Workshop: an ode to 'Castles' at Bow Arts courtyard

Expanding on ideas of beauty in Ends, homemaking, and spatial justice in his photo project ‘Castles’, join Nabil Al-Kinani as we meditate on and pay homage to the neighbourhood urban spaces that we hold dear.

‘Castles’ is a photo project by Nabil Al-Kinani that centres on the preservation and archiving of social housing estates across London. It is an exploration of the things we attribute ‘beauty’ to and the need to disrupt mainstream discourses which seek to portray these spaces as inhabitable, anti-social, and derelict.

Through photography, Nabil wants to offer an alternative characterisation of Ends:

1. The Ends are modern-day castles
2. These modern-day castles are inhabited by kings and queens
3. And the Ends, along with its inhabitants, are nothing short of beautiful

Drawing parallels across time between the ethos of Castles and the East London Group’s work immortalising and paying homage to the streets and scenes of the everyday east London they lived in, in this workshop we will reflect on the local urban spaces and places that we each associate with home, memory, and community.

Nabil will pose a series of questions and prompts for you to respond to build out your own love letter or written response to an urban space of that is of particular significance to you and that you would like to share and celebrate the beauty of.

All writing and art-making materials are provided – no writing experience needed!