WORKSHOPS

Creative Workshop with Alpona Painting
(South Asian Heritage Month 2026)

To mark South Asian Heritage Month, we're hosting a series of workshops to create a culturally inspired collaborative works to forge unity through diversity.

The theme for this year is 'Unity in Diversity', celebrating the extraordinary breadth of South Asian communities across Britain, while exploring the values, experiences and aspirations that connect us all.

Join us for fun and engaging workshops with artist Husna Parvin exploring the vibrant tradition of the South Asian artform of Alpona.

Through creativity we’ll explore the theme of heritage & tradition bringing together this traditional artform in a group-based environment promoting cultural identity and connecting communities through creativity, allowing participants to create a group-based work inspired by the Bangladeshi cultural artform of Alpona using Bangla references.

Alpona, also known as Alpana, is a traditional Bengali art form characterised by colourful, hand-drawn motifs and patterns typically made with rice paste on floors and walls, especially during festivals and auspicious occasions. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Alimpan," meaning "to coat" or "plaster," reflecting the process of applying the paste. Initially used by Hindu women in religious rituals, Alpona has evolved into a secular cultural expression in modern Bangladesh.

The art form is known for its intricate patterns, blending nature-inspired designs like flowers and birds with more abstract forms in modern times. While originally drawn with rice paste, today, artists also use poster colours or even stickers to craft these beautiful patterns, bridging tradition and contemporary art forms.

To register for this workshop we ask PAY WHAT YOU CAN with all proceeds supporting our community workshops, open to all ages with young people under the age of 16 to be accompanied by an adult, we advise to all attendees to arrive early and stay for the duration to experience the full workshop process.

All materials are provided but feel free to bring your own should you may want to practice with. You will be able to relax, paint, and enjoy the creative process in good company — with plenty of encouragement, guidance, and time to explore your unique style, all we ask you to bring is your creativity.

International Women’s Day 2026 - Creative Workshop

For International Women’s Day 2026, we explored this year’s theme of ‘Give to Gain’ creating culturally inspired collaborative work to forge gender equality through abundant giving - ‘When women thrive, we all rise’, in aid of Young Women's Trust.

Young Women's Trust are a not-for profit charity supporting women young struggling to live on low or no pay in England and Wales and who are at risk of being trapped in poverty.

In the workshop we guided the participants in creating a unique artwork based on the theme of International Women's Day 'Give to Gain', ‘How do we imagine a gender equal world? A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge gender equality.' with a printing processing and then hand finishing using acrylic markers.

Winter Watercolour Workshop

We hosted a series of watercolour workshops facilitated by mixed media artist Husna Parvin.

The sessions were designed to teach the basics of watercolours. Each session will focus on a theme and will begin with an instructor-led introduction to watercolours.

During the sessions, we explored the medium of watercolours to express your own artistic potential in a relaxed, friendly and fun environment . Through follow-along demonstrations the artist guided participants through basic and advanced watercolour techniques, discus composition and colour theory, while you release your creativity and gain confidence in your artistic abilities.

These classes were designed with beginners in mind, and those more experienced artists who would like to experiment with a different artistic style.

Soak up the relaxed setting and be inspired by like-minded individuals as you unleash your creativity with watercolours. By the end of the classes, you'll have a stunning set of hand-made paintings to display at home this winter.

Learnings:

How to mix and use watercolours to create soft and sharp effects
How to simplify landscapes into clear, confident shapes and tones
Techniques for painting skies, clouds, reflections, and atmospheric effects
How to create a sense of depth and distance using colour temperature and tonal contrast
Easy approaches to composition and perspective for balanced, engaging paintings
How to work with limited palettes to achieve harmony, unity, and glowing light

Whether you’re new to watercolour or looking to refine your landscape skills, these sessions offered a welcoming space to learn, experiment, and be inspired by the beauty of the natural world.

Fun Palace - Creative Workshop, 4th October 2025

To celebrate Fun Palace, we hosted a fun and engaging creative workshop exploring the vibrant tradition of the South Asian artform of Alpona. During this activity you’ll paint beautiful floral designs in a group based environment onto fabric using fast-drying, water-resistant acrylics.

Through creativity we explored the theme of heritage & tradition bringing together this traditional artform in a group-based workshop promoting cultural identity and connecting communities through creativity.

Alpona, also known as Alpana, is a traditional Bengali art form characterised by colourful, hand-drawn motifs and patterns typically made with rice paste on floors and walls, especially during festivals and auspicious occasions. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "alimpan," meaning "to coat" or "plaster," reflecting the process of applying the paste.

With pre-designed patterns to guide you, and space to create your own. The workshop was open to all ages and abilities to come along with family or friends, get creative together, and contribute to a collaborative artwork leaving with happy memories, colourful designs, and a new appreciation for this cultural art form from Bangladesh.

Kensington Palace Community Celebration, August 2024
Orangery Lawn, Kensington Palace

We were invited to the annual summer event at Kensington Palace, to celebrate the themes of community, unity and friends. Communities are at the heart of Historic Royal Palaces.

Testimonial from Kim Klug, Community Partnerships Manager.

“Trapped in Zone One delivered two days of collaborative mural making workshops at our annual Community Celebration at Kensington Palace. Throughout the day, they supported people of all ages and abilities to express themselves in paint. The result is three gorgeous artworks, created by people building on others’ ideas and artwork.
We can’t wait to display them in our learning centre!”

Island Point Social - Creative Sunday, July 2024

Presented by Trapped in Zone One, Creative Sunday is a free to access art workshops for families to take part and create alpona art, which is a traditional folk-art form from Bangladesh, with Tower Hamlets based artist Husna Parvin as part of South Asian Heritage Month.

What is Alpana? Alpona (Bengali: আলপনা) is a Bengali folk-art style, traditionally practiced by women, and consisting of coloured motifs, patterns, and symbols that are painted on floors and walls with paints made from rice flour, on religious occasions.

Tuesday Social @ GreatArt, January 2024

A series of workshop in the New Year at GreatArt in Shoreditch in a sociable setting. Using a mindfulness approach with a variety if artistic medium, the workshops explored what constitutes to a meaningful connection to mark The Great Winter Get Together and Great Mental Health Day in London during January 2024.

Winter Watercolour Workshop @ GreatArt, December 2023

Teviot Festival on 8 July 2023 @ Teviot Centre

Festival of Communities with Queen Mary University of London on 20 June 2023 @ Stepney Green Park. Nature inspired creative activity during Great Big Green Week 2023.

Purpose

Join Luke Smile in creating a design for a new community mural which will be painted in Tower Hamlets in January 2021 with the positive message to welcome in the New Year.

Typography workshop with Luke Smile, creating an artwork with the message 'Hope' themed around raising awareness of isolation to engage with communities in Tower Hamlets and neighbouring boroughs during these uncertain times to promote mindfulness through an artistic approach.

Luke Smile is an artist who specialises in typography, with work spanning across sign painting, large-scale murals, and graphic design. His style consists of clean, precise lettering in bright colours and often embellished with spray textures that take inspiration from his background in graffiti.

In order for you to take part our virtual workshops please register above to receive a invite to Zoom, and you’ll also need the following materials: A4/A3 sheet of paper, pencil, rubber, ruler and varied colour markers (Posca Pens).