Category: Uncategorized

“Maida Vale won’t be shaken so easily” – young artist Nadine Seddat on the pandemic

Nadine Seddat, 14, from Maida Vale shared with us how she used art to bring hope during the first coronavirus lockdown early on in 2020.

“Hello! My name is Nadine and I’m a 14 year old secondary school student! Like a lot of the population right now, I was going to school normally until we were forced into lockdown. It has taken its toll on me (especially since it feels like our teachers are giving us 10 billion times more work than we got before) but I’ve been trying to find ways around it.

An example of this is my artwork. I draw quite a bit and it’s one of my hobbies that I really enjoy, but now that we’ve suddenly been given a load of time to burn, I’ve been able to draw even more and I’m really enjoying it! Of course, I do take time for my other hobbies too like playing my violin, coding and Latin to name a few!

I think that even though we’ve been kicked out of our regular flow of life, it doesn’t mean that we can’t create a separate flow of life while stuck inside our houses. It’s like a tributary in a river- there’s still the main river that flows in a straight and definite direction (our normal day to day lives) but it’s also okay for part of the water to divert into a separate path (the new flow of life we decide to create for ourselves in lockdown).

So, what were my motives behind this drawing? Well, to draw this, I decided to go about it systematically, which is quite weird if you think about it- going at something creative with logical thinking, but as the saying goes, opposites attract! I thought about the meaning and the message I wanted to give out to the readers, and I eventually decided on one. This digital painting I made was made to show that although times may be tough right now, with the protection of our amazing NHS staff, the government, the World Health Organisation, charities and all the other dedicated workers who risk their lives for our well-being, Maida Vale won’t be shaken so easily. In fact, our community should keep on shining and being a light in the darkness.

I hope you enjoy this painting as much as I enjoyed working on it (however much of a challenge it was to conjure up!).”

Help us deliver free meals to vulnerable local residents this Christmas

The W9W2 team have been partnering with the local community to bring daily deliveries of free hot meals to local residents in food poverty.

W9W2 committee member Alice Sinclair has been working with chef Jenny Woodberry and Ronnie Renney from the North Paddington Youth Club to deliver the meals to people in need. Here are some photos of the team in action!

Jenny raised more than £1500 during October half-term to fund the effort, but more is still needed to continue this service over the Christmas period.

The team’s amazing work was also featured in Ham & High. Well done all!

Please donate here, anything you can contribute will make a huge difference to those in our community during this time.

If you’d like to hear ongoing updates on this campaign and more about how you can support W9W2’s community efforts, please sign up to our newsletter.

“I cannot imagine living anywhere else in London” – Maida Vale photographer Annika Bloch

“I am a local photographer, specialising in studio portraiture (children, families, pets, also headshots, dance portraits and all sorts of creative projects). I have been living in Maida Vale for almost 17 years now and cannot imagine living anywhere else in London. Especially the canal is such a beautiful place. 

Apart from taking photographs in the studio I am keen to experiment and find creative ways to express myself through photography and digital manipulation. This love still carries forward into my passion for Blue Prints and making them accessible for portrait clients.

The image below is a Blue Print, which is hand-printed using the cyanotype technique. This an 18th-century technique that involves coating fine art paper with a special liquid and exposing it in the sun. The result is a truly unique piece of art.

If you would like to know more visit my website annikabloch.com.”

Young Maida Vale artist on why he’s drawing for the NHS: “my mum had the coronavirus”

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Young artist Finlay Kennedy has been joining in the community quest to fill the halls of St Mary’s Hospital with colourful creations to encourage and send warm wishes to the Frontline staff . On Finlay’s daily ‘scoot’ for exercise he came for a quick door step interview with Maida Unveiled…

When and why do you like to draw?

Everyday.  I draw whenever I can.  Sometimes I try and draw during breakfast and dinner but Mum doesn’t like that.  She likes me to do it afterwards.

Drawing is one of my favourite hobbies. I like to draw because it makes me feel calm and still.  Its fun too because I can get all my ideas on the paper and also play with them.  People really like my drawings, that makes me happy and proud.

How long have you been an artist?

Roughly about 5 years.  I love drawing.  Painting is too tricky for me – I cant get the details I want to do right, when I paint.

Am I right in thinking you are 7?

YEAH ?

What message are you trying to bring with your artwork for the NHS?

Really because … I‘ll tell you why, I am really doing the artwork because my mum had the Corona Virus,  and they helped my mum, and she is recovering. That’s why I really doing the drawings.

What is your favourite thing about your drawings for the NHS?

I really like drawing the banners which say NHS on them  … the doctors and nurses are the leaders rallying behind their banner, and they are going to war against COVID.

What sort of drawings do you usually do?

I really like creating Magic Mini  Worlds, with lots and lots of tiny detail and action and different things to look at.   My favourite things to draw are battles. Medieval battles, with castles, knights and sometimes dragons.  I especially like drawing medieval weaponry like trebuchets and swords, crossbows. Sometimes I draw inventions.  Once I drew a massive rainbow factory, where all the colours went in and got sorted out and then the rainbows got spat out at the top.  Everyone really liked that one.  My Mum got that framed and it is in my bedroom.

How did you come up with these ideas?

Um, my mum says I am very imaginative.  The ideas just come into my head, and so I draw them,  and then as I draw things they kind of come to life.  Like when I draw battles I imagine being the people in the drawing and imagine the action that is happening around me as I am drawing it.

What do you want to be when you are older?

I really want to be a game maker or designer.  I would like to create all the characters in the game, and work out what they do in the game, and sell the game in the shops.

My brother and I often invent games, we talk about them and then I draw them – then we play them.

Have you decided what you would call the game?

Something like ‘Clash of Empires’ ….

Me and my brother really like playing Clash of Clans.

Finlay continues to contribute his masterpieces, much to the joy of the frontline staff.

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Maida Vale artist Eleanor Abou-Sakr on the play of light and shadow in the canals and crescents

Eleanor Abou-Sakr, Maida Vale resident, artist and lover of all things colour and light.

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“I started painting about six months ago, when I stopped working and became a full-time mother. Having more headspace, if not necessarily more time, I started looking for a creative outlet and decided to put paintbrush to paper.  My painting focuses on colour and the use of brushstrokes to evoke textures.

I initially focused on everyday objects and pieces of fruit as a base for my experimentation, drawing in elements of Impressionism and the abstract. Inspired by some of my daily views around Paddington and Maida Vale, I have recently started to paint landscapes. This particular view down the canal to La Ville represents not only a beautiful view but also the high point of my morning school run. Breathless, invariably late and pushing a triple-loaded buggy, the view is a welcome distraction each morning.

Also an amateur photographer of the everyday, I use black and white to focus on the play of light, shadow and symmetry, which abounds in the canals, crescents and communities of Maida Vale, a place that she has called home for the last six years.”

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Calling all local Photographers and Artists!!

Your local magazine Maida Unveiled is hosting a competition for all local Artists and Photographers.

We’re asking entrants to get up close and personal with the area of Little Venice and Maida Vale… The theme is “a seasonal reflection of the area” This is for our Spring/summer edition.

Our Magazine is distributed all over the local area reaching a wide audience and the winner gets to feature on the front cover!

This competition is open to all ages and levels.

Please send a copy of your work with a short (100 word max) caption.

Entries (and queries) are to be emailed to the address below.

Deadline is the 1st of April.

Good luck !

[email protected]

Christmas Carols

We are delighted to announce that the Autumn/Winter edition of Maida Unveiled is fresh off the press. If you are yet to have read the hard copy please follow the (members only) link to view the online version. 
We are also pleased to announce that this years carol service will be held on the 10th of November at St Mary’s church, Paddington Green. All are welcome for a seasonal occasion reflecting the diversity of the area, supported by the Choir and Musicians of St Saviours School. We hope you will stay on at the end for some festive refreshments!

Heathrow expansion meeting.

There will be a public meeting (tomorrow evening) the 3rd of September- its a chance to ask any questions with regards Heathrow’s proposed expansion, including early growth and later a third runway. The meeting has been set up by a local group who are in opposition to the runway proposal.
The meeting will be at 6.45 for 7 pm on Tuesday 3 September at St. Stephens Church, Westbourne Park Road, W2 5QT. Paul Beckford of the 3rd Runway Coalition will speak. If you are unable to attend the meeting then you may wish to visit no3rdrunway.co.uk to explore further.

A chance to put forward ideas for a new community leisure and cultural space in Paddington.

British land is bringing forward proposals for the final plot of land on Five Kingdom street. The new office building will host a space called ‘The Box’ which is currently open for ideas with regards to how to utilise the space in a way which can benefit the local community. It is our chance to have a say, give feedback, and shape the future.

So please have a look at the dates and locations below, and bring along some ideas and lets get a conversation going.

Monday the 25th of February;3.00PM-8.00PM, 258 Harrow Road, Paddington,W2 6PY.

Tuesday the 26th February; 12.00pm-3.00pm, Sheldon Square, Paddington, W26PY.

Saturday the 2nd of march;  10.00am-3.00pm, The Amadeus Centre, 50 Shirland road, W9 2JA.