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Ruth Beale

@ruth.beale

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Collabs @alternativeschoolofeconomics
Trustee @thefeministlibrary
Teaching @goldsmithsdesign
Member @f__choir
@velociposse @lewishamarthouse

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Another overdue post.. This was All the Banners (Silent) at Brickworks, a temporary exhibition also part of @deptfordx

All the Banners (Silent) is a collection of hand-made interpretations of real banners used in protests and rallies from the last 100 years: from Justice for Grenfell, to the Suffragettes, to pit closures and trade union marches.
Cute fact - my mum Jacky made some of them for me!

I think they have a dignity, a kind of procession of struggle. I think of all the protests in my lifetime where people have not been listened to, from the Iraq war, to student fees, to austerity, to the Marches for Gaza. And the increasingly draconian anti-protest laws and proscribing of anti-war activist groups.

The banners were originally made for Fig Futures exhibition at Grundy Art Gallery in Blackpool in 2018, and added to for Mansions of the Future in Lincoln in 2019/20. They were also shown at The Right to Protest at @greatorexstreet_e1 last month
Photos 1-3: Katarzyna Perlak by @ruth.beale

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a year ago

I didn’t manage to post about this at the time bc my laptop broke and bla bla. but have to share these lovely images of my project with @deptfordx

Silent Parade was a public promenade - part silent disco, part protest, part street theatre - through Deptford.

I worked with young people from two Lewisham schools, talking about the power of silence - ways to express yourself when not being heard, and what they want to change. We took inspiration from All the Banners (Silent), which were also exhibited in the festival.

Making all the elements of the parade, from choreography to props, was a collaborative process. The children & young people considered issues of governance and children’s rights, as well as deep listening, non-violent protest, and the tension between silence as resistance and being silenced or scared to speak out. This felt increasingly complex and pressing at a time when protest is being suppressed through ‘public order’ anti-protest laws and the proscribing of anti-war activist groups.

On the day, the young people were joined by members of the public, wearing silent disco headphones, following choreography and carrying placards made by the children.

Silent Parade was commissioned by Deptford X.
Photographs: 1. Kellie Blake, 2-8 & 10. Katarzyna Perlak. Thanks to @kwongleev2, @kellieblake, Darren MacDonald & Jess Austin-Burdett for making it happen, and to @anaortunoflor & @eviehurts for their help fabricating the props/costumes taken in Deptford SE8 by @ruth.beale

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Listen to our next 3 radio episodes!

Hear from Ruth Beale, Heart n Soul’s Feel Good designers and Jahnavi Innis about several projects and practices that happen inside of Lewisham Arthouse. Hosted by Lewisham Arthouse member, Niamh (@niamhschmidtke), tune in on Mondays at 7pm until October 26th, to the people and stories that make up the old Deptford Library.

Broadcast through RTM (@rtm.fm), and supported by the volunteers of Lewisham Arthouse.
Thank you to National Lottery players for making this work possible.

Missed our Monday broadcast? Catch up on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7pm on RTM.FM

Listen out for our jingle by Moina Moin (@moinamoin_)

Anyone we should chat to next? Questions or feedback? Please get in touch through our instagram or website.

Ruth Beale (@ruth.beale)
12th October 7:00 - 7:30
Ruth Beale is an artist who makes work about radical education through workshops, books, parades and performances with children, adults and the playful at heart. We talk about how collaboration and co-operatives can sustain her creative practices and collective making. In this episode we listen to f*choir (of which Ruth is a member of) new single, La Vita.

Heart n Soul (@heartnsoulart)
19th October 7:00 - 8:00
Ever wanted to learn about train safety while getting your hair cut? How to make a concept album? Or what links Gloria Steinem to Wonderwoman? Find out from the 3 artists in this bumper episode! Ariel, Danielle and Jade are part of the group Feel Good Designers. They are supported by arts charity Heart n Soul. Listen to the end for Danielle’s classic track, Can’t Stop Drawing.

Jahnavi Innis (@jahnavinniss)
25th October 7:00 - 7:30
In this episode we speak with artist and quilt maker Jahnavi Innis. We discuss her series of quilt making workshops, Caribbean Memories with the Brockley Society, called and upcoming quilts which draw on her research into plantation maps of Jamaica and the stories of the enslaved people. You’ll also hear Jo Plastic’s track Horizontal. by @ruth.beale

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5 days ago

On September 10th join us at Pelican House to hear ‘No One Way Works’: a conversation between Gemma Copeland, Arjun Harrison-Mann and Ruth Beale (see their bio's 👇 below) about working within collectives for social movement.

Taking Gemma’s essay ‘Common Ground’ as a starting point, we’ll encounter tools, strategies, challenges and influences from our speaker’s experience of working within social movement ecologies. We hope to see you there!

The conversation is part of an evening gathering in London to celebrate the release of the Design After Design essay series published by Post Design and Further Reading - join us in Bethnal Green on Thursday, September 10th from 7-9 pm for talks, readings and drinks.

Sign-up is open, it's free to attend and the tickets are limited (registration link in bio)

💫 Speaker Bios 💫
Ruth Beale's s socially engaged art practice seeks to trouble societal structures, reframe knowledge hierarchies and advocate for collective approaches. Their work grows from context-specific research and participatory processes, resulting in a wide variety of forms including events, public works, drawing, writing, installations and print.

Gemma Copeland is a London-based designer, organiser, and educator. Her practice centres on building infrastructures to cultivate more creative and resilient movements, and exploring how arts and culture can expand our collective political imagination. Gemma also runs @materials.festival, an annual festival of visual culture and politics.

Arjun Harrison-Mann is a designer, activist and lecturer whose practice foregrounds the Social Model of Disability as a design provocation and seeks to Rehearse Accessible Futures. Rooted in Disability Justice, his work is informed by his lived experience as a neurodiverse ex-young carer, and oscillates between exploring accessibility in the context of direct action and joyful experiences. by @ruth.beale

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2 months ago

Very proud to present an exhibition with The Hundred Club this week - it’s on till Saturday @tracey_aint_coming_out if you want to go and see it! We also held a child-friendly symposium on Saturday (pics) - with a creative activities by @studiobecomingx & @_nathalie_coste_ & speakers from @resolvecollective and @upprojects & @lizafior.muf chairing

The exhibition was put together collaboratively with children in an ‘exhibition in a day’ workshop, where they chose photographs, edited video and made drawings and props. It focuses on Creative Playscapes, a collaborative research project developed by The Hundred Club @taco_yap_yippeeee, @walterstabb and @_hadi.bastani from the University of Greenwich, along with children’s artwork from over twenty Hundred Club sessions undertaken in collaboration with artists and designers exploring listening, looking and play, neighbourhoods & the built environment.

Creative Playscapes asks - how can creative work that centres children and families as artistic producers, filmmakers, designers and authors of knowledge help to shape the future of our built environment and make cities playful, happy, healthy places to grow and live?

Massive thanks to @d.e.a.d.s.t.o.p & @jemmaegan for installing and so much more, @natashabird for producing up to Nov last year and saving all the bits and pieces in the vitrine! & Walter & Hadi for all their work, and everyone else on the day.

The Hundred Club is an experimental creative space that uses arts and play for children to explore social justice issues. It's free and open to 5-12 year olds & their siblings, parents and carers. The club meets monthly in and around Thamesmead, Abbeywood, Plumstead and Woolwich. It’s produced by TACO! as part of their Young Artists Programme. It was founded in 2021 by me in collaboration with TACO! and now involves a range of artists sharing their practices in workshops and projects. A family steering group helps shape the programme.

Work in the exhibition includes projects with Nadina Ali nadinadidthis, Hadi Bastani, Ruth Beale, Tommy Brentnall @piggybankshoe, Lisa Cheung & @aj.tuckwood, @winnie_hall, @sahra_hersi, Walter Stabb, Sadie St Hilaire @sadsthil by @ruth.beale

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6 months ago

It was so nice to be at @stickyfingerspublishing fair last weekend. Meeting friends new and old, sharing our books, and being part of this fair celebrating feminist, queer, disabled-led and local interdisciplinary publishing. Thank you for having us, and to @hollyrevellphotography for these lovely pics too

Featuring 56a Infoshop, The 50-ft Press, The Alternative School of Economics, BitterSweet Review, Burley Fisher Community Press, CAMP!, Ⓐ DUDLEY Ⓔ, Em—Dash, F.A.T. Studio, Freedom Press, Inclusions0000 (by Oisín harmful), Intellitrash, Leomi Sadler/Famicon Express/Pre-Debut, Montez Press, The Mosaic Rooms Bookshop, PageMasters, The People's Letters Bookshop, Physical Interface, Shy Radicals Distro, Slow + Dirty x House of Annetta, Strike Design Studio, TACO!, tallfingerpress & TISSUE, plus 50 titles on a communal table. by @ruth.beale

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Very pleased to be showing 'LIKE GODS' in ‘Library’, an exhibition @lewishamarthouse opening March 26th 6-9pm - do come!

Curated by @kasper_pincis @nickscammell_studio and Caroline Kha, the show takes inspiration from the former life of the Arthouse building as a public library.

The exhibition will explore forms of information, knowledge, language, the destruction and repairs of books and the role of the library as an open access resource and archive.

Also featuring work by @marc.cowan @callumbeaney @callan.jonathan and @group_matter

Opening event Thursday 26 March 6-9pm. Exhibition on till 5th April, open Wed-Sun 10-6pm. by @ruth.beale

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7 months ago

We’ve been working with @metalpeterborough and @_recollective_ on a new pop-up reading room structure to house Metal’s Pluto Press Reading Room.

The structure is being designed and built by ReCollective, who build community infrastructure using reclaimed materials - we love the way their work is a form of circular economy.

Their design responds to a community brief we developed with three community groups in Peterborough, and uses fabric we designed and printed with the groups.

We worked with:
- Men’s Shed, a space for men to create converse and connect, housed in The Green Backyard, a community growing project
- members of The Kite Trust social group, which supports the wellbeing and creativity of LGBTQ+ young people
- students from BA Creative Digital Design at University Centre Peterborough
The groups designed motifs relating to the histories and cultures of Peterborough, which we translated into a repeat pattern and printed in a public workshop. Bricks, books, hands and leaves riff on Peterborough's
history of brick-making and well-loved green spaces. The designs are printed on reclaimed fabric from The National Theatre.

The reading room will be completed and launched later this year.
@metalcultureuk
@metalpeterborough
@_recollective_
@thekitetrust
@ukmenssheds
@ucpeterborough
@plutopress taken in Peterborough, UK by @ruth.beale

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8 months ago

💥More sessions at The Hundred Club this half term!

Free family activities in Abbey Wood and Thamesmead for 5-12 year olds and their families.

We ask grown ups to stay and get involved. Free, but please book online at #linkinbio

📰The Hundred Club / WAAAAH in a day / with designer/artists @piggybankshoe @alternativeschoolofeconomics @ruth.beale and Amy Feneck
Thurs 30 Oct / 10-1
TACO! Print Studio, 30 Poplar Place, SE28 8BA
5-12 year olds and their grown-ups are invited to design and print The Hundred Club’s very own giant collaborative newspaper, with designer Tommy Brentnall and artists Ruth Beale and Amy Feneck who work together as The Alternative School of Economics. As well as making the newspaper, during the session we'll be discussing the history of the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, and why it came to be, thinking about ''why do we have weapons/what if we didn't have them?' and 'why are there wars?'. As with all sessions, we ask for grown-ups to stay and get involved. This helps make sessions an inclusive, safe space to explore issues in an age-appropriate way. If parents/carers have further questions about the content or session they are always welcome to discuss with Natasha (YAP producer) at any time before, during, or after the workshop, either in person or via email at nb@taco.org.uk.

📚The Hundred Club - Write It! Design it! … Your Own Short Story! / with writer and designer @ilanagraham
Fri 31 October / 10-1
Thamesmere Library, Thamesmere Dr, London SE28 8RE @greenwichlibs

5-12 year olds and their families - use your own stories to create a story! Where do you live and how has it changed? What are the stories of your family? Join writer and book designer Ilana Graham to combine your stories into your own mini book to compile and take home to finish.

Initiated by artist Ruth Beale, produced by @tracey_aint_coming_out and supported by @royal_greenwich

📷Angry and fear and happy and sad - activity by @alternativeschoolofeconomics at Bostall Gardens Parkfest. Image by Ruth Beale by @ruth.beale

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a year ago

🌞Coming up at The Hundred Club this half term!

Free family activities in Abbey Wood and Thamesmead for 5-12 year olds and their families.

We ask grown ups to stay and get involved. Free, but please book online at #linkinbio

🍞The Hundred Club / Eat your sculpture! / with artist @_nathalie_coste_

Tues 28 Oct / 1-3

Bostall Gardens Pavilion, Viola Ave, SE2 0TQ

5-12 year olds and their families are invited for an afternoon sculpting, drawing and eating! We'll be asking - who would you like to share a meal with? A creative session exploring gathering together and sharing. During the session you'll make your own doughy character, dyed with natural ingredients, and shaped by you - which we'll bake before you take it home to eat! Please let us know any allergies/dietary requirements in the sign up so we can prepare accordingly.

📰The Hundred Club / WAAAAH in a day / with designer/artists @piggybankshoe @ruth_beale Amy Feneck @alternativeschoolofeconomics

Thurs 30 Oct / 10-1

TACO! Print Studio, 30 Poplar Place, SE28 8BA

5-12 year olds and their grown-ups are invited to design and print The Hundred Club’s very own giant collaborative newspaper. As well as making the newspaper, during the session we'll be discussing the history of the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, and why it came to be, thinking about ''why do we have weapons/what if we didn't have them?' and 'why are there wars?'. As with all sessions, we ask for grown-ups to stay and get involved. This helps make sessions an inclusive, safe space to explore issues in an age-appropriate way. If parents/carers have further questions about the content or session please email nb@taco.org.uk.

📚The Hundred Club - Write It! Design it! … Your Own Short Story! / with writer and designer @ilanagraham

Fri 31 October / 10-1

Thamesmere Library, Thamesmere Dr, London SE28 8RE @greenwichlibs

5-12 year olds and their families - use your own stories to create a story! Where do you live and how has it changed? What are the stories of your family? Combine your stories into your own mini book to compile and take home to finish.

Initiated by Ruth Beale, produced by @tracey_aint_coming_out ! and supported by @royal_greenwich by @ruth.beale

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a year ago

💸Elastic Money: A Lexicon of Debt is now out in the world!

Last night we launched the book with a special panel discussion in Bootle Library. Best night ever!

@marieannemcquay interviewed artists Ruth Beale and Amy Feneck @alternativeschoolofeconomics, the artists on the Elastic Money project, and Jo Hughes from @venuscentre, where they talked about the potential of art in social and political context, what we would change about the economic system, and how we can better provide solidarity by open discussions around debt and money.

It was such a huge privilege to bring everyone together who was part of the project including the women who work in Venus, the women who contributed their debt stories to the publication, created images in the creative workshops, and defined all of the words with us in the Lexicon.

Thank you to Marie-Anne for asking such thoughtful questions, to Ruth and Amy for sharing more about their practice (and for everything), and to Jo for telling us more about the vital work that Venus do. And to Venus for being the dream collaborators on this project. It was such a pleasure to work with them again and meet the incredible women that volunteer and visit the centre.

Special shout out to @kimdrossman for his incredible care, honouring these stories in such magical ways in the design is surprising and beautiful ways.

The book is now available to buy on @alternativeschoolofeconomics website and will be available in a selection of independent local bookshops and across the country. Stockists coming soon to our website 👀 by @ruth.beale

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a year ago

by @ruth.beale

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