I asked Rose Riley (Spoke‘s Director) a few questions about her upcoming cycle themed illustration event. Be sure to check out Spoke‘s website for more details and competitions you can get involved with.
Tell us a little about Spoke and how the event came together.
Spoke is a free illustration and design event that celebrates and promotes all things cycling.
The event came about as we’ve always loved cycling and began to notice lots of cycle themed illustration and design, especially with the rise of cycling in London and across the UK with the Grand Depart being in Yorkshire this year. So after speaking with as many cyclists, illustrators and designers as possible who all said YES! to the idea we felt it was time to combine the two and create Spoke.
Who is the event aimed at?
The event is aimed at anyone who loves cycling and wants to see how others express their enjoyment of cycling through illustration, design and fashion wares.
Where and when is the event taking place?
Spoke is taking place Saturday 28th June at the CLF Art Cafe in Peckham 11:00 – 17:00.
What artist’s are taking part and what was the criteria for being selected?
We have a total range of artists taking part – illustrators, graphic designers, fashion designers, and crafty makers! The criteria for being selected was either a portfolio that already had a cycle focus or a keen personal interest in cycling and a willingness to create new work for Spoke. So we have Eliza Southwood and David Sparshott who are amazing established cycle artists alongside new work from Emma Shoard, Lockwood Collaborations and Simon Fitzmaurice, all who have created new work for the event!
Apart from getting great artists together that share a love of cycling is there any other goal you hope to achieve with the event?
The main goal here is to promote cycling in London and encourage people to see the activity as something fun, enjoyable, a way to free your mind and see things along the way that might inspire you or make you more aware of. That’s why we joined up with London Cycling Campaign to run a poster competition – the winning design will be used for their campaigns to promote cycling.
Would you say the event is design/illustration led or is the focus more on the cycling?
It’s a question I often debate! I would say it’s a mix of the two and both elements certainly get people talking. I tell a cycling friend about it and they get really excited, tell a designer or illustrator and they ask how they can get involved. We made a call to not have any cycles on show at the event so you could say it was more design and illustration led as we want the focus to be on the amazing artwork.
What events will there be for people to get involved with on the day?
We have quite a few events taking place on the day. There’s a screen printing workshop from Sonsoles Print Studio where you can print your very own cycle themed poster or bag. Cycle PS will be on site offering free cycle checks, Wacom are running a illustration competition via their tablets, Shed Radio will be providing the music and we even have a live performance of songs from Me For Queen’s cycle-themed album so plenty to keep people entertained!
Is Spoke a one-off or are there plans for similar events in the future?
We’re already in talks about future events as so many people wanted to get involved and quite a few want to do future collaborations. So keep your eyes peeled for our next edition…
