2025 OG Education Exhibition 

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Beyond the Weave: Crafting Tradition, Sparking Play

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Wednesday 30th July - Saturday 2nd August 2025

 

​​​​​October Gallery is proud to present its annual Education Exhibition, Beyond the Weave: Crafting Tradition, Sparking Play, curated by the OG Youth Collective.

 

An exploration of the intersection between art, craft and play, the exhibition taps into the histories of traditional crafts framed within a contemporary context. ​​The exhibition draws on the idea of storytelling through fabrics and objects to explore oral histories and traditions. Each work provides a playful response to tradition through experimental making that engages the senses.​​ These pieces reveal a synergy between the individual and the collective.​​
 

Featured Artworks and Collaborations:

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The concept of Beyond the Weave will visually manifest as a wooden pole around which visitors can strap-weave recycled fabric strips, working alone or in pairs. As the show unfolds, these strips will build into ever-growing braids, offering a living exploration of connection, materiality and communal play that mirrors the exhibition’s theme. The work playfully nods to the European maypole, where communities celebrate spring by dancing round a tall pole.

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The exhibition will include work from contributors across the Education programme, including Primary, Secondary and Special Educational Needs schools, Hospital Schools, Creative Youth Groups and Artist Educators. Works will include:

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Youth Collective: The OG Youth Collective will present a collaborative mixed-media cloth piece adorned with sculptural and textile elements. Created during drop-in sessions around a communal table, the cloth captures the flux and flow of many gatherings.

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ZOUBIDA: The exhibition will feature guest artist ZOUBIDA, founded by creative Sophia Kacimi. The work reimagines Moroccan craftsmanship through close collaboration with local artisans. Large-format photographs documenting the creation of an embroidered chess piece will illuminate Kacimi’s process of material experimentation and collective making.​

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​Coram Fields Youth Centre: ‘Emoji – An Ode to Moji’, created by the Coram Fields girls’ group, layers a shared canvas with paint and threaded string beneath a ceiling projection of their favourite emojis. A soundscape of voices and ambient textures accompanies the piece, expressing what the Coram Fields Youth Centre means to them.​

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Events:

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Family Art Day

Saturday, 2nd August

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM​

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Join us for a special Family Art Day curated by the Youth Collective.

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Click here for more information!​​