East London Creative Communities
Presented by the East London Creative People and Places Network, and Art School Plus
East London Creative People and Places Network is a newly launched partnership between the four Creative People and Places programmes based in East London. Colours of Redbridge, Culture Within Newham, Havering Changing, and Creative Barking and Dagenham will each support a group of artists to create new public work for our communities.
Each artist will participate in a bespoke training programme designed and delivered by Art School Plus in February 2025. The week-long programme facilitated by artist and Glasgow Women’s Library founder Adele Patrick will be specifically tailored to artists working in East London, and focus on the skills and knowledge they’ll need to deliver community-led and co-creation projects in public settings.
Meet the artists
From left-to-right, the four artists selected who will make new public artworks for Newham are:
Maryam Huq (VividbyMaryam) is a UK-based digital artist celebrated for her vibrant, whimsical style and bold use of colour. Born and raised in London with Bangladeshi heritage, her work is deeply inspired by her reconnection to her roots, showcasing the beauty and vibrancy of Bangladesh often overlooked in mainstream narratives. Through her illustrations, which feature South Asian wildlife, plants, and landmarks, Maryam evokes nostalgia and a sense of belonging, resonating with a global diaspora.
Rhiannon Armstrong is a transdisciplinary artist making works with empathy, interaction, and dialogue at their core, often for unfiltered audiences. Rhiannon’s work is known as radically inclusive with a particular emphasis on power dynamics in public space, in both the built environment and online. Her practice spans performance, video, textile, music and sound. Rhiannon was recipient of the Adrian Howells Award for Intimate Performance 2019, Another Route international fellow 2022, and Horizon residency artist 2023. www.rhiannonarmstrong.net
Ioana Simion is an artist, educator and facilitator based in Forest Gate. She runs community workshops under the artistic identity of Artizine. Her socially-engaged practice explores the use of zine-making as a vehicle for encouraging individuals to share their stories, develop imaginative skills and practice well-being in a social setting. Ioana’s practice centres the intuitive quality of play and participation to amplify community spaces where individuals receive support to expand on their lived-experience and document it through a creative, radical outlet.
Sabba Khan is an award-winning author bringing together visual art, architecture and storytelling into a practice that asks pertinent questions of our times. Sabba Khan’s “striking” and “impeccable”* debut graphic novel The Roles We Play won the Jhalak prize and was one of the Guardian’s best books of the year in 2021. Her graphic novel takes her working-class diasporic roots to interrogate class, race and gender in contemporary life in the UK. Sabba’s work takes you on a journey, one of critical reflection, curious questioning, and ultimately deeper understanding.
About the project partners
East London Creative Communities
Colours of Redbridge, Creative Barking and Dagenham, Culture Within Newham and Havering Changing are part of Creative People and Places (CPP), a national programme from Arts Council England, where local people decide what culture happens in their area. This collaboration in East London champions community-led arts and culture to provide better visibility and creative opportunity across the region.
About Art School Plus
Art School Plus is a training provider and innovator of unique art projects. They are the bridge between artists and projects, supporting the cultural sector and artists with the skills and knowledge to develop mutually beneficial relationships and exciting work. The artists will be supported by Dr Adele Patrick, co-founder of Glasgow Women’s Library, who has been developing innovative cultural projects rooted in equalities and community learning for over 30 years. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Royal Society of Edinburgh.
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