BA (Hons) Fashion Textiles students deliver community workshops at Making for Change
- Written byJo Reynolds
- Published date 04 April 2022
Share story
BA (Hons) Fashion Textiles students Jasmine-Karis Fontiverio-Hylton and Scarlet Gray delivered the Found Objects Block Print workshop for local residents at Poplar Works, in collaboration with Making for Change.
The participants joined from neighbouring community organisation Bromley-By-Bow Centre, as part of their Creative Futures programme, which explores practical skills building alongside fun and social engagement for people with no previous experience of the arts sector or creative industries. As well as the practical workshop, Jasmine-Karis and Scarlet gave the group an overview of textile design as a career and an insight into their course at LCF. A group member told us that “listening to Jasmine-Karis and Scarlet was refreshing and positive - they were creative and very approachable.” Another reflected that “the students were very helpful and friendly, and it was great that they shared their experiences of the textiles course.”
"The creative session was insightful and eye opening for our participants. It is wonderful to work in partnership with London College of Fashion, in the local area, to deliver some amazing creative opportunities, activities, inspire events and access to creative professionals.” - Mina Chowdhury, Employability and Training Project Manager at Bromley By Bow Centre.
We caught up with Jasmine-Karis and Scarlet to hear more about their experience delivering workshops, their work placements at Making for Change and their final major projects.
You developed this workshop using found objects as part of your Final Major Project. Can you tell us more about your project?
Jasmine-Karis: For my Final Major Project, I aim to engage my audience with their everyday environments, instilling an appreciation for nature and the seemingly mundane parts of our London city environment, prompting introspection in regards to material wastage. The core foundation of my project is rooted in the coexistence and merging of both natural and man-made environments.
Why did you decide to incorporate community practice in your project?
Jasmine-Karis: As a textiles artist and designer, I intend to create and facilitate therapeutic experiences through a range of creative art/textiles based activities with the aim of improving personal and collective wellbeing, allowing participants the opportunity to connect with themselves and those around them. I believe that having the opportunity to lead community workshops such as this one, allowed me to share innovative ways of reusing waste materials producing new thoughtful outcomes whilst in the process, also creating tender-hearted memories and experiences as a collective.
You carried out your work placement at Making for Change last year. How did your placement develop your interest in community practice?
Jasmine-Karis: Making for Change acted very much as my entry point into community engagement as a career possibility, for which I am eternally grateful for. As someone who is innately compassionate and interested in connecting and building within communities, previous to my work placement, I was not entirely sure how I would interweave this into my Textiles practice. My placement allowed insight as to the different ways in which community collaboration and Textiles quite naturally co-exist and provide an exchange, and most importantly how this would sit within a career context after my degree.
You have just completed your work placement at Making for Change. What was your favourite part of your placement?
Scarlet: The workshops. Meeting and interacting with people I wouldn’t normally cross paths with and sharing ideas in a creative space. I meet a lot of really talented people in the workshops, and I’ve learnt a lot from them. I particularly liked assisting on create club with the children aged 7-11. The way they approach design is so free and fun.
What changes have you made in your personal practice since starting your placement?
Scarlet: I’m really interested in social engagement now, whereas before I had no experience. I actually disliked the idea of collaboration so it’s funny now that I want to keep that going for future projects. I have plans to hold my own workshops, with the work created in that space to influence my own textiles. Before Making for Change, I tended to design in a way that would minimise environmental impact so it will be nice to combine the two, promoting social interaction and minimising environmental impact. There could be some aspect of sharing ideas of minimising environmental impact in the workshop space because the idea of sustainability is a confusing one.
You will be completing your own Final Major Project next year. Will your placement influence your research and final outcomes?
Scarlet: 100%. I’m already thinking about what I could do when it comes to my final project and it will definitely involve collaboration of the community. That mixing and sharing of ideas creates something that you wouldn’t be able to do on your own.
- Find out more about Making for Change.
- Follow LCF on Social Media
- What’s on at LCF: open days and events