco Art Institute (1996–2000) and Studio Arts Centre International, Florence (2006–07). She went on to receive her MFA in Painting at the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, London (2008–10). She was enrolled in Turps Off Site Programme (2021-2023).
Since then, she has been based in London were she keeps a studio in Hackney Wick with @cellspacestudios and @creativelandtrust
On becoming a new parent my work has taken a dramatic shift. In a desire to be truthful about the reality of my new life, I have fully embraced the idea of play in relation to my paintings and sculptures. Recent works celebrate the realness, messiness, colour, brightness, boldness, joy, sadness, loneliness and dangers of parenthood. Playing with materials such as wool, clay, glass, paint, mud and hay, I am working to create an instinctive body of work that is neither painting nor sculpture, rather an exuberant hybrid.
In my newest series ‘In Stitches’, I am especially interested in the idea of craft as ‘fine’ art. Keeping the truthfulness to the material itself as well as the history of embroidery whilst also using the material in a way which I see a ‘painting’ being formed.
@lindsaymapes
www.lindsaymapes.com

Uran Apak
Uran Apak is a London-based voice explorer, artist, and vocal coach, with a background in studies at Goldsmiths University and The Essential School of Painting. He specializes in crafting transformative artistic experiences that guide individuals on soulful journeys, ultimately encouraging authenticity and self-exploration.
When I paint live models, my aim is to capture the essence of their humanity rather than striving for a mere realistic representation. I seek to create a dynamic interplay between what I observe and what I envision, allowing space for my emotions and unconscious projections to merge with the stories conveyed through their postures, facial expressions, and body language. At times, I extend this connection by engaging in actual conversations with the models, further influencing the artistic process.
The figures within my paintings often serve as facets of my own perceived identity or aspirations. Through the medium of painting, I provide visual expression to my inner voices, which frequently take on hybrid forms – be they aliens, gods, animal-like beings, robots, or hermaphrodites. My canvas becomes a stage where these ‘other’ bodies are welcomed, prompting deep reflections on their significance. It is a surreal mirror, one that reveals hitherto undiscovered aspects of myself.
My artistic expression is frequently accompanied by interdisciplinary performances, inviting the audience to partake in or bear witness to my creative process, which is rooted in improvisational strategies. Through this fusion of visual art and performance, I aim to offer a unique and engaging experience that transcends traditional artistic boundaries.
www.uranapak.com
@uranapakart

PERFORMANCE for the opening night
The Creative Exhibitionist 2023
Uran Apak
1 hr Durational Performance using voice, loop station, paper and pen
‘Witness the artist creating in the moment’

Wilfrid Wood
Wilfrid Wood is an artist living and working in Hackney. He is regularly commissioned by various people, often after they have seen his work on Instagram. The most important thing is that he gets as much character into the portrai as possible.
These portraits are from two series I have done over the last few years, one of A2 pastels and another of A1 black and white drawings.
@wilfridwoodsculptor

contact information

Contact Lindsay Mapes and Anna Harding
email: [email protected] [email protected]
media Enquiries contact: Anna Harding: 07950 224858 or Lindsay Mapes: 07503 908672
socials: @annahardinganna @lindsaymapes @alexjrfox @uranapakart @uranapak @blakepaulcj @edreardon @fvisagiebrooks @d.unya.k @wilfridwoodsculptor

Installation Shots

Workshop

Featured Artworks

Alex Fox

Warm Up, 2023 Oil on Paper 19 x 24 cm

Alex Fox

Two Dogs, 2023
Oil on Panel
25 x 20 cm

Anna Harding

Restoring a Belief in a Future, 2023, oil on linen, 85 x 70cm

Electric Skies

KINDRED. animated virtual reality story

Edward Reardon

EXHIBIT E. Acrylic on canvas. 160 x 140cm, 2023

Uran Apak

Arnold, 2023, oil on paper, 59 x 84cm

Alex Fox

Stretch, 2023
Oil on Board
13 x 18 cm

Alex Fox

Highflyer, 2023
Oil on Canvas
24 x 35 cm

Edward Reardon

EXHIBIT F. Acrylic on canvas. 160 x 140cm, 2023

Wilfrid Wood

Anka, pastel, A2, 2021

Alex Fox

Sculling, 2023
Gouache on Paper
12 x 18 cm

Alex Fox

Unhorsed, 2023
Oil on Board
20 x 15 cm

Alex Fox

Rower, 2023
Gouache on Paper
15 x 20 cm

Anna Harding

Health and Safety, 2023, oil on linen, 85 x 70 cm

Anna Harding

Abandoned Dreams, 2023, oil on linen, 120 x 90 cm

Edward Reardon

PARMA. Acrylic & Flashe on canvas. 160 x 140cm, 2023

Alex Fox

Feeding Falcon
Oiloncanvas 2023

Anna Harding

SwimmingPoolHouse2023
Oil on linen_85x70cm

Anna Harding

Rocky Road, 2023, oil on linen, 85 x 70 cm.

Edward Reardon

INTERFACE. Acrylic & Flashe on canvas. 160 x 140cm, 2023

Lindsay Mapes

Connect the dots_|2023 Oil paint on canvas 180 x 150cm..jpg

Wilfrid Wood

Benjamin, pastel, A2, 2019

Alex Fox

Relay, 2023
Oil on Panel
20 x 15 cm

Alex Fox

Hawks in the rain oil on canvas 2023

Wilfrid Wood

 Jarman, pastel, A2, 2019

Wilfrid Wood

Sonia, pastel, A2, 2021

Lindsay Mapes

Lindsay Mapes_I spy_Oil paint on canvas 180 x 150cm.

Francis Visagie-Brooks

Cutting it up for later, 2023, oil pigment acrylic on canvas, 180cm x 145cm

Anna Harding

TelecomsHouse2023,oil_on_linen_85x70cm

Dunya Kalantery

It will not end here, 2023

Francis Visagie-Brooks

Didn’t I treat you right, 2023, oil pigment acrylic on canvas, 180cm x 145cm

Lindsay Mapes

In stitches (Camoflauge|_ 2023 Tapestry wool on linen 50 x 40cm..jpg

Claudia_Rao_Hackett

Inside_my_Head, Sound Installation

‘Inside My Head’ is an interactive audiovisual installation that invites you to sit and listen. Exploring the topic of mental health and internal dialogue, it encourages viewers to contemplate the complexities of the inner self and to question how we think and perceive the world around us.

Francis Visagie-Brooks

Just know I adore you, 2023, oil pigment acrylic on canvas, 120cm x 100cm

Wilfrid Wood

Wendy, pastel, A2, 2020