Want to join us in curating a display at the UCL Culture Lab?

Above image: Phulkari embroidery by Amarjeet Nandhra

The Culture Lab is a teaching, sharing and exhibition-making that support students, artists and members of our local community to curate exhibitions in a welcoming, accessible, and supportive environment.

Workshops will be led by artist and poet Suman Gujral where you will explore phulkari, an embroidery technique from the Punjab region and experiment with collage and block printing.  If you wish to do so, you will also get an opportunity to share your creative work and/or your own stories related to textiles, fashion and value of family objects in a display at the Culture Lab from May 2025.

You will be expected to attend 3 creative workshops and one exhibition planning meeting at the Culture Lab between February and April 2025. 

• Workshop 1: Embroidery, co-led with Amarjeet Nandhra, artist and expert in South Asian textiles. 28th February 2025, 11am-3pm
• Workshop 2: Block printing. 14th March 2025 11am- 3pm
• Workshop 3: Collage. 28th March 2025 11am- 3pm

The exhibition planning meeting will be arranged at a time to suit participants.

Your lunch and travel will be covered, and you will receive financial support for your attendance - if you attend all the sessions this will be £150.

Please email Sarah Byrne, Culture Lab Curator and Manager, s.byrne@ucl.ac.uk outlining why you would like to take part. The application deadline is Monday 3rd February 2025.

We welcome any suitable applicants 18 years of age and over.

The location of the workshops will be:
UCL East, Marshgate Building 
7 Sidings St
London E20 2AE

About the artists

Suman Gujral

Suman Gujral is a multidisciplinary artist working with print, textile and poetry. She is inspired by her history as an immigrant and a child of refugees. Her work focuses on migration, climate change and the partitioning of India in 1947 and 1971. Through print, a medium long used for protest and social commentary, her work cast light on global events. She is a strong advocate that art can enhance our lives and environment and has explored these issues with many community groups and schools. 

Above image: Suman Gujral with Tidal
Below, selected works by Suman Gujral (L-R): Daddy Ka Ramal, Tidal, River (in progress)

Amarjeet Nandhra

 Amarjeet Nandhra is an artist and educator based in West London. She has been a maker for over 40 years and has taught for over 30 years. Her practice explores the idea that textiles hold our stories, stimulate our memories, and express our beliefs. Her work explores the colours, patterns, and symbolism associated with traditional Indian textiles. She is interested in examining the hidden meaning and looking beyond the purely aesthetic qualities of textiles. At first glance, the ornamentation seduces the viewer. However, such a reductive viewpoint prevents a deeper understanding of these textiles. Although fascinated by the decorative qualities, it is how these textiles tell stories about the makers, the history and the memories they hold. She is passionate about sharing traditional Indian embroidery techniques, keeping them alive,  celebrating tradition, and creating a relevant new contemporary dialogue.