Liverpool’s BlackFest 2026 invites audiences to explore colour, abstraction and expressive mark-making in a hands-on visual arts workshop led by multidisciplinary artist Ayobami at Granby Winter Garden.
Ayobami’s practice specialises in floral artwork and expressive abstract pieces. Her work moves between vivid colour and darker tonal combinations, using abstract acrylic blends and ink hatching to build surfaces that feel energetic, layered and highly personal.
The three-hour workshop offers participants an opportunity to encounter that creative process directly. Rather than simply viewing finished work, attendees can experiment with approaches to colour, mark-making and composition while learning how an artist develops a visual language from individual interests and experiences.
The setting is significant. Granby Winter Garden sits within Liverpool 8, an area with a long history of Black settlement, community organisation, activism and cultural creativity. Bringing BlackFest’s visual arts programme into this neighbourhood places contemporary art within a living community context rather than separating it from everyday life.
BlackFest describes itself as Liverpool’s grassroots Black arts festival, supporting Black artists and communities through visual arts, music, theatre, literature, film and other creative experiences. Workshops such as this form an important part of that mission because they create room for participation as well as performance.
For Black History Month, the event also makes an important point about what cultural celebration can include. Black history is not only a record of struggle or famous individuals; it is also a continuing story of creativity, experimentation and the freedom to make work that is beautiful, abstract, playful or personal.
Whether you already make art or simply want to try something new, BlackFest’s workshop with Ayobami offers a welcoming opportunity to spend time creating, learning and engaging with a contemporary artist as part of Liverpool’s wider Black cultural programme.
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