Introducing our fifth round of successful Cultural Micro-commissions, supporting Wandsworth based creatives, during the London Borough of Culture year, to create new artworks with grants of up to £1000 each.
This round of micro-commissions includes...
Dr Amtul K. Y. Bhunnoo
Dr Amtul K. Y. Bhunnoo is a community artist and maker whose practice is deeply rooted in advocacy, accessibility, and the belief that art is a powerful tool for communication, education, and care. Their work often translates complex, vital messages; such as raising awareness for organ donation into poignant visual statements. This commitment was notably recognised when their art was featured on the front cover of the Artist Statement booklet for the 2015 Anatomy for Life charity auction in Brighton Jubilee Library in collaboration with Brighton and Sussex Medical School. Pieces like The Globe and the Eye and The Kidney Plant, poignant pencil-on-paper works created for such causes, poetically articulate how donation can gift someone a world i.e. eyes to see or offer the cleansing power of nature i.e. the kidneys.
This ethos of using art for social dialogue and empowerment is further demonstrated in hands-on community workshops. For instance, they led a library workshop creating origami tulips with empowering messages for a White Ribbon campaign, specifically addressing violence against women and girls. This project aimed to clarify that such violence finds no backing in religious texts like the Holy Qur'an and Ahadith/Traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, but stems from individual ignorance, using art to affirm support for survivors and promote a message of respect.
Their commissioned project, "Create & Connect," is the direct embodiment of this journey. Hosted at the local library or any community setting, this intergenerational 3D printing hub is designed to lift up those most in need of connection and sensory engagement. For SEND children, it offers a gateway to confidence through tactile creation. For older adults experiencing isolation or dementia, it provides a vital pathway to reminiscence and social play. By turning innovative technology into a bridge for empathy and support, Amtul channels a lifelong passion for helping others into a sustainable vehicle for community well-being, reminding us all of the joy found in creation and connection.
Elisa Nader and Richard Choksey
Elisa and Richard are gardeners in residence at WIP Space, an artist-run studio offering long-term provision for creative practitioners.
Elisa is both a gardener and designer, having worked collaboratively for many years with artists, choreographers and directors to design and make costumes and set pieces. She is also a skilled gardener, having worked in a botanical setting for nearly seven years. Elisa has managed the annual seed collection and propagation programme at Chelsea Physic Garden since 2021. She is also a WIP Space founding member.
Richard has been working in community and botanical horticulture for 14 years. He is an experienced workshop leader, having delivered sessions for Chelsea Physic Garden, Walworth Gardens, the Wolves Lane Centre and others. He has worked with artists to deliver botanically-themed workshops sharing natural dyeing, drawing, poetry and other practices. He has worked with various user groups including people recovering from physical and mental ill health, young people, people living with dementia and members of the general public.
Elisa and Richard propose to create a new Natural Dyes Garden that will expand their tranquil community garden, enable local sustainable fashion workshops and support rare and threatened bee species.
Elaine Giles
Straddling science and art, Elaine left school with an abundance of qualifications and zero self confidence. She fell into training as a Speech and Language Therapist , which turned out to be an ideal fit for the first 20 years, and really enjoyed the work with both adults and children, alongside 10 years as a Mediator, until she went into management during a reorganisation.
After succumbing to ME/CFS/IDS in 2000 she found art to be the antidote, and is extremely grateful to have recovered substantially. She now combines flexible work as a creative life coach with practising observational drawing, and portraiture. Her artwork has won national awards and been exhibited in various London locations: Bankside Gallery, The Mall Galleries, Suzette’s Battersea and Dr Espresso Putney as well as Three Storeys Gallery in Nailsworth Gloucestershire, and the Waterfront Gallery in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire.
Previously self taught, she won a term of Open Studio sessions from Heatherleys Art School in 2013 from the Royal Watercolour Society Open Exhibition and honed skills by sketching outside, weekend courses and summer schools, until 2021 when she enrolled in the one year Online Foundation in Art and Design from West Dean College, which she recommends.
She was lucky enough to benefit from input from Nat Harrison of Ayama coaching through Wandsworth Councils Re:Create programme, which helped reduce perfectionism and self doubt, and begin to increase confidence in her artwork and much needed business acumen. Subsequently she took part in Wandsworth Assist Open House, thanks to Suzette’s cafe providing a great venue.
In 2026 she is creating an exhibition of online portraits of Wandsworth residents, housebound by ME, funded by the London Borough of Culture.