35 Dover Street to 15 Berkeley Street is a contiguous site formerly known as the Empress Club. Purpose built in 1887 and inaugurated by Queen Victoria, this women’s only club counted the Queen amongst its members as well as many well-known suffergettes like Princess Sofia Singh.

Whether from the entrance of Empress or Ada you will be greeted by the original stained glass windows that were housed in the Empress Club, depicting powerful women through history from Cordelia to Cleopatra.

The idea of emboldening women has been integral to the rebirth of both building whether it is the elegance of the Empress or the maternity of Ada both inspire warmth and tell the two stories of tradition and grit.

Ashley is primarily a collage artist who draws inspiration from fashion, magazines and bright patterns. Her distinctive tongue-in-cheek approach to her artworks paired with her use of bright colours and bold patterns makes her work highly exciting. Like many artists at Artbox, she reuses materials to create new works, proving that you can make beautiful works whilst recycling and being mindful of the environment.

Ashley loves working with both her fellow artists and our volunteers, for example by creating collaborative collages. Not only has Ashley enjoyed making friends at Artbox, she has also learned that making work together makes being an artist even more fun!

Ashley had a wonderful opportunity to sell over 60 of her artworks to the Hoxton Hotel in Holborn. We are extremely proud that her fun and quirky style will be enjoyed by the hotel’s guests in their rooms during their stay!

Bobbi is a prolific artist and has successfully incorporated her artistic practice and creativity into her daily life. Through keeping a sketchbook and making drawings at home she always has an expressive outlet and a way to maintain positive mental health. Bobbi develops her drawing in the studio, painting and often using the Riso printer that she has fondly nicknamed ‘Charlie’. Working in the studio has given Bobbi an opportunity to develop her skill in creating portraits and abstract images of faces. The studio space has enabled her to work on larger pieces, and she enjoys working alongside other artists.

Bobbi is passionate about nature and animals, often bringing her pets to the studio. Pets are known for their therapeutic calming qualities, so artists and tutors alike are always so thrilled when Bobbi brings along her pets! Animals and the natural world can often be found in Bobbi’s artwork, used as the inspiration and base for more experimental works that exhibit more human motifs, such as masks, shields and mysterious artefacts. Her artworks feature bright geometric and tribal patterns combined with animals or nature - she loves to honour the natural world. Bobbi’s highly colourful and slightly abstract portrait in the exhibition perfectly shows her unique style.

Not only is Bobbi an artist, but she also volunteers at Artbox to support the other artists and assist the tutors. Bobbi is bright and bubbly, she loves to give back to the community at Artbox through collaborating with others by sharing her skills and actively collaborating on artworks with other artists.

Working predominantly with watercolour, pastel and charcoal, Emma creates seas of colour that are uniquely her own. Beginning by sourcing imagery from art history, she creates art which takes this visual imagery in whole new directions. Colours become bolder, landscapes more expansive, portraits more iconic. Always, the story of the work remains central. Emma is particularly inspired by women’s stories and seeks to highlight these in her portraits. She enjoys relaying the narrative of her artworks, which serve as a portal to her fascination with history, art, and culture. A beacon of enthusiasm and passion, Emma never fails to put a smile on everyone's face with her singing and storytelling.

Guilia creates vibrant and exciting artworks, often inspired by nature, animals and people. Her work consists mostly of colourful illustrations, incorporating bright hues and creative patterns. Guilia relishes in the community at Artbox, developing friendships and collaborating with the volunteers and other artists in the group - you will often find her singing as she works! Guilia’s artistic process promotes positive mental health as she frequently gets into a highly focused ‘flow’ state, a mindful practice that allows her to relax and distance herself from her day-to-day responsibilities. Guilia loves to represent the Artbox community and has become a leader and voice for others with learning disabilities.

Giulia often works with repeated printed designs, a notion that stemmed from her hugely successful collaboration with Lush, for which Giulia produced a crab design that was printed on bright pink and red headscarves. Giulia feels an immense sense of pride in her work and says she feels happy and respected when she sees others enjoying it. This is key to Giulia’s practice - the joy of others enjoying her pieces are at the centre of her practice.

Hisba is an extremely hardworking and varied artist, continually finding new subjects to focus on and new ways to experiment with shapes and materials. She is not bound to one medium and loves to experiment with all forms of two-dimensional art, her eye-catching artworks often incorporate bright colours, geometric shapes and carefully constructed patterns. Architecture, art history, textiles, and different cultures are among the most important themes in her art and these are continually referred to in her sketchbooks and finished pieces. These themes reflect her passion for learning new things and the range of sources that she refers to.

In addition to learning about new creative ideas, Hisba has also been learning new skills as a volunteer at Artbox. Hisba’s fun and energetic personality always shows through in her artworks and how she helps our other artists in the studio. She helps them with practical things as well as helping them develop their ideas, find inspiration and feel comfortable in the studio.

An excellent communicator, she has delivered several presentations and a live TV interview about her artwork and her involvement with Artbox. In Hisba’s words, “I feel I have full potential and many opportunities when I see people like and buy my art. I feel like an international artist and I call myself an artist.”

James usually chooses to paint landscapes, often using photographs of areas of countryside local to his home in rural Hertfordshire, that he takes whilst on walks. He is a very sensitive painter, who plays close attention to the affect of light, shade and colour, all of which combine to evoke a sense of a place, or a memory of an encounter with nature.

Lee produces art inspired by the culture, people and places. He has been fascinated in ancient Egypt since he first studied the subject at school, which led to the nickname “Lee-gyptologist” amongst his fellow artists at Artbox.

Although many of his earlier pieces were inspired by ancient Egypt, he has also created illustrations on birds, transport and London. Lee is a big fan of the social aspect of Artbox as well and always takes part in our outings. He loves all kinds of art and culture and relishes any type of exhibition we visit.

In 2020, Oxford University Press licensed one of Lee’s artworks to use on the print and digital cover of one of their new publications - Oxford Textbook of the Psychiatry of Intellectual Disability. We think this was a great use of Lee’s bold designs.

Loane makes work with spirit, energy and joy, despite the significant challenges she faces as a blind person. She experiments with a range of approaches to image making, investigating different mediums and building images over long periods of time, overlapping layers of rhythmic, repetitive marks, using blu-tac attached to the surface to guide her hand and as an aid to composition. She draws on her visual memories, smells and sounds for inspiration, as well as her drive to explore colour to create stunning abstract pieces. Loane is also a musical artist – a singer, performer and recording artist.

Always good for a laugh and always up for a chat with fellow artists or volunteers, Lucy is not only known for her vibrant geometrical pieces, but also for her positive and friendly attitude. She is keen to help others and ensure that everyone is comfortable in the studio.

Lucy has developed many different styles and had many different artistic eras since she joined Artbox. Often drawing from her research on other artists, Lucy has developed many abstract pieces comprising of bold patterns. Lucy is an avid painter, but also confidently uses collage and felt tips to explore different geometric compositions. There is a tangible freedom to Lucy’s work, which can be seen by the variety in the abstract pieces she produces and her tremendous capacity for experimentation.

Nancy has experimented with a lot of different styles of mark making in her practice, sometimes making soft dotted marks and other times making large sweeping strokes. Nancy is very inspired by plant life, her artworks usually start as observational drawings of the various potted plants we keep in the studio.

Nancy loves meeting new people and making friends. Musicals are one of her passions and her personality and interests transpire into her pieces. Her laugh is infectious. She will not hesitate to get up and dance if the occasion calls for it. And she is not scared to try new things in the studio.

Oscar’s pieces are inspired by his love for illustration. He uses this to paint bold pieces of portraiture and stylised designs with acrylic paints. His visits to galleries and exhibitions also influences his work and helps to inspire his creativity. He has recently begun to try new things, including creating his own designs in lino, which he thoroughly enjoys.

Richard’s pictures are a reflection of his sweet and gentle nature - dreamlike, colourful, intricately patterned boats and buildings occupy his landscapes, all carefully rendered in soft, soothing pastel tones. Suns shine, waves ripple, trees sway, flowers are colourful - it’s a comforting world. He works in pastel, crayon, ink and paint.

Seatton has a highly distinct and expressive way of depicting the world - objects, space and especially figures are rendered in a strange and singular way. Every week Seatton makes works on paper, experimenting with new approaches to materials, methods and imagery.

Every piece reaches its conclusion in different ways: pictures from magazines provide the starting point - often collages with subtly surreal tweaks, such as broken space or figures of differing scale; transfer mono-print methods clash layers of drawing into one another, resulting in unexpected and strange confluences of imagery; the Risograph printer often plays it’s part, creating copies of drawings in different colour combinations, allowing for second or third attempts at the same image; charcoal, oil bars, chalk pastels, ink and acrylic paint are all used alongside each other to create texture, render the scene and emphasise backgrounds, positive/negative space and line.

Shine’s main focus is in creating bright, fun and colourful illustrations. Working mainly in felt tip pen, smiley faces are a recurring motif in his work, as well as circles and patterned line work.

Recently, Shine has been using a light box to create repeat patterns, where he can experiment with colour. Shine loves seeing his designs translated into bright riso colours.

Shruti is very well-travelled and draws inspiration from the different countries and cultures she has experienced, particularly Indian colours and textiles. She produces striking pieces which include abstract patterns as well as isolated symbols.She is extremely focused on her art, producing additional work out of the studio, and visiting art galleries for inspiration. Engaging with both people and planet, Shruti loves creating pictures of animals and landscapes, as well as including positive affirmations into her work.

Waseem paints and draws with great joy and gusto. Everything is plucked from his imagination - flowers in bloom splash and crash across the surface, and houses and towers spray colourful beams of light into the sky. Recently he’s been working on wet canvas, so that his paint and pastels blend and bleed into the surface. His colours are bright and happy, matching his mood - he’ll always be making things with a broad smile.