Join Williams Cumberbache for a talk on rhythms with examples of how it influences contemporary urban music.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2024 AT GROW

This is part of a Black-led Events Series ranging from spoken word, poetry, jazz, to live percussion, talks, Q&As and legendary DJs. At each of these events. we’re offering 20 free spaces to those with a Hackney Postcode.

All artists are existing partners of Grow and offer a breadth of experience and passion. All established in their creative disciplines, these Black-led events intend to inspire and share stories of culture, journey and heritage all underpinned by the theme of this year's BHM, which is reclaiming the narrative. This series is a great chance to dig deeper to elevate and share the artistry and experiences of these artists with the Hackney community.

As part of our ongoing Grow At Home programme of online talks with local artists, we welcome blacksmith and creative maker, Felicity Jones for a talk and interactive Q&A afterwards.

Felicity creates organic, flowing forms that intersect with an element of danger, taking inspiration from insects, plants, symmetry in nature and man-made artefacts such as vehicle parts and machinery. She uses a mixture of traditional and contemporary techniques to form modern art works with metal and other upcycled materials.

She works in iron, steel, stainless steel, aluminium and copper, creating both functional and sculptural pieces for the home, the garden, for narrow boats, exhibitions, festivals and for the public domain.

“I love the fact you can manipulate metals into almost any form while they keep their strength”, she says, “Through a hands-on, physical process you develop an intimate relationship with the piece you're working on”.

The preservation of the environment is also important to Felicity and she enjoys working with recycled metal and upcycles whenever possible. She likes to play with the shapes of disused old tools and motor parts to create interesting textures and forms in her pieces.

She has been lucky enough to collaborate with some of the UK’s leading large-scale metal artists including the Mutoid Waste Co with whom she created pieces as large as twenty-six metres wide for the main stage at Glastonbury. She has also worked on a project for the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert and was part of the team who built the large-scale installations for London’s Paralympic closing ceremony in 2012.

This event is part of the government’s Cultural Recovery Fund 2, administered by the Arts Council.

Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. By 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish, and where every one of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help deliver this vision.

Find out more at www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19

About Grow, Hackney

An Experiment in Ethical and Sustainable Business.

Grow is an independent and self-organised eco-system of studios and a creative space with bars and a kitchen, created out of an old sausage factory by the River Lea in Hackney Wick. We work in partnership with artists, musicians, DJ's and community groups and host a diverse programme of events, including: live jazz and blues, open deck reggae, workshops and talks and art/film festivals. Grow pays London Living Wage, uses eco-electricity, sources ethically and locally and is free entry, wherever possible. We currently serve a seasonal menu and range of drinks, including organic wines and prosecco, cocktails, homemade Hackney Spiced Rum, cask ale and also offer a range of soft drinks including Kompassion Kombucha, Rejuce, Charitea, tea and Union Coffee..

www.growhackney.co.uk / https://www.growhackneystudios.com/