South London residents are being invited to enjoy an ice cream and open up about mental health and grief as part of a series of free workshops in Elephant and Castle this autumn.
From 30 September to 2 October, artist Annie Nicholson – also known as the Fandangoe Kid – will bring her unique and colourful mobile installation to Elephant Park, encouraging the public to talk about mental health issues over ice cream, as part of a collaboration with London College of Communication.
Fandangoe Whip – a functioning ice cream van designed in Nicholson’s trademark style – aims to open up conversations about grief, loss, and mental health issues experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic in a fun and informal way. Visitors can stop by the van for an ice cream and a chat or sign up for a talk or workshop.
Having lost family members in 2011, the project is informed by the London-based artist’s decade-long experience of grief, and arrives at a time when so many people are recovering from their own losses from the pandemic – including family and friends, but also opportunities and routines.
Nicholson successfully financed the project through crowd-funding earlier this year, and the ‘Whip’ van has toured across the United Kingdom, with London as one of its final stops.
Through reliving shared memories of eating ice cream, Annie hopes to create a safe space in which people visiting, working, and living in Elephant and Castle can discuss more complex issues relating to mental health.
Annie's experience of working with diverse groups looking at the complexities and the taboos around loss and mental health over the past decade has led to the emergence of the Fandangoe Whip. The project encourages anyone and everyone to come into a trusted, safe space and explore these complex emotions through creative practice, both within the more formal workshops and more informally, while having an ice cream.
A graduate of graphic design at London College of Communication, part of University of the Arts London, Nicholson’s large-scale installations have featured for YouTube for World Mental Health Day and London Design Festival, while the artist recently redesigned nurse’s scrubs for Marie Curie and the NHS. She also designed the large-scale, colourful mural, installed on a pillar at the entrance of London College of Communication, with the message ‘Creativity will Save our Souls’.
Annie Nicholson aka the Fandangoe Kid said:
“We have all experienced a loss of some sort this past year, whether a physical loss of loved ones or a loss of lifestyle and routine, or both.
“How have we survived lockdown? How are we processing the grief of all we have lost? And how can we do this together?
“Grief is a part of life and one that comes to us all. The sooner we find ways in which we can start to share this, the less overwhelming I believe the world will be.”
Gill Henderson, Cultural and Communities Partnerships Manager at London College of Communication said:
“The Fandangoe Whip presents an original yet accessible means of broaching what may be difficult topics for many people in the area.
“Annie’s eye-catching designs may already be familiar to people who work and live in Elephant and Castle. Last year her designs inspired by local community workshops decorated a pillar at the entrance to the College, which visitors can still enjoy today.
“It’s fantastic that Annie will be continuing to engage with the Elephant and Castle communities through workshops and an installation which will combine being great fun with a safe space to talk about mental health and wellbeing.”
The Fandangoe Whip will be at Elephant Park, SE17 1UB, from 30 September – 2 October, open from 11am-4pm each day.
Related links:
- Find out more about Fandangoe Kid
- Attend a workshop
- Find out more about BA (Hons) Graphic and Media Design
- Find out more about the Design School
