Today I wanted to tell you about a place that has somehow become close and dear to my heart: the Southbank Mosaics and their initiative London School of Mosaic.
Southbank Mosaics
is a non-profit organisation based in the crypt of St John’s Church near London’s Southbank. It runs an open studio and offers a variety of courses providing wide opportunities to anyone who wants to learn about mosaic design and help with creating public art works. Since it’s beginning in 2004, Southbank Mosaics has created over 300 installations in public spaces scattered around central London.
I have decided to volunteer at their studio when I’ve learned that as part of its social mission, Southbank Mosaics works with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, children and adults with mental health problems and young offenders, giving them a way to positively transform their lives.
This is how I met the team: David, Paula and Silvie. The three of them are all a small but motivated and enthusiastic group that is passionate about popularising mosaic as an art form and means of mental therapy.
London School of Mosaic
is an initiative of Southbank Mosaics team to create the First Independent Art School in the UK teaching Mosaic Making and Theory at the degree level. It aims to fulfil: “a long-standing need for a central institution teaching all aspects of the art of mosaic, practical and imaginative, from design to installation to restoration” (source: LSoM website). This has very much resonated with my personal belief that mosaic is an underappreciated art form which has a lot to offer and if cherished and publicised could enrich our lives and our public spaces. I believe that mosaic is a perfect transformational tool that could help us revitalise ours more often than not grey, boring concrete public spaces.
Enrol NOW
So if you would like to learn a lot about mosaics and if you would like to make it into not only your hobby but a profession, don’t waste any more time and apply now to start from this October!
And while you wait to be accepted, it is absolutely crucial that you visit the latest Southbank Mosaics Summer Exhibition called London to Rome at St Lawrence Jewry which ends September 16th. Don’t miss it!