Visual Arts facilities
Hero Carousel
Visual Arts facilities
AVA Lightwell
The AVA Lightwell is a versatile space designed to support collaboration, experimentation, and creative exchange. Ideal for design sprints, innovation workshops, and interactive sandpit activities, it fosters hands-on learning and dynamic group engagement. Integrated with the newly established Broadcast Unit, the Lightwell also enables seamless live streaming, extending the reach of events and enhancing accessibility. By combining practical making with modern media capabilities, it offers a future-facing environment tailored to the evolving needs of the creative industries.
The Atrium
The Atrium is a multifunctional space that enriches the educational experience and fosters creativity within the university community. Central to it is the archive library, which preserves the institution’s history and supports research and academic excellence. The Atrium also includes a visitor area showcasing exemplary student work, along with bookable presentation spaces, small galleries, and studios that encourage living learning and creative exploration. These versatile spaces can host lectures, workshops, exhibitions, and discussions, enhancing engagement and innovation. Through accessible resources and flexible spaces, the Atrium cultivates a vibrant environment for learning and collaboration.
The space is designed to promote collaboration, creativity, and innovation while aligning with the evolving demands of the creative industry.
Between People Gallery
The Way Out East Gallery, inaugurated in 2019 and expanded in 2022 through a £1 million renovation, showcases the work of users, staff, and external contributors through regular exhibitions. The gallery’s mission is to explore creativity without boundaries, fully delving into its potential
By curating exhibitions featuring invited artists and makers, Way Out East enriches the learning experience and engagement of its participants. The quality of the showcased artists reflects the exceptional teaching standards and topnotch facilities at the University of East London, particularly in the fields of Architecture and Physical Design, as well as the Visual Arts.
AVA Workshops
The AVA Workshops provide a comprehensive range of facilities and techniques for sculpture, ceramics, digital fabrication, and metalworking, supporting both traditional craftsmanship and innovative hybrid processes.
The 3D Sculpture Workshop features a plaster and mold-making area equipped with various techniques, including plaster waste moulds, piece moulds, and flexible moulds made from latex, alginate, or silicone rubber. These moulds can be cast into materials such as plaster, concrete, clay, slip, wax, and resin.
Our ceramic facility includes a top-loading kiln for ceramic work, while a clay printer in the digital fabrication workshop expands possibilities for hybrid making processes that blend digital and handcrafted skills. Hot metal casting in bronze and aluminium is performed using the lost-wax process, where the moulds are dewaxed in the kiln and the metal is melted in the furnace.
The metal workshop includes machines for cutting, shaping, and joining metal, with three types of welders, including a TIG welder designed for bronze. Additional metalworking facilities include a brazing hearth, a sheet metal folder, a roller, and a guillotine.
Printmaking Workshop
The Print Room serves as a creative hub for learning the artistry of traditional printmaking alongside modern techniques. This workshop encourages individuals to explore their creativity and push the boundaries of conventional printmaking processes.
Equipped with a diverse range of tools, including two etching presses, a Beaver press, an offset litho press, four screen beds, and a large exposure unit, the Print Room provides everything needed to bring artistic visions to life. The workshop is divided into two areas—oil-based and water-based printing—each offering distinct opportunities for experimentation and expression. Users can explore techniques such as intaglio, photo etching, lino, monoprint, dry point, woodblock, screen printing, photocopy transfer, and embossing.
Photography Darkroom
The Dark Room offers comprehensive facilities for all stages of film photography and printing, providing resources for processing film, digitising negatives, experimenting with alternative printing techniques, and producing traditional black and white prints. It fosters a supportive environment for developing skills in analogue photography, encouraging users to experiment and innovate through hands-on experience and guided instruction.
Riso East
RisoEast offers access to advanced printing technology and comprehensive support services, enabling users to realise their creative ideas with precision and professionalism. The facility features two RP3700 and NEW SF9350 Edition II Risograph printers, along with 16 colour drums, including black, grey, red, blue, yellow, green, teal, purple, burgundy, fluorescent pink, fluorescent orange, flat gold, and the new colours aqua, mint, coral, and metallic gold.