Views of the North End

What do you notice when you really look at North End - Croydon's main shopping street?

Join us for a free creative workshop where we’ll explore North End through drawing, collage and conversation, asking ourselves: how can the street become a vibrant hub of activity, connection and enjoyment?

We’ll head out into North End Quarter to sketch something that catches your eye - a shopfront, bench, building or even a corner you walk past every day. Back in the Urban Room, you’ll turn your sketch into a collage using images, textures, words and colour.

You’ll share what you’d like to see there in the future.

No drawing experience needed - just bring your ideas!

Imogen Patel is a multidisciplinary artist based in London, originally from Hertfordshire. Her practice is increasingly centered on textiles, drawing on the cultural and material histories of Indian fabrics to explore themes of identity, belonging, and presence. Through her work, Imogen explores how textiles - particularly Sari - occupy space both physically and symbolically within diasporic communities, serving as a foundation for memory, resistance, and self-expression.

Alongside her studio practice, Imogen facilitates creative workshops that invite participants to engage with their own identities and heritage. These inclusive, reflective spaces emphasise storytelling, collaboration, and the power of creative expression to foster connection. Her commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion informs both her artistic and educational work, highlighting the transformative potential of art in shaping empathetic and innovative communities.

photography credit by Elzbieta Piekacz