SPINE FESTIVAL RESIDENCY (2019)

 

In February and March 2019, I was one of the Lead Artists in Residence at SPINE Festival in London. SPINE is an annual festival organised by Apples and Snakes that aims to promote and celebrate the arts in libraries in South East London. For this residency, I was based at Downham Library and acted as a mentor for a London-based poet and performer, Rue Gumbochuma.

The Festival's theme was Mental Health and Wellbeing. For this residency, I created a short comic based on a poem written by Rue, which can be seen below. Rue and I planned and delivered workshops that combined comics and poetry. The workshops were very well-received by the local community. As a legacy of the residency, I designed a zine containing poems, art and comics created by the participants, Rue and myself during the residency. The zines were available to the visitors at Downham Library. More information about SPINE Festival can be found here.