Xiaohongshu
An exciting opportunity to participate in a large-scale painting project at UCL 🎨
Click here to apply for this special opportunity!
Artist in Residence, Lauren Godfrey is embarking on a series of enormous painted backdrops for the Bloomsbury Theatre and would love to offer the opportunity to as many students as possible to join in with painting them.
- When: Between 22nd June - 24th July 2026
- Where: Bloomsbury Theatre, UCL
- Time commitment: 1 day or 2 half days (there may be a chance to do more if you're keen)
- How: Please fill in the form by 3rd June to apply to take part.
- Who: Open to all UCL students at any stage of study and from any department. No prior painting experience necessary.
Lauren has been working with students across UCL to draw patterns inspired by their research areas and personal histories and has developed these into a ‘pattern portrait’ which will be transcribed onto the canvas. Now we’d love to find a group of students who can join Lauren to paint it!
See examples of Lauren's previous large-scale work here and here to get a feel for the bright, colourful and bold style of her work.
We have a remarkable resource at UCL in the form of the paint frame - one of only a handful in the country and a platform for the dying art of hand painted theatre backdrops. The 10 x 6 metre wall allows us to paint an entire backdrop using a hydraulic lift that spans the whole wall.
The excellent thing about the paint frame is that it’s a resource available to you as a student of UCL - if you get a taste for working with it alongside Lauren, you can book it yourself to make a large scale painting or backdrop of your own in the future.
Come and try it out, meet some people and leave your mark on this exciting co-produced artwork.
The paintings will form the backdrops for a performance taking place at the Bloomsbury Theatre on 2nd October 2026.
This project forms part of UCL200, a programme marking UCL’s bicentenary in 2026. UCL200 celebrates our founding principles and values through projects that connect disciplines, communities, and ideas.
Everyone participating will be credited as part of the work and will receive a signed, editioned print to keep.
If you'd like to speak to us about your accessibility requirements, we'd love to hear from you. Please contact us via [email protected]