Creative Encounters: The Tapestry of Imperfections
Create a giant collaborative artwork and multi-media installation that celebrates the beauty in human flaws, with Camille Dawson and Cristina Ottonello.
Creative Encounters is your creative space in the heart of the city, bringing together Londoners old and new for live performance, making and conversation.
Made from recycled fabrics and fragments of poetry, The Tapestry of Imperfections repurposes discarded materials and transforms our hidden truths to honor the imperfect. We invite you to add your own voice by writing, drawing or weaving, and become part of this evolving tapestry – or simply relax and watch the installation grow and unfold around you…
This is a work by writer and artist Camille Dawson and installation artist and designer Cristina Ottonello. The live soundscape is created by composer and multi-instrumentalist Franklin Dawson, with poetry provided by The National Poetry Library. Kickstarted by the invisible illness community, the tapestry has popped up in communities across the UK, growing as it tours, weaving in new stories and experiences.
Camille Dawson is a multi-disciplinary artist, writer and director known for her bold comedic style and socio-political storytelling across theatre, immersive performance, film, and participatory arts. Her works, including PUSSY, Girl World, The War Inside and Body Odyssey have earned critical acclaim.
Cristina Ottonello creates large-scale, immersive installations that transform outdoor spaces into extraordinary worlds. Her work, inspired by nature, science, and reimagined everyday objects, combines emotional depth with striking spectacle, inviting audiences to engage with the fantastical in meaningful ways.
Franklin Dawson is a longtime collaborator of Camille Dawson, having composed and written the lyrics for a series of Frisky Arts productions, including Girl World, Night on Boob Mountain and the latest, Body Odyssey. Dawson is also an instrumentalist and songwriter in a variety of music projects including the bands BOSS, Otta and Jerkcurb.
Need to know
This is a free event with no booking required. Activities begin at 5.30pm, but instructions are provided for any later arrivals.
Our friendly sessions are designed for both those attending on their own or with others; there are opportunities to socialise and take part in activities together, but you are also very welcome to have a solo experience.
Creative Encounters is a fortnightly programme; dates are sometimes subject to change, so do always check the website. It is part of our Open Doors programme, a regular series of free events welcoming audiences to get creative and connect.
There is a ramp down to The Clore Ballroom stage and wheelchair accessible bathrooms throughout the venue.
If you require British Sign Language interpretation, please email [email protected] and we will try to accommodate your request.
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.