About this Event
In this hands-on workshop, artist SJ (Segun Junaid), founder of Ochré, invites you to make your own paint from earth pigments and create a fingerprint of nature.
People have been grinding ochré into paint for at least 100,000 years, making it one of the oldest threads between us and the ground we stand on. Participants will start by looking closely at their own fingerprints and noticing how they echo tree rings, river maps and the grain of wood. Then you'll grind and mix yellow and red ochres with a simple natural binder, test the colours, and paint a fingerprint whose ridges are made of words that capture the plants, animals, rivers, places and weather that have shaped you. You can also bring a teaspoon of soil from somewhere that matters to you - a garden, a park, a place you grew up - and we'll try turning it into paint, too.
Suitable for 8yrs+ (children must be accompanied by an adult). No experience needed, and all materials are provided. It's messy in a good way, and you'll leave with your own handmade paint and a small artwork to keep.
Coventry Art Show
Workshop Wednesdays are part of the Coventry Art Show, which is a local response to British Art Show 10. Coventry Artspace activities respond to the British Art Show theme, States of Nature. This theme is inspired by ecological philosopher Timothy Morton's call for greater awareness of our relationship with the environment. It challenges our human-centric perspectives and invites us to imagine a new relationship with the planet.
British Art Show 10 runs from 2nd October 2026 to 10th January 2027 at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, the Mead Gallery, University of Warwick, and the Delia Derbyshire Building, School of Arts & Creative Industries, Coventry University.
Segun Junaid
SJ (Segun Junaid) is a Coventry-based artist and the founder of Ochré, a luxury art house rooted in heritage, symbolism, crests, faith and Black culture. The name comes from ochre, the earth pigment people have painted with since the very beginning.
This workshop develops from SJ's work, Fingerprint of God, a fingerprint made entirely of words. A fingerprint is our most personal mark, and building one from words says that who we are is shaped by what we believe, what we're told, and what we tell ourselves.
SJ was born in London to a Nigerian Cherubim and Seraphim church family and grew up in Ireland, where she was the first Black pupil at her school. Her work draws on that mix of faith, heritage and belonging.
Event venue & nearby stays
Feeding Coventry: Foleshill Community Centre, 757 Foleshill Road, Coventry, United Kingdom
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.