Family Artist 2022
We are thrilled to announce that Sahra Hersi will join The Mosaic Rooms as our family artist for 2022. She will bring her thoughtful architecture and play practice to deliver our outdoor play commission this summer, The House of Many Ways, following our first – The Dancers’ Garden by Alaa Satir. Sahra will also present two free drop-in play sessions for families in May and October this year.
The design for play commission is co-produced with local children and young people through creative workshops in April, as part of a collaboration with Earls Court Youth Club. The play commission will be hosted by The Chelsea Theatre whilst our garden undergoes essential maintenance work over the summer.
Sahra Hersi is a designer. She completed a MA architecture degree at the Royal College of Art in 2017. Her practice explores shared spaces, the public realm, community engagement, meaningful contributions, and collaboration. She describes her work as “caring about people, places, art & architecture, in that order.” She seeks to establish a working philosophy that is driven by the desire to reinterpret architectural methodology and artistic narrative as common ground. Her work is often born out of engaging with communities and the places they occupy.
Earls Court Youth Club (ECYC) brings together young people from diverse backgrounds and, is one of the best attended voluntary sector youth club in Kensington & Chelsea. ECYC delivers inspiring projects, engaging activities and wide-ranging programmes that support and motivate local young people. Their work is youth-led – with young people choosing and leading projects and activities. ECYC also distribute food to young people and the community. ECYC advocates for young people who have been excluded from school and for families with housing, immigration and policing issues.
The Chelsea Theatre is a community and arts Incubation hub based at World’s End in Chelsea Riverside. The 1960’s ‘brick-brutalist’ building offers a suite of six studios and meeting rooms, a community café and lobby venue, a terrace bar and a 130-seat theatre/cinema. The Theatre hosts a wide range of creative output, supporting emerging artists from the community, borough and across the city along with classes, support groups and a community café.
This commission is generously supported by Arts Council England and by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s Arts Grants Scheme. With additional support from The Earls Court Development Company.
Image: View of Sahra Hersi’s The House of Many Ways, an outdoor play commission by The Mosaic Rooms at The Chelsea Theatre, 2022. Image courtesy of the artist and The Mosaic Rooms. Photo by Nicola Tree.