For the past four years, Peckham Digital has prioritized hands-on workshops designed to empower individuals to replicate creative technology projects at home. This weekend, the community interest company brings its accessible approach to the Southbank Centre, showcasing seventeen artists and collectives including AlgoRhythms, Compiler, enorê, Future Inventions, Identity2.0, In-grid, Lady Ludd, Lagtime Seedling, London Community Laptop Orchestra, London Pattern Club, Moth, MUSICxCODE, Clara Che Wei Peh, Permacomputing, Phreaking Collective, Rock and Robots, Shaheer Tarar, THE UNSEEN and Ubeboobey (Annike Tan).
Curated by Bea Taylor Searle, a member of SORI Collective (Speaking Out, Reimagining Institutions), the event features drop-in workshops, performances, and interactive artworks intended to demystify technology and foster collaboration. “Dive into creative tech with those most engaged with exploring all its possibilities and capabilities,” the authors state. Searle and Peckham Digital aim to prove technology isn’t solely for specialists with this immersive exploration of creative computing.
Peckham Digital Workshops: Hands-on Creation and Accessible Tech
Seventeen artists and collectives will exhibit their work at the Southbank Centre this weekend, showcasing the breadth of London’s creative computing scene through installations, performances, and workshops. These featured creators include AlgoRhythms, Compiler, and Ubeboobey (Annike Tan), signaling a focus on experimental and unusual approaches to digital art. The event, curated by Peckham Digital, intends to demystify technology by emphasizing practical creation over passive consumption.
Peckham Digital prioritizes a ‘do-it-with-others’ approach, fostering collaboration and peer learning as pathways into digital practice. This philosophy extends beyond simply presenting finished artworks; the workshops are specifically designed to enable replication at home, empowering individuals to continue exploring creative computing independently. Bea Taylor Searle, co-founder and co-director of Peckham Digital, also serves as one of nine programmers within the Southbank Centre Presents cohort, further integrating the event within a larger initiative to reshape arts institutions.
Searle is currently pursuing a practice-based PhD for the Study of the Networked Image, building on her background with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art (with Creative Computing) from Central Saint Martins and a PGCert in Digital Curation from Salford University. Searle’s work at Salford University focused on documenting artworks incorporating soon-to-be obsolete technologies, a concern reflected in the event’s emphasis on accessible and replicable projects.
The intention is to move beyond the perception of technology as exclusive to specialists, offering hands-on experiences that build confidence and skill. Several all-weekend installations will remain open throughout the event, including works by Compiler, Ube Boobey (Annike Tan), and Lady Ludd, whose electronic loom demonstrates a fusion of traditional craft and digital innovation.
Lagtime Seedling will perform at 6pm on Friday, September 11th, followed by a performance by Lady Ludd at 7pm. Saturday’s schedule includes a Saturday Lunch Chatroom hosted by Clara Che Wei Peh from 12 noon to 2pm, offering an informal space for discussion and knowledge sharing. The Phreaking Collective’s Open Projector, flash, 10-minute work-in-progress computational arts presentations, will take place from 2pm to 3:30pm.
Simultaneously, Enorê will activate a 3D clay printer, and the London Pattern Club will lead a drop-in workshop on digital tile design and fabrication. AlgoRhythms will host a drop-in workshop at 4pm, leading into a MUSICxCODE performance at 6pm, both as part of the Algorave event.
Sunday continues the emphasis on hands-on learning with drop-in workshops focused on tracing together with Compiler from 2pm to 5pm and “Mud Volts” with Permacomputing from 2pm to 6pm. A Rock&Robots Tournament will take place from 3pm to 5pm, offering a playful competition showcasing robotic creations. “Dive into creative tech with those most engaged with exploring all its possibilities and capabilities,” encourages the event description, inviting attendees to participate in a weekend of hands-on exploration and collaborative creation.
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