Creative Encounters: A Shrine to the Everyday
Handcraft your own DIY pocket shrine in this workshop set in a gentle, sensory space with artists Vroomlab and Alysha Nelson.
Explore joy, memory and connection through hands-on making at this Creative Encounters x Hayward Gallery Lates special.
Inspired by the Hayward Gallery exhibitions of Yin Xiuzhen and Chiharu Shiota, and their fascination with the ordinary and mundane, Nelson and Vroomlab invite you to ask ‘what are your everyday treasures?’
Together, we exchange objects and stories, and the artists guide you in making a portable shrine to carry home – an ode to your hopes and wishes and to the joy of the familiar. You are warmly invited to bring your own small treasures – photographs, tickets, postcards, trinkets or any other meaningful items – to incorporate into your shrine.
Drop in, move at your own pace, make something beautiful and leave behind a trace of care in our shared ceremonial space.
Creative Encounters is your creative space in the heart of the city, bringing together Londoners old and new for art, making and conversation.
About the artists
Alysha Nelson is a multidisciplinary artist, performer and cultural producer exploring how storytelling and technology shape belonging, identity, memory and connection.
Vroomlab is a multidisciplinary artist and community platform exploring art-making as a healing, queer and connective practice in a hybrid digital-physical world.
Need to know
Creative Encounters is a fortnightly programme; dates are subject to change, so please check the website. It’s part of Open Doors, our regular series of free events welcoming you to get creative and connect.
This is a free event with no booking required but there is limited capacity. The event may get busy. We recommend arriving early to secure a seat. If we reach capacity, you may need to queue as we operate a one in, one out system.
Alongside this workshop, you can book a £7 ticket to Hayward Gallery Lates: Chiharu Shiota & Yin Xiuzhen including a poetry performance and spotlight tours, in the same evening. You can purchase tickets at the Hayward Gallery on the day or online.
We also have a limited number of free tickets to Hayward Gallery Lates for anyone who might find the cost a prohibitive barrier. To book, please email [email protected]
To make the most of the two themed events happening on the same evening – Creative Encounters: A Shrine to the Everyday and Hayward Gallery Lates: Chiharu Shiota & Yin Xiuzhen – we suggest the below timings:
6pm – 7.30pm: Creative Encounters: A Shrine to the Everyday, The Clore Ballroom, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall
7.30pm – 9pm: Hayward Gallery Lates: Chiharu Shiota & Yin Xiuzhen, Hayward Gallery
Access
Creative Encounters is a Relaxed event. This means that we have a relaxed approach to noise and movement in the space, and you are free to enter and exit throughout.
We have guides available for those who may benefit from preparing for the event.
View the ‘What to expect’ guide
Read about ventilation and socially distanced tables
If you have any questions, please email [email protected]
You can join our free Access Scheme through your online Southbank Centre account or via email.
Find out more about our Access Scheme
All our access information
For your visit
This event is held at the The Clore Ballroom Southbank Centre
The Clore Ballroom is open six days a week.
Tuesday, 10am – 6pm*
Wednesday – Sunday, 10am – 11pm
Monday, closed.
*If we’re hosting a performance, the building will stay open until the event ends.
Plan your visit
The Clore Ballroom is located inside our Royal Festival Hall on Level 2.
Getting here
Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues. More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.
We’re cash-free
Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.
Access
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
There is step-free access to The Clore Ballroom, Level 2, Royal Festival Hall, via a ramp.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
Food & drink
Next to The Clore Ballroom is our Ballroom Cafe where you can grab a coffee and a piece of freshly made cake. Also on Level 2 of our Royal Festival Hall you can grab a slice of life by the Thames with drinks and freshly made pizza at our Festival Bar & Kitchen which opens out onto our Riverside Terrace.
From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.