I was asked to pitch two workshops as part of my artist residency at The Playground- one of these was a t-shirt printing workshop based on the one I ran earlier in the month at 3rd Rail Print Space. It was for adults accessing the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) mental health services nearby at Maudsley Hospital on Denmark Hill. This was the first time I have ran a workshop for an older audience, but it went really well!
We asked each participant to come up with a drawing on paper to then turn into a paper stencil using a craft knife. I assisted with this when needed, then demonstrated how to use the paper stencil and a silkscreen to print onto a t-shirt using the inks provided- we encouraged them to help each other during this process, and also encouraged experimenting with marbling the inks on the surface of the screen. One of the resulting prints is shown above (God is the world photo).
Overall I was really pleased with how this workshop went, especially given it was my first time working with adults! Everyone seemed pleased with the t-shirts they made, and I think it ended on a really positive note. Engaging the local community in the arts like this is something I am really passionate about and hope to develop further in the future- not just with children but with teenagers, vulnerable adults, and adults who might have an interest in art but no experience. If we want the art world to truly be more accessible to everyone then workshops like this are really crucial, and I hope to keep doing work like this.
KAT OUTTEN 