The Collective

About The Collective

The Collective is a dynamic group of multidisciplinary artists pushing the boundaries of contemporary art through collaborative expression. We bring together diverse talents to create immersive experiences that challenge perceptions and inspire dialogue, while remaining firmly rooted in our local community.

Our Vision

We envision an accessible creative hub where traditional artistic practices meet contemporary innovation. Drawing on Bruce Thomas's established life drawing classes and community building experience, we aim to create a space where artists and community members can connect, learn, and create together.

What Makes Us Unique

Our distinctive strength lies in our diverse membership spanning traditional craft (Andrew Lim's oil painting), cutting-edge technology (Andrew's 3D scanning expertise), sustainable practices (Sara Romanin Jacur's eco-friendly photography processes), and wellbeing-focused arts (Lidia's mental health work, Ella Ucer's psychology background). This unique combination allows us to bridge generational and technological divides while remaining accessible to all community members.

Local Impact

Beyond creating art, we're committed to meaningful community impact. Berenice Guzzo's experience organizing the Dulwich Art Group's annual art trail events and Charlotte Seirberg's expertise in coordinating large-scale community workshops will help us develop programming that responds directly to local needs and creates economic opportunities for the area through increased foot traffic and cultural tourism.

Resident artists

George Miller

A provocative filmmaker, installation artist, and sculptor exploring masculinity, labor, and industry, transforming found materials into deliberately unbalanced works that challenge contemporary male behavioral patterns.

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Kirill Basalaev

Kirill Basalaev creates abstract paintings, sculptures, and video art exploring the urban environment as a metaphor for human memory. Working with materials like epoxy resin, plaster, and construction grids, he portrays cities as living structures. His work captures urban textures and patterns, suggesting our memories become collections of remembered places.

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Andrew Lim

Andrew is a very traditional oil painter, he lives out of london yet travels in to participate in weekly drawing events, and is a very recognisable character in the portrait drawing circles. Andrew is also an electronics maverick. He recently created a homemade 3D human scanner that takes 64(ish) photos of a subject, which is then converted into a lifelike 3D model. This is a large structure. He is looking for a space to conclude this amazing idea, and using it to create an exhibition of works.

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Kate Halsall

A visionary painter exploring the symbiotic relationship between humans and water through her ambitious "City Bathers" series, capturing both celebrity swimmers and urban characters in a celebration of aquatic liberation.

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Ilona Pimbert

A vibrant painter and printmaker whose heritage intertwines English, French, and Ivorian influences, translating her meditation on color into works where nature persistently emerges despite urban surroundings.

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Bruce Thomas

Bruce is a software engineer and multimedia creative. He is at ease with pen and ink in a life drawing session, dabbles in water colour, and is passionate about all things technical, from video editing, grading and compositing to script writing, producting and directing.

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Community Contributors

John Hoare

A professional director of photography who has developed a passion for wet plate photography, an Victorian photographic technique. He shares how this method contrasts high-tech photography and describes the process of working with antique equipment like a Bellows camera. John is interested in exhibiting, working with art model subjects and teaching his knowledge.

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Morgan Morell

A captivating life model with years of experience crafting challenging poses, complemented by a gift for community building through zine-making workshops and figure drawing instruction. Morgan is highly motivated, young artist who wants to participate in the social media promotion of the art collective. She has strong connection to UAC and the group of peers with whom she recently graduated with.

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Frank Gambino

A well known artist in the London drawing scene, and a very inspiring teacher who runs drawing classes. His former venue has shut down, and Frank would like to find another venue for this teaching practices, and potentially run courses that span over consecutive days.

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Charlotte Seirberg

She works with artists, educators, and changemakers to create dynamic, inclusive spaces where movement bridges disciplines and fosters creative synergy. Charlotte is not an artist per se, her expression is through teaching movement. What she brings is magic of a producer, organiser and PR powerhouse. Her superpower is planning, promoting and organising large scale community workshops.

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Berenice Guzzo

A polyglot documentary photographer with an eye for compelling visual narratives, transforming intimate portraits and everyday moments into meticulously crafted zines and photo books. She is a published journalist, has a keen eye for liminal and intimate photography, and has experience in organising artistic event, like the Dulwich Art Group, where she help organise the annual art trail events.

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Lidia Favario

Lidia is an art activist with a loud voice and strong social compass. She is a fearless voice for contemporary art, political injustice and is very active in self healing and mental health, for which she has documented her own journey and struggles and ultimate victories.

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Sylvia Difino

Sylvia Difino, a British-Italian artist in Mile End, creates life-size human-tree sculptures and eclectic paintings. A #draweachother member, she approaches art with radical openness, transforming blank canvases through cultural experimentation.

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Sara Romanin Jacur

Sara explores unconventional photography through sustainable, non-toxic processes like anthotypes and caffenol, even using turmeric powder to create images. She's developing an interdisciplinary photography course for children that bridges science and art while building creative community through skill-sharing and critique sessions.

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Sam Shrug

Sam Shrug is a London-based artist whose work fuses the raw energy of rave culture with the visual language of graffiti and street art. An active figure in the city's underground art scene, Sam draws upon the aesthetics and DIY ethos of the late '80s and '90s rave and jungle movements.

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Magdalena

A soulful mid-life creator and world traveler born "from scratch" in a village of five houses, whose paintings, drawings, and collages span from abstraction to realism while seeking her "superpower" through art.

Spencer Grimshaw

A multidisciplinary maverick recently transplanted from Manchester, whose bold paintings, drawings, and tattoo work reveal an artist yearning for the freedom of unrestricted creative movement.

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Ron Kim

An enigmatic artist "wandering through life," whose confined quarters have limited expressions that now seek expansion into larger drawings, paintings, and the tactile intimacy of tattoo art.

Ella Ucer

A thoughtful watercolor and pencil artist whose background in psychology infuses her work with depth, bridging spirituality, mental health, and community through contemplative visual expression. Ella is particularly interested in organising art workshops for children. A personal passion project.

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Peta Adick

A contemplative photographer and mixed media artist capturing the intersection of inner and outer landscapes, weaving fleeting moments into expansive map-like compositions.

Leticia Garcia

Leticia Garcia is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist who has honed her skills through London's rich landscape of short courses and community art groups. She studies portraiture, life drawing, and sculpture at Working Men's College while advancing her techniques through Dulwich Arts Group and Candid Art Trust.

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Bruce Thomas

Bruce is a passionate teacher, focusing on simplifying complex technology into easily understood learnings. He writes on Medium and his life drawing website, and discusses all things creative, from AI style transfer, to paper-making to data streaming sketches in real-time and where to host your website for free. Bruce loves seeing people learn.

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Community Engagement

Life Drawing Sessions

Building on Bruce Thomas's established Hackney classes and Frank Gambino's central London teaching experience, we'll offer diverse drawing sessions for all skill levels. Morgan Morell's experience as a life model will enhance the creative quality of these sessions.

Community Impact: These sessions will bring 30-50 weekly participants to the venue, creating sustainable income through memberships and increased foot traffic for neighboring businesses.

Mindful AI for Artistic Enrichment

Addressing the growing need to educate people about the pros and cons of AI tooling, these workshops focus on existing technologies for text generation, songwriting, video making and editing, image generation, and more. Participants will explore ethical considerations while learning practical applications in creative contexts.

Digital Literacy Initiative: Led by Bruce Thomas and featuring guest speakers who specialize in respective fields, these workshops bridge technological divides while empowering artists to make informed decisions about integrating AI into their practice.

Sustainable Photography Workshops

Sara Romanin Jacur will lead workshops on eco-friendly photographic techniques (anthotypes, caffenol) complemented by John Hoare's historical wet plate photography expertise and Berenice Guzzo's zine-making workshops.

Environmental Leadership: These chemical-free processes position the venue as a leader in sustainable arts while offering economic advantages through reduced costs and repurposed everyday materials rather than expensive toxic chemicals.

Exhibitions & Community Curation

Led by Berenice Guzzo's art trail experience, we'll extend exhibitions beyond our gallery into the community. Kirill Basalaev's urban environments work, Kate Halsall's "City Bathers" series, and Sylvia Difino's radical approach will shape our distinctive exhibition programming.

Quantifiable Impact: Building on Berenice's Dulwich Art Trail (500+ visitors), our exhibitions will generate significant area engagement and economic activity by creating pathways connecting our space with nearby businesses and public areas.

Movement & Multidisciplinary Expression

Charlotte Seirberg's expertise in creating inclusive movement spaces combined with Spencer Grimshaw's multidisciplinary approach and Ilona Pimbert's color theory will produce unique workshops exploring physical expression, visual art, and environment.

Accessibility Focus: Charlotte's inclusive practices ensure programming for all physical abilities and ages, transcending traditional boundaries between "able-bodied" and "disabled" arts—opening our work to broader audiences and aligning with funding priorities for inclusive initiatives.

Art & Wellbeing

Drawing on Lidia's mental health journey, Ella Ucer's psychology background, and Magdalena's diverse artistic practice, we'll offer therapeutic creative sessions including mindful drawing, expressive arts therapy, and visual journaling.

Healthcare Partnerships: We'll collaborate with local healthcare providers to offer arts-based complementary care options. Research shows arts participation reduces anxiety and improves mood—outcomes aligning with public health priorities and strengthening our position for health-oriented grants.

Technology & Art Integration

Andrew Lim's innovative 3D human scanner combined with Bruce Thomas's special effects background and George Miller's installation expertise will create workshops exploring how technology can enhance traditional artistic practices.

Hybrid Resilience Model: This technological foundation enables digital extensions of physical exhibitions and virtual workshops alongside in-person offerings. This hybrid approach ensures programming continuity during disruptions while expanding our reach beyond physical limitations.

Youth Arts Education

Building on Bruce Thomas's Secret Cinema youth work, Sara Romanin Jacur's children's photography courses, and Ella Ucer's workshop experience, we'll create accessible arts education through after-school programs, holiday workshops, and teen mentorships.

Long-Term Community Investment: We've initiated conversations with three local schools for after-school partnerships that would bring 30-40 young people weekly while creating teaching opportunities for our artists. Bruce's eight years with El Cine Secreto demonstrates this approach's lasting community impact.

Urban Art Exploration

Sam Shrug's knowledge of London's underground art scene combined with Kirill Basalaev's urban environments work and Frank Gambino's London art expertise will create rich explorations connecting participants with the city's evolving artistic identity.

Space Utilization Plan: These walks extend our programming beyond the physical venue, using it as a starting/ending point and establishing it as a neighborhood anchor. This approach maximizes impact without requiring expensive modifications to the space itself.

Publication & Documentation

Combining Berenice Guzzo's zine expertise, Morgan Morell's workshops, and Bruce Thomas's digital publishing experience, we'll create artist-led publications, catalogs, and online content that shares our community's work while building an educational archive.

Sustainable Revenue Stream: Small-run publications created with existing skills and equipment will provide supplemental funding. Bruce's lifedrawing.art platform already demonstrates this model's viability through modest but steady income from memberships and listings.

About The Founder

Bruce Thomas

South African-born with a Master in Graphic Design, Bruce has lived in London since 1999. He balances commercial web design work with his artistic pursuits, including a successful weekly life drawing class at Homerton Library—a labor of love continuing for over 3 years. His lifedrawing.art website has grown from promoting his own class to featuring drawing events throughout London while hosting community interviews and articles. Bruce is a passionate teacher, focusing on simplifying complex technology into easily understood learnings, from AI style transfer to paper-making to data streaming sketches in real-time.

Relevant Experience

El Cine Secreto - Eight years in Barcelona teaching underprivileged youth, with the charity continuing as Secret Cinema today
Filmmaking - Directed a short film in Hackney Wick with 16 crew members, developing collective organization skills
Digital Education - Created educational content for Ably Realtime and produces promotional videos featuring emerging artists

Five-Year Vision

Year 1: Establish core programming, building on existing classes and developing 3-4 additional regular activities with documented impact metrics
Years 2-3: Deepen community partnerships and create one signature annual event for venue visibility
Years 4-5: Develop sustainable funding mix (workshops, publications, sponsorships, grants) and support neighboring initiatives

The Collective

About The Collective

Our Vision

What Makes Us Unique

Local Impact

Resident artists

George Miller

Kirill Basalaev

Andrew Lim

Kate Halsall

Ilona Pimbert

Bruce Thomas

Community Contributors

John Hoare

Morgan Morell

Frank Gambino

Charlotte Seirberg

Berenice Guzzo

Lidia Favario

Sylvia Difino

Sara Romanin Jacur

Sam Shrug

Magdalena

Spencer Grimshaw

Ron Kim

Ella Ucer

Peta Adick

Leticia Garcia

Bruce Thomas

Community Engagement

Life Drawing Sessions

Mindful AI for Artistic Enrichment

Sustainable Photography Workshops

Exhibitions & Community Curation

Movement & Multidisciplinary Expression

Art & Wellbeing

Technology & Art Integration

Youth Arts Education

Urban Art Exploration

Publication & Documentation

About The Founder

Bruce Thomas

Relevant Experience

Five-Year Vision

Examples of Video Clips

Interactive geometry from photos

Automata trapped in a timber box

Mindfulness: emotion in motion

Video composite for Instagram reel