Town Hall Talks: The Art of Mosaics

Join us for the third talk in a series taking place on the last Wednesday of every month. The talks are inspired by the remarkable history of our old Town Hall building and local area, from radical politics to art and architecture.

The Talk on 29th July will take its inspiration from our beautiful mosaic tiled floor, designed by Battersea-based chemist and glassmaker Jesse Rust. His mosaics weave their way throughout the building’s foyers and corridors. Speakers David Tootil (Director, Southbank Mosaics) and Carrie Reichardt (Artist and Activist) will discuss their experiences of using mosaics to encourage social change; create critically renowned artworks; and make their neighbourhoods beautiful places to be.

David Tootill aims to make his neighbourhood more attractive through street art mosaics, currently with over 250 installations in public spaces. He set up Southbank Mosaics and works with teams of artists who are preparing to open the London School of Mosaic to teach the world’s first degree course in mosaic; their key social mission is to work with kids in trouble with the police and keep them out of prison. David is Chair of the British Association for Modern Mosaic.

Carrie Reichardt is a self-titled craftivist who works from a mosaic-covered HQ, The Treatment Rooms in west London. Her work blurs the boundaries between craft and activism, using the craft techniques of mural, mosaic and screen-printing to create intricate, highly politicised works of art. Her Tiki Love Truck was recently featured in the V&A’s Disobedient Objects exhibition.