November see the close of our annual AMTYP creative programme (applications open up for our 2023 intake in February). This year saw our AMTYP Young Creatives do some wonderful work experience with our partners, as well as received £500 grants each, to put towards their future creativity. In addition to this we were able to do a series of workshops exploring, art, product development, and commerce through a project titled Future Self.
A collaboration between AMTYP x Renaissance Re, Future Self is a project to explore an image of a future self, as well as to understand the creation of art and its translation into a commercial product.
The project culminated in an exhibition in the RenRe London offices where the 10 AMTYP Young Creative, who participated, presented their art in the form of a Private View and quarterly exhibition. This project has allowed the AMTYP creatives to come together, network with local professional artists and makers, and to understand the production process required in developing a piece of art into additional products.
The Project.
001. An artist workshop with south-east London based artist Birungi Kawooya. A mindful evening together in south-east London to create a visual representation of a Future Self.
002. A brand workshop with Birungi Kawooya to understand how to compile an artist statement. An online session to learn about branding and marketing, and a lesson in pricing art.
003. A printing workshop with Taf and Nii of Deptford-based DFT Printing. Understanding techniques including screen printing, digital printing, heat pressing, embroidery and transfer printing, as well as the digital art working process.
004. A commerce workshop with Alice of Alice Made This & AMTYP to understand the process of creation and development from ‘sketch to sale’. An insight into the network involved and the development process of creating other commercial products with their original art. Products discussed were art prints, greeting cards and other stationary, and fabric printed goods.
With thanks to
RenaissanceRe is one of the world’s leading reinsurance companies, consistently recognised for innovation, technical excellence and creative problem-solving. The company firmly places people at the heart of everything it does and believes that by working to understand the things that matter to its people it can have a truly inclusive workplace where people can perform at their best. Ren Re has supported the AMTYP since its launch in 2020 and this year’s collaboration with AMTYP and Birungi Kawooya was born from a wish to mark Black History Month with a celebration of Black achievements in the arts.
Birungi Kawooya. “I’m an artist inspired by nature, Black women portraiture, and African diasporic dance styles. As an art tutor and I create spaces for wellbeing with my Mindful African Art workshops. I’m also cultural producer for dance, theatrical festival experiences.”
As a self-taught artist, Birungi teaches collage technique and helps you to work through anxiety, focus your mind and create freely. “Trust in yourself and surprise yourself with your creative expression. Everyone deserves to see themselves as art and express themselves.”
DFT Printing Studio is an independent company based south-east London run by Tafari and Nii-armah. With career histories in Fine Art and Music they are creative and technical experts in printing. With over 10 years’ experience in screen printing onto garments, fabrics, walls and glass, they are dedicated to providing high quality designs, screen printing and garment customisation from their fully self-sufficient studio in Deptford.
The AMT Youth programme is a community interest company created and run by the team at Alice Made This. The programme supports young people aged 16-18 to gain experience, opportunities, and resources in the creative industries. It aims to illustrate the breadth of opportunity across the creative industries, and to give young creatives confidence and understanding, as well as a network of industry professionals to help drive their talents and passions. The programme prioritises young people from African and Caribbean descent, based in south-east London.
AMTYP 2022 Young Creatives on AMTYP
"A really insightful process, I learnt so many new things about the creative industry. I truly believe that it did contribute to me wanting to go into a creative profession." Ami
"Work experience was amazing! It provided me with lots of connections and networks to help me in the future." Fred
"This whole experience has opened my eyes to the things I can achieve in the creative industry." Ezrah
"Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. I have learnt so much during this process" Maraki
