A performance by Eve Chabanon & Anneke Kampman at 8.15pm accompanies the exhibition When I Began To Speak by Claudine Roux, a long-term OSE participant and friend.

The exhibition celebrates the tender evolution of an identity when immigrating to a foreign land as a child. Trained in fine art, Claudine Roux taught in London schools all the while pursuing her own work. In this exhibition, which grew out of her PhD, we see four decades of drawings in dialogue with 31 embroideries. When I Began To Speak is made of iconic and narrative imagery negotiating the loss of family and country with a new language and identity. We witness the development of a resolution as the irreverent and unexpected fabrics and colours of the embroidered textiles form a playful counterbalance to the underlining distressing nature of the content. This exhibition resonates with Europe’s current immigration crisis. Most importantly, it reflects the extraordinary skills of Open School East and its associates in creating opportunities with the community, which Mill co has facilitated with its collaborative work in the community.

A response to the work is also presented by Emil Scheffmann, another Open School East associate.