The Studio: Residency Weekend

The Studio was launched with a residency weekend in January 2024 in Folkestone, gathering the  Studio Producers with five amazing artists: Diane Dever, Claudius Fanusie, Manuela Benini, Ali Eisa, and Louella Ward.

The artists held workshops and discussions to explore the impact and form of public art, the role of identity and representation, the potentials of public interaction, the politics of public art, and collective messaging.

Read their bios below.

Diane is an inter-disciplinary artist, curator and producer who works collaboratively to explore the intersections of public, private and liminal space. Her work seeks to provoke insight into how urban space is experienced, quantified, produced and understood. She does this by making interventions in public space and by curating festivals, projects and events. She is interested in the notions of Civic and Public – how people connect to place, each other and larger concerns that impact on the everyday. She is motivated by how the creation of opportunities in art making or business enables a holistic approach to development that can benefit all.

Since 2008 she has led Folkestone Fringe – an artist-led organisation committed to creating opportunities and projects for artists and communities which develop people and place. Our programmes are created in conversation with others and delivered by young people developing their future working in the arts.

Claudius Fanusie is an Architect, Artist, Musician and founder of cross-disciplinary practice ArchiArtyMusicTects. The socio-political and historical contextualising of the practice’s work is based around Fanusie’s childhood memories growing up in Freetown, Sierra Leone; his Black British minority status; and the legacies of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and colonisation. Fanusie uses both traditional and digital tools and is currently developing a playable experience combining his traditional pleinair drawing practice with audio and emergent technology .

Manuela Benini blends her roles as an artistic director in mass participatory projects and environmental activist with a critical and transformative approach. With over two decades of experience, she has specialized in orchestrating carnivals and outdoor work, underlining her proficiency as a choreographer, performer and agitator. Her work is characterized by a deep commitment to co-creation and public engagement, leveraging the realm of outdoor arts as a powerful tool for societal transformation.

Central to her portfolio is “The Red Dress Project,” a lifelong dance and photography initiative. In this project, Benini delivers evocative performances dressed in a red dress, set against a tapestry of global landscapes often marked by contention or adversity. These performances are more than artistic expressions; they are potent symbols of socio-political challenges. Through this project, Benini aims to ignite a spark of reflection and dialogue, urging individuals towards taking responsibility for societal change. This endeavor is a testament to her journey as both a dancer and an activist, seamlessly merging the artistry of movement with the urgency of mobilization. It stands as an ongoing dialogue and a call to action, embodying the essence of what it means to be an ‘artivist’ – a fusion of art, activism, and the relentless pursuit of change.

Ali Eisa (b.1987) is an artist and educator based in London. He is an artist and co-founder of Lloyd Corporation, a long-term collaborative project with artist Sebastian Lloyd Rees. Working together since 2010 their practice utilizes sculpture, installation, performance and participation, often taking inspiration from informal and local economies. With over 10 years experience in community arts and youth work, Ali develops and facilitates participatory projects, with a particular interest in issues of human rights, empowerment and access for people from highly marginalised backgrounds including young refugees and asylum seekers, neurodiverse and disabled people. Ali is a lecturer in BA Fine Art at Goldsmiths University and facilitator for A Particular Reality, a collective formed by students, alumni and educators with a commitment to building creative learning environments upon the values of equity and care. Ali has been visiting lecturer at UK institutions including UAL, Royal College of Art, Kings College, Royal Academy, Kingston, Middlesex, University of East London. Ali studied at Goldsmiths University graduating with BA Fine Art (2010) and MA Visual Sociology (2014) and has a background in youth work and social circus.

Louella Mae Ogle Ward has experience as a creative, producer and educator. Collaboration and participation are at the core of her work, which is currently focused on creating connections for people to place, nature and the landscape; making music with her Dad and supporting educational providers.