Free Colouring Book

Digital

The colouring book below was compiled by a group of creatives as part of the May Painting project run by TMFA to potentially help people suffering with anxiety and stress during a time where our mental health is strongly affected.

Our hope is to reach as many people as we can, who might find a moment of calm and mindfullness in a distressing time in their life.

Please share the free digital pdf and if you know someone who can’t print it, please do it for them.

Download your free colouring book here:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FgFjKWEbSOOccEqQNhY-drpC-nQruPvd?usp=sharing

To help you show your support however you can, we’ve compiled a list of organisations which are vital for so many people, families and communities right now. The list is not exhaustive and we are happy for any other suggestions we can add.

A list of organizations helping support those most vulnerable to COVID-19:

World Vision’s Covid Crisis Response (https://www.worldvision.org.uk/our-work/coronavirus-response/) is scaling up prevention measures in the vulnerable communities across the globe, especially in refugee camps and other fragile communities

COVID-19 Urgent Appeal NHS Charity (https://www.nhscharitiestogether.co.uk/) supporting NHS staff and volunteers caring for Covid-19 patients


AGE UK (https://www.ageuk.org.uk/) provide companionship, advice and support for older people


Beauty Banks (https://www.beautybanks.org.uk/) helps people in Britain who live in serious poverty and can’t afford to purchase toiletries and stay clean.

Mind (https://www.mind.org.uk/donate/) helps people struggling with their mental health

The Trussell Trust (https://www.trusselltrust.org/make-a-donation/) is on a pledge to stop UK hunger, and the charity has over 1,200 food bank centres in their UK network which they use to provide emergency support to those in need.


A list of organizations fighting for justice daily in US:

Black Lives Matter (https://blacklivesmatter.com/)
Campaign Zero (utilizes research-based policy solutions to end police brutality in the US)
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund (supports racial justice through advocacy, litigation and education)
The ACLU (Provides legal services and support for a broad range of people with civil rights complaints)
Reclaim The Block (defund Minneapolis Police Dept – https://www.reclaimtheblock.org/)
George Floyd Memorial Fund (https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd)
Bail Project (https://bailproject.org/)
Black Visions Collective (Black, trans & queer-led organization commited to dismantling systems of oppression and violence)
National Bail Fund (https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory)
Grassrootslaw.org (check their plan, become a volunteer)

A list of of charities fighting for justice daily in UK:

Stand Up To Racism UK (https://www.standuptoracism.org.uk/)
Show Racism The Red Card (https://www.theredcard.org/)
Black Thrive (https://www.blackthrive.org.uk/)
Stephen Lawrence Trust (https://www.stephenlawrence.org.uk/)

Natives.Aliens.Invaders. The lethal and beautiful Rhododendron.

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The phenomena investigated is the new relationship generated along the growth of the Rhododendron. These relationships are artificially created (the plant is non native to UK) by a swift environmental change, introducing a new invasive element.
The Rhododendron is a platform of interaction between different species; creating a invasive-native relationship.
The Rhododendron was reintroduced in the UK in 1768 as a trophy, being the national plant of Nepal. The growth rate of the plant is extremely fast and efficient.
The areas of investigation are chosen according to their potential of a natural expansion of the plant: The hedge creating a boundary around Hampstead Heath, Richmond Park, Kenwood House, Isabella gardens and new parks such as Hyde park.
The Rhododendron is considered an invader, taking over the native plants and creating a toxic environment. The leaves are coated with poisonous wax making them inedible and the honey produced from the flower is poisonous if eaten, the illness being called ‘mad honey disease’.
Within this toxic environment new relationships are formed between invaders, aliens and natives.
The existing users of the plant are suffocated: the dormouse (an endangered native UK species) is forced to leave its habitat and the place around the roots of the plant is taken by the woodland mice.
The upper levels of the plants are occupied by Dunnocks, an invasive bird species which lays its eggs in existing nests. Cuckoos are the victims of this behavior as their nests are suffocated by the Dunnocks.
Therefore, the plant can act as a weapon that affects not only the existing species of fauna but also humans.
Digital, Paintings & Drawings

As promised, following up our previous post, here is the little book we put together. It engages with the image of the ‘self’, acknowledging the author (and his/her presence) as part of the final output.

What I make of me

Digital

What I make of me by Miruna Mazilu with Sorana Mazilu

What I make of me

The image is part of a collection of works which we’re currently working on. Our project engages with the image of the ‘self’, acknowledging the author (and his/her presence) as part of the final output.

The ‘selfie-culture’ doesn’t seem out of place in today’s world, as anyone with digital means has the ability of curating their own image. The method of projecting one’s identity is used to distance from the subject (also the author) and construct a new identity. Therefore, by projecting onto another, the process of constructing self portraits becomes more relevant than the final result. – That is where the author’s identity is present (directly) within the work.

“…[if] I was an artist and I was in the studio, then whatever I was doing in the studio must be art. At this point art became more of an activity and less of a product.” (Bruce Nauman: “The True Artist”, 2014)

What is Creative Archipelago?

Digital

Hello World !

The name “Creative Archipelago” (as we call it, “CA”) derives from the land-form which, essentially, is a cluster, a collection of islands.
CA builds a critical platform for the investigation and curation of various concepts. In our view, each piece of work receives coordinates in a sea of unknown which, in turn, reveals new ‘islands’, expanding the ‘archipelago’.
This fragmented assemblage forms a coherent ‘whole’ built through a process of apparent bricolage. The fragmentation comes from the diversity of themes and mediums through which we seek to investigate and develop fundamental creative principles and individual ‘markers’ found within our work.
We hope to inspire conversations which can push the investigated agendas and provoke new questions and possible collaborations.

photo archipelago2