What’s On
Delivering programmes for diverse audiences, participants and communities.
Events - Workshops - Shows - Festivals
Jonny Kemp | Proscribed
Proscribeverb. (of a government or other authority) to condemn or forbid as harmful or unlawful
“Dark marks upon a white page gradually discern themselves as human figures. They seem to be contorted or twisted in almost impossible positions, some appearing to lie flat in mid-air. The space around them threatens to envelope them. There are what looks like handprints on them, but empty handprints of nothingness. They are of all ages, backgrounds, genders. They are united in their impossibility. And yet they appear alone.
In July 2025, the UK government proscribed the group Palestine Action, leading to mass demonstrations of people across the country protesting this decision. They sat peacefully, holding hand-written signs that read ‘I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action’. The police did what the law determines they should do and moved in to arrest these people; these people were supporting what was now deemed a terrorist organisation, after all. The activists did not resist, but did not give in either: making themselves dead weights, the police were forced to carry them away from the site of protest.
My drawings depict some of these people in the act of being carried. All other contexts have been removed: we simply see the person themselves: no crowds, no sign, no police. We centre on the person, we see them in the moment of arrest, we remember them as human beings who are contorted by the controlling hands and controlling events around them. Are these people truly harmful? Is what they are doing unlawful?”
Jonny Kemp embarked on an artistic career without formal art qualifications. With an English degree and ten years of English teaching behind him, he has gone on to become an award-winning artist, having appeared on Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2023 and taken a Fine Art Foundation and Masters degree, graduating from City and Guilds of London School of Art in September 2025.
Through two parallel practices of oil paint and pen, he asks what portraiture is capable of in the 2020s and how it can be used to investigate and see new truths in our contemporary society by finding historical parallels and patterns in both human behaviour and the artworks which have documented it.
Sales proceeds go towards supporting the artist’s growth and funding public programmes in advancing and diversifying engagement in visual storytelling.
Opening times: West Norwood Picturehouse | West Norwood Cinema | Showtimes
Paula Mary | Halfway Home
“A life spent half here, half there, belonging nowhere - a new body of work that investigates the layered relationships between place, identity and neurodivergent perception. This is a deeply personal and timely project, emerging from the halfway point of living between Australia and England, and shaped by a late diagnosis of AuDHD.
Informed by my neurodivergence and dual heritage, my practice explores the shifting spaces between belonging and estrangement. Through contrasts of motion and calmness, inner conflict and outward stillness, I examine the interplay between self and environment to capture the energy of introspection and complexities of the emotional undertow of my lived experience.
My work explores landscape, not as a literal place but as a representation of memory. Home becomes both a resting place and an uncertain terrain, formed through echoes of land and memory, a space where forms dissolve into mere suggestions and gestural marks evolve into shapes that hover between recognition and abstraction.
Ambiguity is intentional - symbolic haziness, tonal atmospheres, and layered impressions invite viewers to coexist with mystery rather than resolve it.”
Paula Mary is a mixed-media artist based in South London. She studied graphic design at art college and has a background as a props buyer, set dresser and stylist for film and television. Her work has been exhibited across venues in South East London - including a solo exhibition at Copper Beech Cafe - and at various group exhibitions, such as Liberation Art Gallery in Brighton. Paula has also participated in the Crystal Palace Artists’ Open House and Dulwich Festival Artists' Open House.
Sales proceeds go towards supporting the artist’s growth and funding public programmes in advancing and diversifying engagement in visual storytelling.
Opening times: West Norwood Picturehouse | West Norwood Cinema | Showtimes
CPAOH Emerging Artists Initiative presents…
CPAOH Emerging Artists Initiative presents… Pinkwolf
The Crystal Palace Artists’ Open House Emerging Artists Initiative supports the next generation of creative talent, providing a platform for those actively studying (either formally or self-led) for a career in the creative arts. Selected artist have their application fee for the festival waived. They also get their materials and framing sponsored and are offered space by a host venue to show their work over both weekends of the open house. In addition, they receive an hour’s mentoring, delivered by a professional artist, and the promise of an exhibition with us.
Pinkwolf was the selected artist for the CPAOH Emerging Artists Initiative 2025.
“Before asking to be seen, we must first learn how to see ourselves. Without role models to rely on, my reflection emerged from the world around me — from what I encountered through travel, experience and the emotions that still move within me today. ”
Luka Gille, also known as Pinkwolf, is a French conceptual photographer whose work explores masculinity, vulnerability and self-acceptance through introspective self-portraiture. Drawing from personal history and emotional memory, his work blends surrealism and symbolism to question traditional representations of men and the quiet emotional worlds that often remain unseen behind them. Influenced by artists such as René Magritte, Claude Monet and Robert Doisneau, his practice moves between introspection and visual poetry.
At the core of Pinkwolf’s work lies a question: Why does the idea of masculinity often seem to require performance? Contemporary gender research suggests that masculinity is not simply something one is, but something that is repeatedly enacted and validated through visible signs.
In societies shaped by speed, image and productivity, identity itself increasingly becomes something to curate, display and measure. Rather than offering answers, Pinkwolf attempts to slow down this mechanism. Through self-portraiture, he uses the camera as a space of deconstruction — a way to step outside the performance and reconnect with something more fragile and intimate. In a world where the image we project often carries more weight than the relationship we have with ourselves, these photographs invite viewers to pause, reflect and reconsider the distance between being seen and truly seeing oneself.
@pinkwolf_official | Reflections Art Fest 2026
A free exhibition with proceeds from all sales going to the artist’s growth and funding public programmes in advancing and diversifying engagement in visual storytelling.
Exhibition Launch - CPAOH Emerging Artists Initiative presents… Pinkwolf
Launching the second exhibition series for the Crystal Palace Artists’ Open House Emerging Artists Initiative.
Featuring recent work by photographer Pinkwolf.
Join us in person on Sunday, 5th April for the launch of this free exhibition profiling a creative whose work hinges on a single idea - “Before asking to be seen, we must first learn how to see ourselves.”
No need to RSVP. Just turn up!
Produced in partnership with CPAOH, West Norwood Picturehouse and Ziza Natur.
Part of Reflections Art Fest 2026.
Proceeds from all sales go towards the artist’s growth and funding public programmes in advancing and diversifying engagement in visual storytelling.
Kink and Draw (SOLD OUT - WAITLIST ACTIVE)
Drawn to (and in) kink.
What a joy it’s been to work with the iconic artist-photographer, curator, archivist and activist Ajamu X to offer life drawing in his South London creative haven. Every session has been an inspiration and a step into the new for drawers and models alike.
Kink and Draw is a solid part of the Ajamu Studios life drawing experience, featuring a different model each month bringing their own, special style of art-nude kink.
In April, we welcome emerging art nude Conor to the life room.
"I'm drawn to kink because it treats self-expression as somethingsacred rather than something to be hidden. Combined with life modelling, it becomes deliciously affirming - rooted in consent, ownership of my body and image and a refusal of the long habits that teach us to monitor, justify and discipline desire. For me, it's a pathway to a genuinely unapologetic way of being."
As with our other life drawing experiences at Ajamu Studios, Kink and Draw accentuates the critical work around LGBTQIA+ experiences that is so much a part of Ajamu’s body-positive work, welcoming life models who accentuate and celebrate the thrust of that work and their own inimitable Queerness, regardless of sexuality.
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Participants are free and encouraged to dress in their favourite gear - kink, cosplay etc. A changing area will be available.
This is an inclusive, accessible drawing experience for all levels of ability because, frankly, everyone can draw. Believe it.
Boards, paper and materials are also very much included, but feel free to bring your own. Dry materials only can be used in the studio.
Hosted by the model, Roy Joseph Butler, with guidance on where to begin and how to continue.
Spaces are limited, so please book online, and reach out if this is not possible.
£15 per person + £1.96 sales fee | Personal assistants free. DM for details.
Refreshments included.
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Ever considered trying life modelling yourself? For information about gaining experience, ticking off that bucket list item or properly getting started in the industry, get in touch or visit the Starkers Academy.
Life Drawing at Ajamu Studios
Drawing the Black body, drawing on Queer experience.
We’ve had a blast working with iconic artist-photographer, curator, archivist and activist Ajamu X to offer life drawing in his South London creative haven. And the fun continues…
To highlight Ajamu's critical work around Black LGBTQIA+ experiences, we’ll be welcoming life models into his studio who accentuate and celebrate the thrust of that work and their own inimitable Queerness, regardless of sexuality.
We should also mention that most of the models will be posing for the very first time, taking that first step in realising the creative and discursive power of their bodies.
In April, we welcome up-and-coming art nude Anuli to the life room.
"I welcome the opportunity to expand my creative practice in this intimate setting, a chance to explore identity and perspective through art."
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This is an inclusive, accessible drawing experience for all levels of ability because, frankly, everyone can draw. Believe it!
Boards, paper and materials are also very much included, but feel free to bring your own. Dry materials only can be used in the studio.
Hosted by Roy Joseph Butler and Leo Crane, with guidance on where to begin and how to continue.
Spaces are limited, so please book online, and reach out if this is not possible.
£15 per person + £1.96 sales fee | Personal assistants free. DM for details.
Refreshments included.
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Ever considered trying life modelling yourself? For information about gaining experience, ticking off that bucket list item or properly getting started in the industry, get in touch or visit the Starkers Academy.
BIAF presents: 360° Life Drawing
Draw the art nude and create a 2D 360° turn-around animation…
…with our very own Leo Crane - artist-animator-educator.
You'll be encouraged to consider movement in a series of sequential poses before capturing a single pose from multiple viewpoints. At the end of the workshop, you’ll have the opportunity to animate your drawings
Everything will be provided, you’ll just need to bring your smart phone.
In partnership with the Brighton International Animation Festival.
Crossing the Screen and the Eastbourne International Animation Festival present: Charcoal Animation Workshop
Learn erasure charcoal animation.
Using your mobile phone, accessible animation software and a camera stand as your rostrum, you'll create a loop (or series of loops) from original charcoal drawings.
This is a learning experience for all levels of animation and drawing ability. For those more experienced in frame-by-frame animation, this workshop will grow your skills in fine-art moving-image practice. And for individuals at the earlier stages of animation learning, this workshop will be a jumping off point for you in realising technique and composition using a very tactile and agile medium - charcoal.
Guidance is provided, so are the materials. All you'll need to bring is your mobile phone, complete with the Stop Motion Studio app, and heaps of creativity and imagination.
Kink and Draw
Drawn to (and in) kink.
What a joy it’s been to work with the iconic artist-photographer, curator, archivist and activist Ajamu X to offer life drawing in his South London creative haven. Every session has been an inspiration and a step into the new for drawers and models alike.
Kink and Draw is a solid part of the Ajamu Studios life drawing experience, featuring a different model each month bringing their own, special style of art-nude kink.
In November, we look forward to welcome model and creative James Price to the life room.
“I have found life modelling to be incredibly cathartic and freeing. Ever since I became a life model, I have found that it has helped me challenge the negative voice in my head that always found ways to deride me and make me feel bad about myself and my body.
Similarly, kink (and kink events) have been deeply cathartic and healing for me because they have allowed me to approach self-expression as something that is not only special, but necessary, rather than something to be ashamed of.
I’m excited by the idea of bringing those two worlds together in a way that is consensual, sincere and beautiful.“
As with our other life drawing experiences at Ajamu Studios, Kink and Draw accentuates the critical work around LGBTQIA+ experiences that is so much a part of Ajamu’s body-positive work, welcoming life models who accentuate and celebrate the thrust of that work and their own inimitable Queerness, regardless of sexuality.
—
Participants are free and encouraged to dress in their favourite gear - kink, cosplay etc. A changing area will be available.
This is an inclusive, accessible drawing experience for all levels of ability because, frankly, everyone can draw. Believe it.
Boards, paper and materials are also very much included, but feel free to bring your own. Dry materials only can be used in the studio.
Hosted by the model, Roy Joseph Butler, with guidance on where to begin and how to continue.
Spaces are limited, so please book online, and reach out if this is not possible.
£15 per person + £1.96 sales fee | Personal assistants free. DM for details.
Refreshments included.
—
Ever considered trying life modelling yourself? For information about gaining experience, ticking off that bucket list item or properly getting started in the industry, get in touch or visit the Starkers Academy.
Life Drawing at Ajamu Studios
Drawing the Black body, drawing on Queer experience.
We’ve had a blast working with iconic artist-photographer, curator, archivist and activist Ajamu X to offer life drawing in his South London creative haven. And the fun continues…
To highlight Ajamu's critical work around Black LGBTQIA+ experiences, we’ll be welcoming life models into his studio who accentuate and celebrate the thrust of that work and their own inimitable Queerness, regardless of sexuality.
We should also mention that most of the models will be posing for the very first time, taking that first step in realising the creative and discursive power of their bodies.
In May, we welcome experienced art model Aazar to the life room.
—
This is an inclusive, accessible drawing experience for all levels of ability because, frankly, everyone can draw. Believe it!
Boards, paper and materials are also very much included, but feel free to bring your own. Dry materials only can be used in the studio.
Hosted by Roy Joseph Butler and Leo Crane, with guidance on where to begin and how to continue.
Spaces are limited, so please book online, and reach out if this is not possible.
£15 per person + £1.96 sales fee | Personal assistants free. DM for details.
Refreshments included.
—
Ever considered trying life modelling yourself? For information about gaining experience, ticking off that bucket list item or properly getting started in the industry, get in touch or visit the Starkers Academy.
Life Drawing at Ajamu Studios
Drawing the Black body, drawing on Queer experience.
We’ve had a blast working with iconic artist-photographer, curator, archivist and activist Ajamu X to offer life drawing in his South London creative haven. And the fun continues…
To highlight Ajamu's critical work around Black LGBTQIA+ experiences, we’ll be welcoming life models into his studio who accentuate and celebrate the thrust of that work and their own inimitable Queerness, regardless of sexuality.
We should also mention that most of the models will be posing for the very first time, taking that first step in realising the creative and discursive power of their bodies.
In March, we welcome new art nude and consummate creative Pinkwolf to the life room.
“I started as a photographer - a quiet witness to beauty in front of me. Self-portraiture gave me confidence and brought me here. Posing for others feels like a continuation of my story: from the inner to the outside world.“
—
This is an inclusive, accessible drawing experience for all levels of ability because, frankly, everyone can draw. Believe it!
Boards, paper and materials are also very much included, but feel free to bring your own. Dry materials only can be used in the studio.
Hosted by Roy Joseph Butler, with guidance on where to begin and how to continue.
Spaces are limited, so please book online, and reach out if this is not possible.
£15 per person + £1.96 sales fee | Personal assistants free. DM for details.
—
Ever considered trying life modelling yourself? For information about gaining experience, ticking off that bucket list item or properly getting started in the industry, get in touch or visit the Starkers Academy.
Life Drawing Workshop
Everybody can draw. It's true!
At Packed Lunch, we love working with the public to explore the innate creative streak in everyone, proving true every time that drawing, making, creating is something we all can do. This two-day figure drawing workshop puts that to the test.
Gestural drawing is the the art of capturing dynamic poses with economy and precision. Over two weeks, you will be guided through drawing exercises that will build skills and confidence in this aspect of figure drawing, each two-hour session offering a sequential approach to successful life drawing - from the basics to the final flourishes - with expert guidance and demonstration throughout.
A different artist model (semi-nude) will challenge participants each week, offering up a variety of poses to inspire.
Week 1 - Thursday, 12th March 2026 | 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Capturing the Entire Form - confident drawing and keen observing
Week 2 - Thursday, 19th March 2026 | 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Editing and Mark Making - keeping it simple and full of energy
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Hosted by Classically trained artist and professional tutor Ed Wills. In partnership with Barnet Libraries.
A different artist model (semi-nude) will challenge participants week on week, offering up a variety of poses that will hopefully also inspire.
Boards, paper and materials are included, but feel free to bring your own.
Just £3. Spaces are limited. Online booking essential.
Ages 18+
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Ever considered trying life modelling? For information about gaining experience, ticking off that bucket list item or properly getting started in the industry, get in touch or visit the Starkers Academy.
(SOLD OLD - WAITLIST ACTIVE) Kink and Draw
Drawn to (and in) kink.
What a joy it’s been to work with the iconic artist-photographer, curator, archivist and activist Ajamu X to offer life drawing in his South London creative haven. Every session has been an inspiration and a step into the new for drawers and models alike.
Kink and Draw is a solid part of the Ajamu Studios life drawing experience, featuring a different model each month bringing their own, special style of art-nude kink.
In March, we welcome artists’ model Roy Joseph Butler to the Kink and Draw space.
"As a gay man, I have felt the need to differentiate how I experience my body from heteronormative conventions. But, how I express myself through my body is how I feel we all should (and need to), regardless of gender and sexual identity - full of quirk, kink and fierceness.”
As with our other life drawing experiences at Ajamu Studios, Kink and Draw accentuates the critical work around LGBTQIA+ experiences that is so much a part of Ajamu’s body-positive work, welcoming life models who accentuate and celebrate the thrust of that work and their own inimitable Queerness, regardless of sexuality.
—
Participants are free and encouraged to dress in their favourite gear - kink, cosplay etc. A changing area will be available.
This is an inclusive, accessible drawing experience for all levels of ability because, frankly, everyone can draw. Believe it.
Boards, paper and materials are also very much included, but feel free to bring your own. Dry materials only can be used in the studio.
Hosted by the model, Roy Joseph Butler, with guidance on where to begin and how to continue.
Spaces are limited, so please book online, and reach out if this is not possible.
£15 per person + £1.96 sales fee | Personal assistants free. DM for details.
—
Ever considered trying life modelling yourself? For information about gaining experience, ticking off that bucket list item or properly getting started in the industry, get in touch or visit the Starkers Academy.
Reflections Art Fest
Use art to view and explore self.
Join artist Pinkwolf - 2025’s CPAOH Emerging Artist - for one immersive month as he transforms Crystal Palace, SE London into a living, breathing creative sanctuary - a place where art isn’t just observed, but experienced, felt, and reflected back to you.
If you’re drawn to art, cultural and making as a way of feeling, remembering and becoming, step into the world of Reflectionsand explore how your authenticity shapes the way you relate to creative expression and yourself. Over the month, you’ll enjoy:
Curated exhibitions
Intimate studio visits
Exclusive photoshoots
Fashion and creative showcases
Music and sound experiences
Poetry nights
Community meetups with fellow creatives
Artist-led workshops and embodied experiences
…and more.
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Come curious.
Leave changed.
Inclusive for all.
See you there!
Charcoal Animation Workshop (14 - 17 years)
Moving the Image. Animating from Imagination.
In this workshop, participants will learn how to use a stationary camera and basic animation software to make films from their own original charcoal drawings.
This is a learning experience for all levels of animation and drawing ability, even complete beginners. Guidance is provided, and so are the materials. All you'll need to bring us your mobile phone, complete with the Stop Motion Studio app, and your imagination.
Delivered by artist-animator Dann Parry.
In partnership with Barnet Library Service and the London Borough of Barnet.
Free. Online booking essential.
Exhibition Launch - Jonny Kemp | Proscribed
Launching the latest solo show by portrait artist Jonny Kemp.
“We centre on the person, we see them in the moment of arrest, we remember them as human beings who are contorted by the controlling hands and controlling events around them. Are these people truly harmful? Is what they are doing unlawful?”
Join us in person on Friday, 16th January at West Norwood Picturehouse to immerse yourself in this free exhibition by the artist, who challenges, through his practice, what portraiture is capable of in the 2020s and how it can be used to investigate and see new truths in our contemporary society by finding historical parallels and patterns in both human behaviour and the artworks which have documented it.
No RSVP necessary, just turn up!
The evening also celebrates the exhibition launch of Halfway Home by Paula Mary.
Sales proceeds go towards supporting the artist’s growth and funding public programmes in advancing and diversifying engagement in visual storytelling.
Exhibition Launch - Paula Mary | Halfway Home
Launching the latest exhibition by Paula Mary.
“This is a deeply personal and timely project, emerging from the halfway point of living between Australia and England, and shaped by a late diagnosis of AuDHD.”
Join us in person on Friday, 16th January at West Norwood Picturehouse to immerse yourself in this free exhibition by the artist, whose work explores landscape as a representation of memory and the concept of home as both a resting place and an uncertain terrain.
No RSVP necessary, just turn up!
The evening also celebrates the exhibition launch of Proscribed by Jonny Kemp.
Sales proceeds go towards supporting the artist’s growth and funding public programmes in advancing and diversifying engagement in visual storytelling.
Life Drawing at Ajamu Studios
Drawing the Black body, drawing on Queer experience.
We’ve had a blast working with iconic artist-photographer, curator, archivist and activist Ajamu X to offer life drawing in his South London creative haven. And the fun continues…
To highlight Ajamu's critical work around Black LGBTQIA+ experiences, we’ll be welcoming life models into his studio who accentuate and celebrate the thrust of that work and their own inimitable Queerness, regardless of sexuality.
We should also mention that most of the models will be new to the experience, taking their step in realising the creative and discursive power of their bodies.
However, for the 2025 finale, we welcome pure experience to the life room - art nude and doyen of the Bare Life Drawing Community, Jana Williams.
“I offer my raw, unfiltered self, actively escaping the limitations of the matrix. I pose to inspire the artist to join me in fully expressing their own authentic creative identity.“ Jana Williams
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This is an inclusive, accessible drawing experience for all levels of ability because, frankly, everyone can draw. Believe it!
Boards, paper and materials are also very much included, but feel free to bring your own. Dry materials only can be used in the studio.
Hosted by Roy Joseph Butler, with guidance on where to begin and how to continue.
Spaces are limited, so please book online, and reach out if this is not possible.
£15 per person + £1.96 sales fee | Personal assistants free. DM for details.
—
Ever considered trying life modelling yourself? For information about gaining experience, ticking off that bucket list item or properly getting started in the industry, get in touch or visit the Starkers Academy.
Kink and Draw
Drawn to (and in) kink.
We’ve been so privileged to work with iconic artist-photographer, curator, archivist and activist Ajamu X in offering life drawing in his South London creative haven. Every session has been a real success for drawers and models alike.
Since July, kink-and-draw life drawing has been a part of the Ajamu Studios experience, featuring a different model each month bringing their own, special style of art-nude kink.
In November, we look forward to welcome the one, the only I Am Vanesa Palacios to the Kink and Draw life room.
As with our other life drawing experiences at Ajamu Studios, Kink and Draw accentuates the critical work around LGBTQIA+ experiences that is so much a part of Ajamu’s body-positive work, welcoming life models who accentuate and celebrate the thrust of that work and their own inimitable Queerness, regardless of sexuality.
—
This is an inclusive, accessible drawing experience for all levels of ability because, frankly, everyone can draw. Believe it!
Participants are free to dress in their favourite gear - kink, cosplay etc. - and a changing area will be available.
Boards, paper and materials are also very much included, but feel free to bring your own. Dry materials only can be used in the studio.
Hosted by Roy Joseph Butler, with guidance on where to begin and how to continue.
Spaces are limited, so please book online, and reach out if this is not possible.
£15 per person + £1.96 sales fee | Personal assistants free. DM for details.
—
Ever considered trying life modelling yourself? For information about gaining experience, ticking off that bucket list item or properly getting started in the industry, get in touch or visit the Starkers Academy.
Life Drawing at Ajamu Studios
Drawing the Black body, drawing on Queer experience.
We’ve had a blast working with iconic artist-photographer, curator, archivist and activist Ajamu X to offer life drawing in his South London creative haven. And the fun continues...
To highlight Ajamu's critical work around Black LGBTQIA+ experiences, we’ll be welcoming life models into his studio who accentuate and celebrate the thrust of that work and their own inimitable Queerness, regardless of sexuality.
We should also mention that most of the models will be posing for the very first time, taking that first step in realising the creative and discursive power of their bodies.
For our first session in November, we welcome art nude Clayton to the life room, a model new to the industry but quickly becoming a fixture of the circuit (and who is pure inspiration to draw).
"It's a new way of me expressing myself, and I'm here for it all." Clayton
—
This is an inclusive, accessible drawing experience for all levels of ability because, frankly, everyone can draw. Believe it!
Boards, paper and materials are also very much included, but feel free to bring your own. Dry materials only can be used in the studio.
Hosted by Roy Joseph Butler, with guidance on where to begin and how to continue.
Spaces are limited, so please book online, and reach out if this is not possible.
£15 per person + £1.96 sales fee | Personal assistants free. DM for details.
—
Ever considered trying life modelling yourself? For information about gaining experience, ticking off that bucket list item or properly getting started in the industry, get in touch or visit the Starkers Academy.
Life Drawing Workshop
Everybody can draw. It's true!
We put it to the test, too, at this FREE life drawing course for all levels of ability, including (and particularly welcoming) absolute beginners.
Over four weeks, you will be guided through drawing exercises that will build skills and confidence in figure drawing, as well as engage you with your own innate creative spark.
Week 1 - Thursday, 6th November 2025 | 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Unfolding the Drawing Journey - constructing your guiding map and the means of managing your drawing as you proceed
Week 2 - Thursday, 13th November 2025 | 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Shading and Alternatives - smudges, hatching and other ways of making your mark
Week 3 - Thursday, 20th November 2025 | 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Conquering Complex Forms - how to realise complex forms on paper and make them simpler
Week 4 - Thursday, 27th November 2025 | 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Hands, Feet and Faces - how to avoid them defeating your in your drawing
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Hosted by Classically trained artist and professional tutor Ed Wills. In partnership with Barnet Libraries.
A different artist model (semi-nude) will challenge participants week on week, offering up a variety of poses that will hopefully also inspire.
Boards, paper and materials are included, but feel free to bring your own.
A FREE workshop, but spaces are limited. Online booking essential.
Ages 18+
—
Ever considered trying life modelling? For information about gaining experience, ticking off that bucket list item or properly getting started in the industry, get in touch or visit the Starkers Academy.
Life Drawing at Ajamu Studios
Drawing the Black body, drawing on Queer experience.
We’ve had a blast working with iconic artist-photographer, curator, archivist and activist Ajamu X to offer life drawing in his South London creative haven. And the fun continues…
To highlight Ajamu's critical work around Black LGBTQIA+ experiences, we’ll be welcoming life models into his studio who accentuate and celebrate the thrust of that work and their own inimitable Queerness, regardless of sexuality.
We should also mention that most of the models will be posing for the very first time, taking that first step in realising the creative and discursive power of their bodies.
However, in October, we welcome a bit of experience, art nude Khrystién Alexander.
—
This is an inclusive, accessible drawing experience for all levels of ability because, frankly, everyone can draw. Believe it!
Boards, paper and materials are also very much included, but feel free to bring your own. Dry materials only can be used in the studio.
Hosted by Roy Joseph Butler, with guidance on where to begin and how to continue.
Spaces are limited, so please book online, and reach out if this is not possible.
£15 per person + £1.96 sales fee | Personal assistants free. DM for details.
—
Ever considered trying life modelling yourself? For information about gaining experience, ticking off that bucket list item or properly getting started in the industry, get in touch or visit the Starkers Academy.
Kink and Draw
Drawn to (and in) kink.
We’ve been so privileged to work with iconic artist-photographer, curator, archivist and activist Ajamu X in offering life drawing in his South London creative haven. Every session has been a real success for drawers and models alike.
In July, we launched the kink-and-draw life drawing experience at Ajamu Studios, and it was such a success, we've gone and made it a regular thing.
So, in October, we look forward to welcoming art-nude diva Sir Kourtney Klévāge to the Kink and Draw life room.
“I’m a sex-positive, fierce model and performer intent on channelling that heat exploring the sensual space of Kink and Draw.“ Sir Kourtney Klévāge
As with our other life drawing experiences at Ajamu Studios, Kink and Draw accentuates the critical work around LGBTQIA+ experiences that is so much a part of Ajamu’s body-positive work, welcoming life models who accentuate and celebrate the thrust of that work and their own inimitable Queerness, regardless of sexuality.
—
This is an inclusive, accessible drawing experience for all levels of ability because, frankly, everyone can draw. Believe it!
Participants are free to dress in their favourite gear - kink, cosplay etc. - and a changing area will be available.
Boards, paper and materials are also very much included, but feel free to bring your own. Dry materials only can be used in the studio.
Hosted by Roy Joseph Butler, with guidance on where to begin and how to continue.
Spaces are limited, so please book online, and reach out if this is not possible.
£15 per person + £1.96 sales fee | Personal assistants free. DM for details.
—
Ever considered trying life modelling yourself? For information about gaining experience, ticking off that bucket list item or properly getting started in the industry, get in touch or visit the Starkers Academy.
Oil-paint-on-glass Animation Masterclass
Learn oil-paint-on-glass animation in this masterclass BAFTA-shortlisted, award-winning artist-educator-animator Oscar Wyndham Lewis.
En route to completing your own animated loops, you will:
Be introduced to seminal works exemplifying the oil-paint-on-glass animation technique
Learn general principles of animation practice and those specific to oil-paint-on-glass
Gain greater proficiency in animating and learn best practice with animation apps, with a step-by-step approach to instruction drawing on intuition and creativity
Learn mark making specific to oil painting on glass panels, including ‘moving’ the paint to engender movement
Bring to bear and share individual techniques/methods in oil painting or animating, embedding skills and proficiencies that lend themselves to moving-image making using oil paints on glass
This experience is part of Recorder - our latest moving-image production - and brought to you in partnership with Crystal Palace Artists' Open House 2025.
As a bonus, all participants will have the option of their work being included in the film, gaining both a film credit and experience with the production process.
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Everything will be provided, just bring your smart phone.
Any animation phone app is fine, with a tutorial on how to use it included.
All levels of experience with painting and animation are welcome and encouraged.
All ages are also welcome. Under 16's must be accompanied by an adult (parent/guardian) who is participating (with their own ticket) or observing (happy to sit aside from the session in the same space).
Refreshments will be included for the break, but feel free to bring a packed lunch. Refreshments will be included for the break, but feel free to bring a packed lunch. There are also innumerable local cafés and shops.
Aprons and gloves will be provided, but dress for the occasion. Oil paints are fun but leave a forever impression on clothes.
£75
Life Drawing at Ajamu Studios
Drawing the Black body, drawing on Queer experience.
We’ve had a blast working with iconic artist-photographer, curator, archivist and activist Ajamu X to offer life drawing in his South London creative haven. to offer life drawing in his South London creative haven. And the fun continues...
To highlight Ajamu's critical work around Black LGBTQIA+ experiences, we’ll be welcoming life models into his studio who accentuate and celebrate the thrust of that work and their own inimitable Queerness, regardless of sexuality.
We should also mention that most of the models will be posing for the very first time, taking that first step in realising the creative and discursive power of their bodies.
In September, we welcome one such creature, Conrad Johnson-Omodiagbe.
"I've always been very shy of my body, at least in front of people, but I'm trying to get over that and push myself out of my comfort zone." Conrad Johnson-Omodiagbe
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This is an inclusive, accessible drawing experience for all levels of ability because, frankly, everyone can draw. Believe it!
Boards, paper and materials are also very much included, but feel free to bring your own. Dry materials only can be used in the studio.
Hosted by Roy Joseph Butler, with guidance on where to begin and how to continue.
Spaces are limited, so please book online, and reach out if this is not possible.
£15 per person + £1.96 sales fee | Personal assistants free. DM for details.
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Ever considered trying life modelling yourself? For information about gaining experience, ticking off that bucket list item or properly getting started in the industry, get in touch or visit the Starkers Academy.
Portrait Drawing Crash Course with Jonny Kemp (Day 2/2)
In this creative crash course, you will explore different ways of starting a drawing, the essentials of drawing features of the face and the importance of light and shadow, taking your cue from a clothed artists' model.
The session, run in partnership with Crystal Palace Artists' Open House, is designed to be friendly, welcoming and informal, with tuition by award-winning artist Jonny Kemp, who appeared on Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2023.
En route to completing a long portrait at the end of the session, you will learn how to:
Use tone/lights and darks to create form
Break down eyes, nose and mouth into simpler shapes
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Drawing materials are provided, but feel free to bring your own.
Personal assistants attend free. Email hello@packedlunch.org for details.
Tea and coffee included.
£25.00
Exhibition Launch - Bare Life Drawing Community Group Show
Launching the debut group exhibition of award-winning* community group Bare Life Drawing.
Join us in person on Saturday, 20th September at West Norwood Library and Picturehouse for the launch of this free exhibition, featuring works from established artists and new voices of the Bare Life Drawing creative community.
No RSVP necessary, just turn up!
*Prestige Awards: Art School of the Year - London and South East England 2025/26
10% of all sales are donated to Bare, with the remainder dedicated to supporting the artists’ growth and funding our public programmes in advancing and diversifying engagement in visual storytelling.
Portrait Drawing Crash Course with Jonny Kemp (Day 1/2)
In this creative crash course, you will explore different ways of starting a drawing and the essentials of drawing features of the face, taking your cue from a clothed artists' model.
The session, run in partnership with Crystal Palace Artists' Open House, is designed to be friendly, welcoming and informal, with tuition by award-winning artist Jonny Kemp, who appeared on Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2023.
En route to completing a long portrait at the end of the session, you will learn how to:
Use guidelines to get the correct angles and measurements
Sculpt features by looking at the planes of the face
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Drawing materials are provided, but feel free to bring your own.
Personal assistants attend free. Email hello@packedlunch.org for details.
Tea and coffee included.
£25.00
2-day Portrait Drawing Crash Course with Jonny Kemp
In this 2-day creative crash course, you will explore different ways of starting a drawing, the essentials of drawing features of the face and the importance of light and shadow, taking your cue from a clothed artists' model.
The session, run in partnership with Crystal Palace Artists’ Open House, is designed to be friendly, welcoming, and informal, with tuition by award-winning artist Jonny Kemp, who appeared on Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2023.
Saturday, 27th September 2025 | 10 - 12 pm
Warm-up
Use guidelines to get the correct angles and measurements
Sculpt features by looking at the planes of the face
Create a long portrait by the end of the session
Sunday, 28th September 2025 | 10 - 12 pm
Warm-up
Use tone/lights and darks to create form
Break down eyes, nose and mouth into simpler shapes
Create a long portrait by the end of the session
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Drawing materials are provided, but feel free to bring your own.
Personal assistants attend free. Email hello@packedlunch.org for details.
Tea and coffee included.
£42.00
Life Drawing at Cooper’s Yard Studios
A drawing oasis. A platform for new models.
Life drawing continues apace at Packed Lunch Productions HQ, nestled in the South London oasis of Cooper's Yard. This is an experience for all levels of drawing ability and featuring life models who are new to the craft or actively growing their creative practice.
In September, we welcome new art subject Anuli to the life room.
"I welcome the opportunity to expand my creative practice in this intimate setting, a chance to explore identity and perspective through art." Anuli
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This is an inclusive, accessible drawing experience for all levels of ability because, frankly, everyone can draw. Believe it!
Boards, paper and materials are also very much included, but feel free to bring your own. Dry and wet materials can be used in the studio.
Hosted by Roy Joseph Butler, with guidance on where to begin and how to continue.
Spaces are limited, so please book online, and reach out if this is not possible.
Wine and soft drinks included in the price.
£20 per person
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Ever considered trying life modelling yourself? For information about gaining experience, ticking off that bucket list item or properly getting started in the industry, get in touch or visit the Starkers Academy.
Bare Life Drawing Community Group Show
Inaugural group exhibition for a tour-de force of London’s life drawing scene.
We are proud and feel incredibly privileged to be hosting this first exhibition for award-winning* life drawing community Bare Life Drawing, in partnership with West Norwood Library and Picturehouse and featuring the various artists who attend (and enrich) Bare’s drawing sessions.
At Bare Life Drawing, creativity and connection are considered essential components of personal, spiritual and professional growth, with a mission to provide safe, inclusive, and welcoming environments for artists and creatives to connect, network, and forge meaningful relationships.
This exhibition strengthens the creativity and connections celebrated by Bare. It also speaks to our mission for developing human and capital through the arts, nurturing learning and growth through creation. One way we do this is by providing platforms for creative communication, of which our exhibitions programme is a hallmark.
Sales proceeds from all sales will go towards supporting contributing artists’ growth and funding public programmes in advancing and diversifying engagement in visual storytelling. Critically, a percentage of every sale will also be donated to Bare Life Drawing itself, helping to ensure its longevity and social impact.
Free to attend. Opening times: West Norwood Picturehouse | West Norwood Cinema | Showtimes
*Prestige Awards: Art School of the Year - London and South East England 2025/26
Life Drawing at Ajamu Studios
Drawing the Black body, drawing on Queer experience.
We’ve had a blast working with iconic artist-photographer, curator, archivist and activist Ajamu X to offer life drawing in his South London creative haven. This Autumn, the fun continues.
To highlight Ajamu's critical work around Black LGBTQIA+ experiences, we’ll be welcoming life models into his studio who accentuate and celebrate the thrust of that work and their own inimitable Queerness, regardless of sexuality.
We should also mention that most of the models will be posing for the very first time, taking that first step in realising the creative and discursive power of their bodies.
However, in September, we welcome professional artists' subject Jazz Brown - life model and creative alien - to the life room, a zest of the fantastic on the art modelling circuit.
“As unique as my fingerprint.” Jazz Brown
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This is an inclusive, accessible drawing experience for all levels of ability because, frankly, everyone can draw. Believe it!
Boards, paper and materials are also very much included, but feel free to bring your own. Dry materials only can be used in the studio.
Hosted by Roy Joseph Butler, with guidance on where to begin and how to continue.
Spaces are limited, so please book online, and reach out if this is not possible.
£15 per person + £1.96 sales fee | Personal assistants free. DM for details.
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Ever considered trying life modelling yourself? For information about gaining experience, ticking off that bucket list item or properly getting started in the industry, get in touch or visit the Starkers Academy.
Introduction to Watercolours - V&A Academy Online
Discover the lively personality of watercolour.
Through a series of exercises with expert tutor Leo Crane each week, you’ll explore a different way to use this versatile medium, from luminous manuscript painting to precision illustration and spontaneous mark-making.
By the end of the course, you will have tried out a variety of techniques, creating a mini portfolio of sample pieces and a final project:
Learn from our world-class experts wherever, whenever: watch classes live or view the recording later in your own time.
Time to explore: 12 hours of live classroom sessions over six weeks.
Consolidate your learning: watch over 20 specially commissioned How To videos to support your course. Receive feedback from the class tutor on your work.
Deepen your understanding: weekly Spotlight Sessions with V&A Curators, art historians and practicing artists explore the background to the projects.
Learn at your own pace: lecture recordings and study materials are available for six weeks after the course ends, so you'll never miss a minute.
A list of readily available materials will be sent out in advance of the course. This course is suitable for beginners and is open to participants aged 18 plus.
£240
Full information and booking through the Victoria and Albert Museum. Part of the V&A Academy Online.
Introduction to Watercolours - V&A Academy Online
Discover the lively personality of watercolour.
Through a series of exercises with expert tutor Leo Crane each week, you’ll explore a different way to use this versatile medium, from luminous manuscript painting to precision illustration and spontaneous mark-making.
By the end of the course, you will have tried out a variety of techniques, creating a mini portfolio of sample pieces and a final project:
Learn from our world-class experts wherever, whenever: watch classes live or view the recording later in your own time.
Time to explore: 12 hours of live classroom sessions over six weeks.
Consolidate your learning: watch over 20 specially commissioned How To videos to support your course. Receive feedback from the class tutor on your work.
Deepen your understanding: weekly Spotlight Sessions with V&A Curators, art historians and practicing artists explore the background to the projects.
Learn at your own pace: lecture recordings and study materials are available for six weeks after the course ends, so you'll never miss a minute.
A list of readily available materials will be sent out in advance of the course. This course is suitable for beginners and is open to participants aged 18 plus.
£240
Full information and booking through the Victoria & Albert Museum Part of the V&A Academy Online.
KataKata Festival Life Drawing
Life drawing for the soul.
We’re thrilled to be delivering Bare Life Drawing’s life drawing hour at this year’s KataKata Freedom Festival.
The KataKata Festival is an inclusive, accessible community event in Brixton, South London celebrating disabled and neuro-divergent creatives through live music, workshops and a host of local vendors. The festival is hosted by KataKata, a Black-owned community hub passionate about advocating for inclusive, joyous spaces for the Disabled and Neuro-divergent Community.
The one-day event runs from 2 - 11 pm -
THE PEACEFUL CHAPTER, 2 - 5pm: A quieter, less busy part of the day with limited tickets and including relaxed creative workshops and acoustic artists. Catered towards who prefer quieter spaces and relaxing environments.
THE PARTY CHAPTER, 5 - 11pm: Live performances from local artists, more creative workshops and speakers building up to party vibes, including DJ's and a silent disco.
The life drawing hour occurs at the start of The Party Chapter, with all levels of ability and accessibility needs welcome.
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Drawing materials, paper and boards are provided, but feel free to bring your own.
All ages are welcome. The model will be semi-clothed.
A BSL interpreter will be available on the day.
Life Drawing at Cooper’s Yard Studios
A drawing oasis. A platform for new models.
Life drawing continues apace at Packed Lunch Productions HQ, nestled in the South London oasis of Cooper's Yard. This is an experience for all levels of drawing ability and featuring life models who are new to the craft or actively growing their creative practice.
First thing in September, we welcome Dann Parry to the life room - experienced with online modelling, new to the in-person art nude experience.
"I'm an artist, so stepping into the studio as an in-person life model for the first time will mean swapping my pencils for poses. I'm excited to be on the other side of the canvas collaborating with fellow creatives." Dann Parry
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This is an inclusive, accessible drawing experience for all levels of ability because, frankly, everyone can draw. Believe it!
Boards, paper and materials are also very much included, but feel free to bring your own. Dry and wet materials can be used in the studio.
Hosted by Roy Joseph Butler, with guidance on where to begin and how to continue.
Spaces are limited, so please book online, and reach out if this is not possible.
Wine and soft drinks included in the price.
£20 per person
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Ever considered trying life modelling yourself? For information about gaining experience, ticking off that bucket list item or properly getting started in the industry, get in touch or visit the Starkers Academy.
Exhibition Launch - Michael Williamson | The Roads We Travel Together
Celebrating the latest exhibition by artist Michael Williamson with its second summer launch.
Join us in person on Saturday, 16th August at West Norwood Picturehouse for the sophomore launch of this free exhibition, featuring new work that explores aspects of the artist’s self-discovery and the transformative powers of friendship, love, healing and the discoveries made along the way during the life journeys of us all.
No RSVP necessary, just turn up!
The evening also celebrates the second summer launch of Interrelation, the debut solo show by artist L E Smith.
Sales proceeds go towards supporting the artist’s growth and funding our public programmes in advancing and diversifying engagement in visual storytelling.
Exhibition Launch - L E Smith | Interrelation
Celebrating the debut solo show by artist L E Smith with its second summer launch.
Join us in person on Saturday, 16th August at West Norwood Picturehouse for the sophomore launch of this free exhibition, featuring new original works that deconstruct and reimagine the ways we relate to ourselves and others.
No RSVP necessary, just turn up!
The evening also celebrates the second summer launch of The Roads We Travel Together, the latest exhibition by Michael Williamson.
Sales proceeds go towards supporting the artist’s growth and funding public programmes in advancing and diversifying engagement in visual storytelling.
Life Drawing at Cooper’s Yard Studios
A drawing oasis. A platform for new models.
Life drawing continues apace at Packed Lunch Productions HQ, nestled in the South London oasis of Cooper's Yard. This is an experience for all levels of drawing ability and featuring life models who are new to the craft or actively growing their creative practice.
For our final drawing session for the summer in July, we welcome new art subject Adie to the life room.
“As a person who got into life drawing in the last few years, I enjoy modelling for others because I would like to contribute, and I find it interesting in seeing how others see and interpret me through their creativity and drawings. It's also an interesting experience being on the other side of the easel/sketchbook.“ Adie
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This is an inclusive, accessible drawing experience for all levels of ability because, frankly, everyone can draw. Believe it!
Boards, paper and materials are also very much included, but feel free to bring your own. Dry and wet materials can be used in the studio.
Hosted by Roy Joseph Butler, with guidance on where to begin and how to continue.
Spaces are limited, so please book online, and reach out if this is not possible.
Wine and soft drinks included in the price.
£20 per person
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Ever considered trying life modelling yourself? For information about gaining experience, ticking off that bucket list item or properly getting started in the industry, get in touch or visit the Starkers Academy.
Kink and Draw (SOLD OUT - WAITLIST ACTIVE)
Drawn to (and in) kink.
We’ve been so privileged to work with iconic artist-photographer, curator, archivist and activist Ajamu X in offering life drawing in his South London creative haven. Every session has been a real success for drawers and models alike.
Now, we up the ante.
In July, we launch our first kink-and-draw life drawing experience, featuring new art nude Imale Ndhlovu.
As with our other life drawing experiences at Ajamu Studios, Kink and Draw will accentuate the critical work around LGBTQIA+ experiences that is so much a part of Ajamu’s body-positive work, welcoming life models who accentuate and celebrate the thrust of that work and their own inimitable Queerness, regardless of sexuality.
“I'm approaching this, my first time life modelling, with curiosity, drawn to how kink and creativity meet through the body. I’m excited to see what surfaces in the charged space between tension, gaze, and expression.” - Imale Ndhlovu
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This is an inclusive, accessible drawing experience for all levels of ability because, frankly, everyone can draw. Believe it!
Participants are free to dress in their favourite gear - kink, cosplay etc. - and a changing area will be available.
Boards, paper and materials are also very much included, but feel free to bring your own. Dry materials only can be used in the studio.
Hosted by Roy Joseph Butler, with guidance on where to begin and how to continue.
Spaces are limited, so please book online, and reach out if this is not possible.
£15 per person + £1.96 sales fee | Personal assistants free. DM for details.
Tickets via Eventbrite (SOLD OUT - WAITLIST ACTIVE)
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Ever considered trying life modelling yourself? For information about gaining experience, ticking off that bucket list item or properly getting started in the industry, get in touch or visit the Starkers Academy.