Thank you to all the little artists who joined us on 28 October at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum to help create a large scale mural of self-portraits in collage! Guided by artist Lorna Rose, families got hands-on with colour, texture and imagination to co-create an impressive large-scale artwork inspired by Leah Gordon’s exhibition Monument to the Vanquished Peasant.

The drop-in workshop invited families to explore ideas of land, community and storytelling, themes that run deeply through Leah’s work. Using simple materials, participants layered and assembled their own self-portraits, building a collective ‘monument’ that celebrates the creativity and voices of young people.

Hosted in the Herbert’s Creative Studio, the session was part of a lively day of family-friendly art activities presented by Meadow Arts in collaboration with the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum. Together, we transformed the studio into a space buzzing with conversation, laughter and artistic discovery, a reminder of how art can connect us all through shared stories and acts of making.

Photos by Tegen Kimbley.

This event was part of Monument to the Vanquished Peasant (3 October 2025 – 25 January 2026), a solo exhibition by artist and writer Leah Gordon, commissioned by Meadow Arts and presented at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, in partnership with Coventry Biennial. The Commoners were commissioned and supported by Meadow Arts and GRAIN Projects.