Archives: Learning

25 Februrary – 24 March 2025

This exhibition showcases the process and outcomes of a series of workshops held at Ickburgh School in Hackney during the Autumn term of 2024, led by the Saatchi Gallery Learning Team.

Navigating a range of educational challenges, each young artist featured here has developed a unique and powerful response to the artistic materials and techniques explored in these sessions. From printmaking to abstract painting, students at Ickburgh School embraced new creative mediums, expressing their emotions and imagination through both tactile and visual forms.

Through off-site workshops for SEND students across London — including the talented young artists at Ickburgh School — the Saatchi Gallery Learning Team is committed to fostering inclusion and providing meaningful opportunities for people with learning disabilities to engage with the arts.

A Message from Ickburgh School

“Ickburgh School, based in the London Borough of Hackney, provides specialised education for students aged 4–19 with a focus on neurodiverse learning. Saatchi Gallery’s workshops have been invaluable to our students, many of whom are unable to visit the gallery in person. This project has enriched their experiences and boosted their confidence. Having their work exhibited at Saatchi Gallery is an extraordinary opportunity to educate and celebrate neurodiversity through the powerful medium of art.” — Maria Escribano, Art Teacher, Ickburgh School

11th Feburary – 23rd Feburary 2025

“The wound is the place where the light enters you.” — Rumi

Where the Light Enters is the outcome of a series of workshops held with residents of St Mungo’s and Saatchi Gallery Learning. This exhibition showcases the artwork created by participants in response to various prompts and themes. Art is a powerful tool for expression, but it is also an invitation to listen. Through listening, we gain a deeper understanding, and through understanding, we can change the world around us.

The artists in this exhibition have navigated numerous challenges, yet the works presented here reflect shared human experiences. Whether through painting, poetry, or sculpture, each piece represents a moment of personal reflection and expression. Together, these works speak to universal themes of resilience, healing, and connection.

About St Mungo’s

St Mungo’s works directly with people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, helping them build paths away from homelessness for good. Their services are tailored to meet clients wherever they are in their journey—whether through rough sleeping support, emergency accommodation, assistance in finding long-term housing, or providing skills and training to help individuals secure meaningful employment.

Last Year alone, St Mungo’s supported more than 28,000 people across 160 services, offering practical aid and creating opportunities for stability and independence.

In addition to direct support, St Mungo’s is dedicated to influencing systemic change. By amplifying the voices of their clients and applying their operational expertise, they work to influence policymakers and address the root causes of homelessness. This exhibition stands as a testament to their belief in the power of creativity, advocacy, and the human spirit to inspire transformation.

23^rd April – 30^th April 2024 

Open to ticket holders of Edward Burtynsky: Extraction / Abstraction only

Open age is a charity that champions an active life for older people. They work across Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster and Hammersmith and Fulham to enable anyone aged 50 or older to sustain their physical and mental fitness, maintain an active lifestyle and develop new and stimulating interests. With this exhibition, Open Age continues its partnership with Saatchi Gallery and invited their participants to respond to the brief is Changing Landscapes which responds to our current major exhibition BURTYNSKY: EXTRACTION / ABSTRACTION. 

Edward Burtynsky says: “I have spent over 40 years bearing witness to the ways in which modern civilization has dramatically transformed our planet.” 

We asked Open Age participants to contemplate changes in the environment around them over the years.  

Saatchi Gallery Learning team ran a series of workshops on the above themed to Open Age groups across the three boroughs to inspire submissions. 

On View 18th March-19th April.

Open to ticket holders of Edward Burtynsky: Extraction / Abstraction only

Local children have been inspired by ‘Neighbourhood Nature’ as part of Cadogan’s Chelsea Young Artists Competition, which encouraged children to take a closer look at the flora and fauna found in the gardens, parks and green spaces of Chelsea.

The Chelsea Young Artists Competition provided children with the opportunity to spend time rediscovering local wildlife. Organised by Cadogan, the ‘Neighbourhood Nature’ theme encouraged children to take a closer look at the flora and fauna found in the gardens, parks and green spaces of Chelsea.

The winning artworks have been on display in the top floor restaurant of Peter Jones, and now all winning and highly commended entries will be displayed in the Learning Room at Saatchi Gallery from 18th March-19th April.

The competition was designed to encourage children to connect with the natural spaces and the surprising amount of biodiversity to be found in our urban environment – making the most of the positive link between time spent in nature and improved mental health.

Participating school children were encouraged to visit two recently rewilded pocket forests on Pont Street and Chelsea Square, as well as other local green spaces, creating artwork inspired by their experience. The spectacular results were grouped by age into five categories, with the entries assessed by a panel of expert judges from Cadgoan, Saatchi, Pater Jones and SUGi.

Almost every young artist who entered the competition took a different approach, from delicate pencil sketches to bold, abstract collages. Prowling foxes, delicate root systems, leafy trees and parks at midnight… each student found something new to inspire their artwork.

Mrs Kathryn Gutteridge, Art Teacher at Hill House International Junior School: “The art competition was an excellent way of linking the children in [with rewilding sites] emotionally, and appreciating nature in our neighbourhood area. It was also a real stimulus to our art programme.”

On view: 17th Feb until 14th March.
Open to ticket holders of Burtynsky Extraction / Abstraction

The arts have a profound impact on mental health and quality of life. Therefore, this project celebrated and promoted the arts among the older generation of RBKC in collaboration with Age UK K&C, by hosting a series of 10 tours and workshops themed around our recent Season of Sculpture exhibitions which included IF NOT NOW, WHEN? Generations of Women in Sculpture in Britain 1960-2023 and CHRISTO AND JEANNE-CLAUDE: BOUNDLESS. The sessions were specifically aimed at those with dementia as studies have shown that art therapy activities even help boost cognitive function in various areas of the brain and enhance communication, brain function and social interaction in people with dementia.

Here are some quotes from some of the participants:

A lovely social time learning new skills with great materials & wonderful tutors – Conchita

Staff were/are very helpful and I learnt a lot attending the sessions, so loved them. – Meng Lim

Something unique and different to do. – Frank

 On view – 11th – 21st January

Residents of the Sutton estate, some of whom have lived on the estate or in the surrounding area for many years, have shared their memories and experiences of life in Chelsea as well as their hopes for the future of the estate.