Written by Lanre Sounde

Creative experiences are beginning to take new forms across cities in the United Kingdom. Community halls, cafés, music venues, and independent cultural spaces are increasingly becoming places where people encounter art outside formal galleries and institutions. African and diaspora led platforms are contributing significantly to this shift through experiences that prioritise participation, accessibility, and social connection.

Newcastle based cultural platform SippAfrica explored this direction through its Sipp and Paint experience held on 25 April in Newcastle, a community driven creative session curated by Nigerian founder and cultural producer Pearl Chukwuemeka.

The event brought together attendees from African, Caribbean, and wider diaspora communities alongside participants from other cultural backgrounds to engage with visual art in a relaxed and socially inclusive environment.

Painting sessions were guided by Dr Clare Ogah, a multidisciplinary visual artist and storyteller with more than a decade of professional artistic practice in the United Kingdom. Participants explored colour, storytelling, and self expression through guided creative exercises designed to make visual arts accessible to people regardless of previous artistic experience.

Pearl Chukwuemeka conceptualised and curated the overall experience, shaping the atmosphere, audience engagement, and creative direction of the session. Her approach reflects a growing movement amongst young African creatives in the diaspora who are building cultural experiences that sit at the intersection of art, identity, music, and community participation.

Traditional gallery spaces often feel distant or inaccessible to many young people, particularly those from minority communities who may not always see themselves reflected within institutional art environments. Community led experiences such as Sip and Paint are helping to close that gap by creating spaces where creativity feels social, welcoming, and culturally familiar.

Conversation, music, shared laughter, and collaborative participation became part of the artistic process during the session. Participants were not positioned as passive observers. Everyone in the room became part of the creative experience itself.

Shared participation amongst attendees from different African and Caribbean backgrounds created an atmosphere where creativity also became a form of cultural exchange and social connection.

Dr Clare Ogah described Pearl’s role as extending beyond coordination into the design of the artistic environment.

“Pearl invited me to serve as a resident paint guide for her Sipp and Paint sessions which were designed as accessible entry points into visual arts practice. In this context her role extended beyond coordination into the design of the overall artistic experience.”

Growth in grassroots cultural programming across UK cities outside London has created opportunities for new forms of creative engagement driven by diaspora communities. Platforms such as SippAfrica are contributing to this development by building experiences that centre cultural identity, participation, and social interaction alongside artistic expression.

Interest in community based artistic experiences continues to grow amongst younger audiences seeking more interactive and socially connected forms of culture. Creative spaces are no longer defined solely by galleries or museums. Community driven platforms are increasingly shaping how people encounter art in everyday life.

SippAfrica’s Sipp and Paint experience reflects this wider cultural shift. Art within these spaces becomes less about exclusivity and more about connection, participation, and shared experience.