Public art for Newham! Meet the Artists
Written by Sophie Crocker
We’re excited to announce the three Newham-based artists chosen to take part in Culture Within Newham’s public realm commissions are Adam Moore, Matt Ponting, and Alisa Ruzavina.
Each of these artists will be supported to create a brand new public artwork worth £4,000 for Newham. Artists have been paired with host organisations across Newham, and engagement with the community will be a key to the development of the artwork.
Back in October 2023, the artists took part in the Art School Plus programme, where they received free intensive training about working in the public realm as an artist and leader. Now, they have the opportunity to put this learning into practice and work in a community setting to develop a brand new piece of work.
Let’s delve into each artist’s practice:
Adam Moore is a transdisciplinary artist from East London of Caribbean and European heritage. Using choreographic, embodied, transdisciplinary processes in post-studio and socially engaged contexts he examines the intersectional discourses, technologies, and embodiments of sustainability.
A Trinity Laban Leverhulme Performing Arts Scholar with an MFA in Dance Creative Practice, he is Associate Lecturer in the Department of Architecture & Visual Arts, School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering at the University of East London on the BA and MA Fine Art programmes. His solo exhibition and performance series, Bright Dynasty, was presented by Phoenix Art Space, Brighton, in 2022. In 2023 he was awarded the Jerwood New Work Fund.
Newham-based conservationist and community artist Matt Ponting uses art to make nature and urban environments accessible for all. His work is centred on local discovery and exploration of nature, heritage and community. He draws and paints in uplifting bright colours, and sculpts using recycled and reclaimed materials.
Through his artwork, he aims to encourage people to see their local area afresh, and to help improve their physical and mental health. Matt is a trained artist educator and regularly delivers workshops and classes in schools. He has worked on commissions for the Greater London Authority (GLA), Docklands Light Railway, Tower Bridge, and the National Gallery.
Alisa Ruzavina is a community and ecology-tending interdisciplinary artist, designer and facilitator. Her curiosity lies in creating conversations and collective experiences in the public realm that playfully explore alternative forms of knowledge, opening possibilities for sustainable place-based ways of relating, making and being that bring us closer in communion with the Earth and one another.
Alisa’s socially-engaged practice spans across textiles, costume, public art, installation, sculpture, ritual, ceremony, celebratory and immersive experiences. Rooted in her experience as a solo migrant to the UK, Alisa’s practice is focused on intercultural and interspecies exchanges that nurture a sense of belonging and support the articulation of a communal identity.
