Workshops 2025
A number of inspirational workshops for all will take place over the weekend
Get ready to dive into a world of colour, creativity, and play in this Concertina Sketchbook Workshop — perfect for anyone who wants to explore their imagination and have fun making art!
You’ll create your own 1.5-metre-long concertina sketchbook that folds up beautifully — a personal art journey you can hold in your hands. Using stickers, colourful tape, and drawing, we’ll fill each section with playful marks, patterns, and ideas that reflect your unique style.
This workshop is all about following your instincts, letting go of perfection, and enjoying the creative process. No experience is needed — just come ready to experiment, relax, and be amazed by what you can create!
All materials provided
Perfect for adults and children who want to play, explore, and be creative
This workshop is led by Eloisa Henderson-Figueroa, a mural artist who has been transforming spaces and inspiring creativity for several years. Her work is all about play, colour, and joy — creating experiences that make people smile, whether through large-scale murals or hands-on workshops.
She has brought her creative energy to schools across the UK, including Highgate Primary School, Keble Prep School, Chestnuts Primary School, and many more. Her enthusiasm, warmth, and sense of fun make her the perfect host — welcoming, friendly, funny, and full of ideas.
Having even painted murals at Highgate Primary School, where this workshop takes place, she’s thrilled to return and share her love of creativity with the community.
1.5 hour workshop in the Art Studio Highgate Primary School
Ages: 6+
Cost £25 per person
Creative Play Workshop: Stickers, Tape & Badges!
with Eloisa Henderson - Figueroa
Get ready to unleash your imagination in this joyful, hands-on Creative Play Workshop — perfect for both adults and children who love to make, explore and have fun!
We’ll dive into a series of playful creative exercises using stickers and colourful tapes, designed to spark ideas and get you experimenting with shapes, colour, and pattern. Then, you’ll bring your ideas to life by designing and creating your own unique badges — a little piece of art that celebrates your style and character.
No experience is needed — just come with an open mind and a willingness to play!
This workshop is all about instant creativity, self-expression, and the joy of making something with your own hands.
You’ll leave feeling inspired, energised, and proudly wearing your own handmade badges and artwork — a vibrant reminder of your creativity and imagination.
Perfect for: Adults, families, and anyone who wants to get creative, unwind, and have fun.
All materials provided.
Workshop leader
This workshop is led by Eloisa Henderson-Figueroa, a mural artist who has been transforming spaces and inspiring creativity for several years. Her work is all about play, colour, and joy — creating experiences that make people smile, whether through large-scale murals or hands-on workshops.
She has brought her creative energy to schools across the UK, including Highgate Primary School, Keble Prep School, Chestnuts Primary School, and many more. Her enthusiasm, warmth, and sense of fun make her the perfect host — welcoming, friendly, funny, and full of ideas.
Having even painted murals at Highgate Primary School, where this workshop takes place, she’s thrilled to return and share her love of creativity with the community.
1 hour workshop in the Art Studio Highgate Primary School
Ages: 6+
Cost £15 per person
Instagram: @colourclublondon
Unfold your Imagination: Concertina Sketchbooks
with Eloisa Henderson - Figueroa
Workshop details
Adults and children attending the workshop will have the opportunity to explore a variety of hand building and surface decoration techniques to construct and add pattern 2D and 3D forms based on natural shapes and iconic African masks.
2 hour workshop in the Art Studio Highgate Primary School
Ages: 8+
Cost £30 per person
Artist Statement
Basil Olton is an artist, curator, researcher and founder and director of Highgate Art School, promoting a diverse understanding of contemporary art at a grassroots community level and a consultant for the British Art Network.
Instagram: @highgateartschool
Ceramics Workshop: iconic African masks
with Basil Olton owner of Highgate Art School
PlyForm YourSelf workshop
with Plyconic
Workshop details
Become a 3D assemblage artist and join Plyconic’s a PlyForm YourSelf workshop. You will get to play with plywood shapes, colours and layers to create your own unique plywood picture.
Through this creative process, we'll gently explore the basics of composition and how colour and shape can influence a piece.
After reflecting on your previous creations you will pick which one to rebuild and glue down as your final piece. Then take home your plywood picture to adorn your walls and impress family and friends with.
Artist statement
Plyconic, is an east London artist with a passion for architecture and plywood. Building depth and visual intrigue by layering intricately cut plywood to create abstract and architectural inspired pictures. Each ply layer disrupts the grain of the one below, creating a rhythmic interplay of patterns. This interplay of the natural ply patterns, infuses the artworks with a sense of serenity and connection to nature.
1 hour workshop in the Art Studio Highgate Primary School
Ages: 9+
Cost £30 per person
Instagram: @plyconic
Colours of Tradition:
A Madhubani Painting Experience
with Akruti Sinha
Workshop details
Immerse yourself in the vibrant and symbolic world of Madhubani painting. A centuries old folk art form from the Mithila region of Bihar, India. Know for it’s intricate patterns, vivid colours, symbolic motifs and rich story telling, Madhubani art reflects themes of nature, mythology, cosmic harmony and daily life. Traditionally painted by women on walls and floors during festivals and special occasions, this style has evolved into a celebrated global art form while retaining its cultural roots. Each motif whether of lotus flower, birds, animals or trees carry profound symbolic meaning shaped by tradition and occasion. The vibrant patterns, passed down from mothers to daughters, form a visual language that has remained remarkably unchanged through centuries, surviving the many vicissitudes of history through the strength of communal village life.
This hands-on workshop offers participants a chance to explore the techniques and motifs of Madhubani painting, using simple tools and natural inspiration. Whether you’re an experienced artist or someone picking up a brush for the first time, this session is designed for all skill levels. No prior expertise in art is required - just bring your creativity and curiosity!
What to Expect:
• Learn the origins and symbolism behind Madhubani art.
• Discover basic techniques, including linework, pattern creation, and use of colour.
• Create your own Madhubani-inspired artwork to take home.
• Immerse yourself in a relaxing, cultural, and creative experience during the Highgate Art Festival.
Join us for an unforgettable artistic journey where tradition meets creativity, and take home not just a painting, but a piece of living history.
Artist Statement
Akruti Sinha is a seasoned textile designer with over 12 years of experience in creating surface and textile art. Akruti holds a Bachelor’s degree in Textile Design from the prestigious National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad. Her work blends traditional techniques with contemporary design sensibilities, making her uniquely skilled at bringing the rich heritage of Madhubani painting to life in a modern, accessible way.
1 hour workshop in the Art Studio Highgate Primary School
Ages: 14+
Cost £20 per person
Painting workshop
with Fran Gifford
Workshop details
Paint Birds With Fran Gifford!
Spend a happy morning painting birds with Fran Gifford! Everyone is welcome regardless of your skill level. Fran will give you the outline, and all the help, advice, and encouragement you need so that you take home a painting you're really happy with at the end. You'll be painting birds Fran’s way: with bold colour, lots of lines, and an abundance of flowers. She’ll show you some of her secret tricks to making each bird look happy and full of life. We can't wait to see what you create!
Artist Statement
Fran Giffard has long been captivated by the intricate beauty of natural illustrations, and has produced an incredible body of ornithology-inspired artwork. Fran works directly onto her personal Moleskine diaries using watercolour, ink, gouache and graphite pencil, capturing the wonder of exotic and more commonplace birds. The result is a vivid collection of work with an intriguing personal slant. Drawing on influences from contemporary Japanese print making, Fran’s paintings contrast areas of intense detail with negative space, flat gouache with rich mottled watercolour tones, and beautiful loose paint strokes with precise perfect lines. The result is an aesthetically beautiful painting which can appear simple upon first glance, but pulls you in. Each bird painted is filled with character. Fran clearly has a true love of birds and has exclusively
painted them since 2010. The joy that she experiences from studying them is embodied in each piece. Fran paints each bird how she views them: elegant, poised, beautiful, and full of happiness and charm.
1 - 1.5 hour workshop in the Art Studio Highgate Primary School
Ages: 6+
Cost £18 per person
Playful Relief.
Shape, form and colour.
with Andrea Rodriguez Lagartos
Workshop details
Make a relief in clay, and experiment with types of mark-making. We’ll use a range of modern sculptural tools as well as natural resources, which encourages the creation of a wide variety of surface textures and depths protruding into and out of the relief surface. The eventual aim is to cast the relief.
The casting technique demonstrates the basic process of mould making. It is a similar technique that would have been used to create the casts on display in the Cast Courts in the 19th century. Moulds were often made from plaster, but could also be made from gutta-percha, gelatine, or clay.
Although all materials and equipment are provided, please feel free to bring along special items from your own garden if you’d like to make your design even more personal.
You will take away a personalised botanical plaster cast of your design to display in your home, measuring approximately 10 cm in diameter.
Artist Statement
Andrea Rodriguez Lagartos, the curator of the children's exhibition at the Highgate Art Fair 2024 and 2025, is an Art Teacher at Highgate Primary School and the founder and studio lead of the art room at Highgate Primary School. Driven by a deep concern for the environment, she shapes the studio’s creative vision, develops its art curriculum, and leads community engagement. With a background in art and design, Andrea is passionate about creating holistic, process-led spaces where children of all ages can explore, experiment, and grow. She also shares regular updates and inspiration through her community newsletter.
For more info, please check:
highgateartfair.co.uk/childrens-exhibition
highgateprimaryschool.co.uk/classes/art
Picture artworks curated in the Children's exhibition, Highgate Art Fair 2025
1.5 hour workshop in the Art Studio Highgate Primary School
Ages: 8+
Cost £18 per person
