Join Grafters Collective for an evening of screenings, featuring work by emerging, working-class artists. Curated and organised by Elleanna Chapman, you will view work from Gem Bryant, Elleanna Chapman, Antonia Del Ens and Lily Donaldson.
Drinks and snacks will be available from the Café throughout Thursday evening and our galleries will remain open for you to view our exhibition, Movements for Staying Alive.
Programme
7.15 – She’s her Father’s Son by Gem Bryant
7.25 – Break
7.40 – Proximity by Antonia Del Ens
7.45 – Break
8.00 – Kitties Want Communism by Elleanna Chapman
8.10 – Break
8.25 – Per Mare by Lily Donaldson
8.30 – Closing Remarks
8.45 – Finish
Grafters Collective is a network of emerging, working-class artists based across the UK. The group includes a mixture of self-taught artists and graduates from institutions including Central Saint Martins, The Ruskin School of Art, and Goldsmiths, with accolades such as Bloomberg New Contemporaries, The New Futures Graduate Art Prize, and The North East Emerging Artist Award.
Emerging artists are often encouraged to ‘find their tribe’ within the art world – a daunting task for those who may not fit naturally into its often elitist circles. In response to this challenge, Grafters Collective was born. In 2024, Jennifer Jones gathered twenty emerging artists from across the UK who are from working-class backgrounds and who have faced barriers to the art industry to form a vital support network. Through critiques, meet-ups, group exhibitions, workshops, and the sharing of opportunities, Grafters Collective aims to uplift and empower its members. However, our mission goes beyond simply providing a platform for one another. We are also here to spark crucial conversations about the elitism ingrained in the art world, its deeply rooted class structures, and the changes needed to make art accessible to all – both for its makers and audiences.