Light Up Kilburn Legacy Workshops Explore Safety, Sustainability and the Sounds of Nature
Hanna Benihoud hosts a collage making workshop at Kilburn State of Mind discussing women’s nighttime safety
Through a trio of workshops hosted in and around Kilburn Grange Park, Kilburn residents recently had a chance to discuss their experiences of the neighbourhood, learn more about the importance of biodiversity and listen to the fleeting sounds of the park. Following Light Up Kilburn, a biennial community light festival organised by Hive Curates in partnership with Love Camden, these legacy workshops brought together a variety of artists alongside the local community, exploring a range of themes, from women’s nighttime safety to sustainability and celebrating the biodiversity of the park itself.
Supported by Arts Council England, the free workshops were available for primary school children, students and local residents. This included a collage, women’s safety workshop by artist Hanna Benihoud, a workshop focused on sustainability and recycled paper by Capri Jiang, and a sound sourcing workshop for an interactive listening trail by Daphne Ting-Yu Chu and Shu Ang Yeh, whose installation Natural Concerto was part of Light Up Kilburn 2026 earlier this year.
The Girls of the Light collage workshop at Kilburn State of Mind offered a chance to get creative
Collage, Conversation and Nighttime Safety with Hanna Benihoud
The collage workshop was the first of the series and a continuation of Hanna’s light projection series, Girls of the Light, which explored themes of women’s safety at night and the importance of light interventions.
Meeting at Kilburn State of Mind as part of their weekly coffee morning, Hanna led a collaging session, inviting attendees to share locations within Kilburn where they have felt unsafe and talk about their experiences.
The conversations gave Hanna a deeper understanding of safety in the local area and will inform her research for a projection piece as part of future Light Up Kilburn legacy events.
Capri Jiang guided students from Emmanuel Church of England Primary School through a recycled paper making workshop
Sustainable Growth: Can Paper Become Alive? With Capri Jiang
How are natural dyes made? Can food waste help to grow new plant life? How can we reduce waste within our own homes? These were just some of the questions that were explored by a group of local SEN school students at Emmanuel Church of England primary school, as they enjoyed a recycled paper making workshop, run by Capri Jiang.
Capri demonstrated how natural dyes can be made from everyday foods such as beetroot, turmeric and tea, before the children had a chance to create their own recycled paper, adding natural colours and wildflower seeds that could later be planted and grown.
The workshop combined art with environmental learning, introducing ideas around biodiversity, waste and circularity. By making something that could later be planted, the children were invited to think about how everyday materials can move through different cycles, as well as how creativity can help to imagine more sustainable ways of living.
Local students from the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance took part in a sound sourcing workshop
Revealing the Unseen with Daphne Ting-Yu Chu and Shu Ang Yeh
What sounds can be heard within Kilburn Grange Park if we take the time to listen to nature?
Artists Daphne Ting-Yu Chu and Shu Ang Yeh ran a sound sourcing workshop alongside local students from the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance, gathering recordings which will later be translated into a permanent listening trail within the park, focused on the theme of height.
The artists and students worked together to compose a soundscape from the field recordings, to understand the park’s hidden dimensions, hear what can be discovered at different levels and tune in to the noises otherwise ignored.
Across the three workshops, artists and local communities explored the variety of experiences of Kilburn residents: through conversations about feeling safe at night, through making and growing with recycled materials, and through listening to the sounds already present in the park.
For Hive Curates, these workshops are an important part of Light Up Kilburn’s legacy between the festival. Bringing artists into conversation with Kilburn residents allows them to respond directly to people’s experience of the neighbourhood, ensuring that the work is a more direct reflection of the area. The conversations and ideas generated through these workshops will continue to inform the artists’ work, as well as the next iteration of Light Up Kilburn in 2028.
