Celebrated Mind: Black Excellence and Neurodiversity-Exhibition & Workshops
About this Event
This October, we invite everyone to celebrate Black Excellence and neurodivergent minds. Celebrated Minds is a week-long exhibition, workshop programme and special evening at the iconic OXO Tower Gallery on South Bank — free, open, and rooted in community.
The Exhibition — 28 Oct to 1 Nov, 11am–6pm · OXO Gallery · Free entry if you can book ticket
Art submitted by people living, working or connected to Southwark lines the walls of the gallery around the theme of Black excellence and neurodiversity. Every medium is welcome: drawing, painting, sculpture, poetry, spoken word, sound and music. Submissions close 17 October.
Step up to the Wall of Hope — an open invitation to write or draw your vision for the future. No experience needed. Just show up.
Daily Workshops — 3–4pm · Free - Please book a ticket - 0 -99 years old
Each day brings a different creative session led by artists and practitioners from the community:
Wednesday 28 Oct — Drawing with Habiba Nabisubi
Habiba Nabisubi is a British-Ugandan visual artist, illustrator, cartoonist and art educator based in South London. She relishes extending her craft to her community and planting creative seeds. Beautiful, honest, authentic representation is at the core of her practice and something she deeply values and believes in.
For her workshop, we will be experimenting with self-portraiture and getting a little messy with inks! No experience needed. Any age welcome.
Thursday 29 Oct — Painting with Amie Elizabeth Wolo
Paint it loud. STOP thinking.
Start painting, unleash pure emotions to help with well-being. Painting is therapeutic and abstraction is the language of feeling. Learning to have an emotional response to colour can help with well-being and understanding what colours can mean to you. Tap into the non representational movement that chnaged art forever.
EVERYONE IS WELCOME. No experience needed. Just an open mind and willigness to explore limitless freedom and expression through colour.
Amie Elizabeth Wolo is an abstract artist of Liberian descent from South London She is a Women in Art Prize winner. Her work is characterised by bold colours, dynamic brushstrokes, and a fearless approach to self-expression. Amie's art delves into the limitless possibilities of colour, employing palettes that include fiery reds, vibrant yellows, electric blues, and lush greens. Each piece not only reflects her dedication to pushing boundaries but also serves as a medium for exploring emotional responses to well-being. By incorporating colour theory as a form of therapy, Amie creates works that ignite emotion and imagination. Known for her unapologetic expressionism, she continues to inspire with her bold vision and innovative creativity, inviting viewers to connect with their own feelings through her vibrant compositions.
Friday 30 Oct — The Art of Doodling with NDFH
A guided doodling session with prompts — a practice that frees the neurodiverse mind, unlocks creative dialogue and says: there is no wrong way to begin.
Saturday 31 Oct — Story Telling and Drum making workshop with The Own Beat Collective
What if your story had a beat?
An empowerment workshop for the family.
Story Telling: Share and hear stories of strengh, identity and joy. Discover how your own story builds confidence and self-belief.
Drum Making: Build your own drum by hand, find your rhythm together, and take your drum home. All materials provided.
Own Beat Collective aims to empower people through creative, culturally grounded story telling and drum making workshops that build self efficacy, self-expression, and self-beleive. Jaki Glen, Sharon Simpson and Stephney Bent
Sunday 1 Nov — Mindfulness & Painting with Susan Young
A qualified mindfulness teacher, Susan Young is the founder of Innerbreath111- Awareness, growth, compassion, transformation. Join us for Arriving before Creating. A mindful pause before creative expression. A gentle mindfulness experience using guided awareness, reflection and sound to help you pause, arrive and connect with yourself before creating.
Explore how the inner language we bring to ourselves can shape the way we meet creativity, uncertainty and everyday life.
Pause, notice create
No need for perfection - come just as you are. A moment of art and peace at the close of the week. No experience needed.
Special Open Evening — Wednesday 28 Oct, 5:30-8:30pm · Ticketed
A warm, high-energy evening celebrating ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
Hosted by Annette Telesford — Black life coach, speaker and parent, held in the heart of a community of Black families with neurodivergent children, the evening opens with a keynote from Sagi Burton. A former professional footballer and current academy coach, Sagi works with young players through individual development, strong relationships and a belief that every player deserves to feel supported and challenged. Neurodivergent himself, he will share the battle, the resilience and the win.
Then comes the heart of the evening: 5 Minutes of Fabulous.
Inspired by speed-speech formats, this is a stage for the people of Southwark themselves. A mix of pre-invited community members and open-mic sign-ups on the night each get 5 minutes to share what makes them — or someone they love — fabulous. A story of resilience. An achievement. A moment of joy. This is not about having a famous name. It is about proving that every single person in the room has a story of brilliance worth celebrating.
Free to attend · Tickets required for the evening · Open to anyone connected to Southwark
Organised by The Neurodiversity Family Hub C.I.C, funded by Southwark Council, supported by OxoGallery - [email protected]
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 0.00
