After Dark: Collective Care, which took place on 14 November as part of London College of Fashion (LCF), UAL Cultural Programme, was a wholesome and warm evening dedicated to exploring the calming power of textiles, mindfulness practices, and the art of building creative communities with an array of free creative workshops, wellness activities, performances and exhibitions.
The first floor of the East Bank campus was buzzing with workshops focused on a variety of creative practices. Among them was "What's Your Baggage?", a part-meditation, part-creative wellbeing workshop led by Kieran Jamieson, BA (Hons) Fashion Textiles: Print student. “It's a mindfulness-based art and textiles practice for becoming emotionally aware of our feelings and emotions,” he explains.
Through creating collages on tote bags, participants were invited to explore their emotional world using elements such as colour, psychology, texture, and sensory elements. The tote bags would also continue to serve as symbolic reminders of the mindful experience. “Just like something we wear, the totes can act as daily reminders of calmness, mindfulness, and wellbeing,” Kieran adds.
Shifting focus from textiles, the neighbouring table centred on paper collaging, led by artist Amy Rose Holland. Hosting such a workshop at a fashion college was thrilling, as each participant brings a different perspective shaped by their unique background. “Whether it’s bespoke tailoring, fashion marketing, or styling, it’s always nice to work with different groups of people — you never know what they’re going to bring to the table,” she says.
The calm atmosphere was further enriched by the soothing sounds emanating from the ground floor, where musician Emilia Agajew was playing the harp all evening long. As the mystical music resonated across all three floors, dance artists Sia Gbamoi and Abigail Longworth joined in to perform improvised dance routines while wearing inflatable costumes created by Yunpei Li.
The night also saw the opening of a new exhibition in the Wolfson Gallery at East Bank. Titled Drawing Inside Out, this exhibition highlights conversations around worn and owned garments through narrative drawing, posters and collages.
The heart of the ground floor was turned into an area called Knit-In — a warm, communal space for participants of all skill levels coming together to knit, patchwork, stitch, and crochet.
A large part of it was taken over by the knitting station, overseen by knitwear artist and specialist knit technician Sean-Henry Fitzsimons who welcomed anyone to drop in and knit or learn the craft. “The fashion industry today is so digitally focused; we wanted to make sure that slow practices are still embraced and we’re still characterising what it means to make clothes,” Sean-Henry explains.
Looking ahead, he hopes to establish a craft society, but his wish for this specific occasion was for participants to leave not only with a new craft project but also with a new friend. “You get a mixed generational age of crafters, and you all have one thing in common already, so why not explore what else we have in common?” Sean-Henry asks.
Just around the corner, a table was dedicated to exploring embroidery as a meditative practice by connecting internal breathing to the rhythm of stitching. "I’m not the kind of person who can meditate sitting in a lotus pose, so for me, being in movement when meditating is easier,” explains Renata Minoldo, artist and the workshop’s leader.
Renata’s approach emphasised focusing on the repetitive process rather than the final result, and the naturally dyed fabric provided colourful patterns that served as inspiration. “It’s like looking at a mandala—you travel into it and just let go,” she reflects.
Also set up in the Knit-In space was Eileen Barnard, a patchwork and quilting facilitator who runs workshops in the Dovetail Resident Community Space on The Carpenters Estate. She had decided to similarly embrace the meditative nature of stitching. “It's felt by a lot of people that if you've got things on your mind, working with their hands can often relax you and make you more peaceful,” she says.
Although she had set up her sewing machine, Eileen encouraged everyone to try hand stitching, suggesting they might be surprised by how it makes them feel. “I’ve had people here who’ve never picked up a needle, and now they’re making a hat that can transform into a bag. I was absolutely overwhelmed by that!” she exclaims.
The evening celebrating mindfulness culminated with Euphoria Somatic Dance, led by its founder Dirish Shaktidas. Designed to deepen our connection with body and mind through intentional movement, meditation, and breath work, Dirish himself had no expectations about leading a workshop in a classroom typically reserved for lectures.
“I had a couple of playlists ready as a backup just in case, but then I thought, ‘You know what, everyone’s here, so let’s go for it—we’ve got nothing to lose,’” he reflects. The dance journey, lasting over an hour, invited participants to claim their space, autonomy, and freedom by moving their bodies without restrictions.
Dirish is grateful that so many people trusted him and chose to try something new. “In the famous words of Madonna, express yourself, don’t repress yourself—that’s what we need to do more of,” he concludes.