PART OF LONDON CRAFT WEEK: “MADE OF PLACE” WORKSHOP WITH BEVERLEY SOMMERVILLE
Beverley Sommerville, a previous Artist in Residence, will be returning to Alice Billing House this summer as part of London Craft Week . She will host an exhibition of her ceramic work, “Made of Place – The Secret Lives of Alice Billing House”.
The week will culminate in a participatory workshop where attendees can create their own ceramic works, contributing to the Alice Billing House Time Capsule Project.
Every decade has its icons, and the 2026 ceramic Alice Billing House garland will reflect some of these. Participants will create 2D ceramic forms representing familiar 21st century icons such as a smartphone, takeaway coffee cup, Bitcoin, or a playful ‘Labubu’. These will be decorated using materials gathered from the site, celebrating Alice Billing House while introducing it into the 21st century.
Beverley will guide attendees in selecting materials including brick fragments, roof slate tiles, and ashes, soot, and debris from the fireplaces and demonstrate decorative techniques. Each participant will decorate four ceramic icons: one to keep, and the others to form part of the garland. Every icon will be signed and dated, embedding the stories of today’s community into the future of Alice Billing House.
About the Time Capsule
In 2024, the South Block of Alice Billing House was restored and reopened as home to eleven artist studios. In 2026/27, the Grade II listed North Block will be transformed into additional creative workspaces.
To mark this significant moment of transformation, we are launching the Time Capsule Project, an ambitious, artist led initiative inviting the local community to reflect on what heritage means today and how we wish to be remembered 100 years from now. The capsule will be sealed in 2026 and opened in 2106, exactly two centuries after the building’s original construction.
“MADE OF PLACE” WORKSHOP WITH BEVERLEY SOMMERVILLE
Saturday 16th May
10:30 am - 2:30 pm
£18pp
Address:
Alice Billing House
2-12, West Ham Lane
Stratford
E15 4SF
FREE but please book
FINDING US
Please use the directions below to get to Alice Billing House, as Google Maps doesn't work.
Click here for a map.
The entrance to Alice Billing House is just off West Ham Lane. Head to Stratford Town Hall Car Park, West Ham Lane, London, E15 4PH. The entrance to the car park is directly opposite the Freaks and Greeks bar, Stratford. Walk through the car park to the back, where there are a pair of metal double gates. Please buzz A12
