Draw and Be/Drawn | A Life Drawing ‘Picnic’ | STST Makes

Join Peckham Life Drawing and friends Queer LDC for an evening of sketching, snacking and posing at an event queering the notion of traditional life drawing by diversifying both whom and how we approach representation as a community. A creative ‘picnic’ where everybody is welcome. This picnic themed life drawing session invites you draw and/or pose. All abilities welcome no experience needed. Drawing materials are provided, but you are welcome to bring your own too. So, if you fancy it pack yourself a picnic supper, a pencil, and wear as little or as much as you like, whatever the weather.

Info:

Thursday 12 June, 2025
7pm - 9pm

Tickets:
£5

If you would like to attend but the cost is prohibitive, please get contact info@staffordshirest.com. If you are financially able, please consider donating, to keep Staffordshire St events accessible to all.

Materials:

Drawing materials are provided, but you are welcome to bring your own too.

Luce Russell (MA RCA) is a Peckham based artist known for works on paper, a juxtaposition of longing obsessive pencil drawings and immediate feral pastels. With practice(s) and research focusing on drawing people and experiences of embodiment(s). Recent exhibitions include ‘See Berious’ at Filet (2024) and ‘Together We Draw’ (2022) Hastings Museum and Art Gallery (2022). Since 2017 Luce has been inviting everybody to draw (everybody) as Peckham Life Drawing. Creating and facilitating diverse range sessions that widen experiences of life drawing beyond (just) observationally drawing a model. Sessions include the Garden Museum, Crisis, Southwark Pensioners Centre, Central Saint Martins, OHSH projects and Set Social. Approaching life drawing(s) as both noun and verb, experiments in queering the notion of traditional life drawing by diversifying both whom and how we approach and disseminate representation as a community. Inviting serious play between paper and skin, and acts of embodiment(s). Luce also founded and continues to facilitates the Peckham based socially engaged practice Drawing People Together.
@peckham.lifedrawing @drawing.people.together

Miles Coote is the creator of the queer life drawing projects and performance workshops: Bareback Museum,Queer Life Drawing Conversation (Queer LDC), Peckham Queer Art Boot Fair, and Life Drawing Cafe. Each of the projects explore queer identities, sexualities and gendered identities through a queer methodology of life drawing, queer art and social science. Miles is a live art practicioner and painter and develops performances and workshops as a socially engaged art practice.

Luce and Miles have successfully collaborated many times including being co-founders of two Queer Art Boot Fairs (Peckham 2024 and 2021). As well as the exhibitions ‘Make an Exhibition of Yourself’ at Copeland Gallery (2022) and ‘People in a Room’ at Holdrons Arcade (2021) both curated by Luce. As well as numerous life drawing sessions interchanging roles between model and facilitator.

Accessibility: There is step-free access to the gallery via the door to the left hand side of the main entrance. There is a wheelchair accessible toilet. The event will be taking place in the exhibition space, which is a large open room with bright lighting and some seating available.

Staffordshire St is an independent project space in Peckham, South East London. The venue facilitates arts and cultural events and provides affordable studios for artists, makers and designers. ​

Staffordshire St is not-for-profit and all income is invested into developing our public programme which launched the summer of 2022. The venue was established as an art gallery in 2017, before then it was vacant for many years after a community centre closed. Originally it was built as a Methodist Hall. We intend to support a range of cultural events for the local community.

Staffordshire St will build on the established record of these histories, opening up again to the neighbourhood and developing a welcoming interdisciplinary arts space. More information on upcoming events at : info@staffordshirest.com or @staffordshirest

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