Village Raw - ISSUE 3

VILLAGE RAW
COMMUNITY
ART AND SOUL
Nestled in the heart of Wood Green, the Studio 306 Collective helps
people get on their feet by making things with their hands – and
it has had some royal recognition.
Words by Carla Parks. Photos by Dan Bridge.
ADDITIONAL PHOTO: DAVID REEVE (BOTTOM LEFT).
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” It’s a quotation
adorning mugs, T-shirts and tote bags everywhere. But while the
expression is overused, it seems to have been coined especially
for Pamela Anomneze. A whirlwind of positive energy, Pamela
is the heart and soul of Studio 306 and is its project manager.
Housed in an institutional-looking building in Wood Green, the
studio, a series of small rooms and an office, helps people recover
from mental illness through art.
Inside, the walls are covered with bright textiles. There are
shelves filled with ceramics, from delicate tea lights to Christmas
decorations in the shape of stars. A display case contains
necklaces, earrings and bracelets, beautifully wrought in
sterling silver and twinkling under the overhead lights. Standing
nearby is a selection of greeting cards with detailed hand
drawings set against fluorescent backgrounds - an explosion of
blues, oranges and yellows. “These are all places in Haringey,”
Pamela says, pointing to one of the greeting cards, a drawing of
Alexandra Palace.
Everything inside the studio is made by students of the collective
– people who’ve been diagnosed with the likes of depression
or bipolar disorder. There are also “makers”, former students,
who make items to sell. If they want to work on personal
projects at the studio, the makers are given an hour for every
hour worked for the collective. Wearing a polka dot scarf and
matching jewellery, Pamela is a walking advertisement of their
work. It’s her firm belief that making things helps give people a
“sense of fulfilment and accomplishment”.
Sitting down in her office, Pamela tries to distil what the
collective means to her. “Let’s help people who have nobody to
even fall back on, people who feel, ‘Is life worth it?’. I just believe
that life can be worth it for anybody. There is no useless
human being in this world. It’s just that they haven’t been given
the opportunity to be involved, to learn, to even belong. There
are people like that out there.”
In a film made for the Big Issue, one of the students explains
what this place means to her: “Some of us might have isolated
ourselves in the past and this is a chance to be part of the community
again.” She adds, “It’s a place where we aren’t going to
slip through the cracks and be forgotten about.”
That Studio 306 does invaluable work is without question,
but the project has had some setbacks. Cuts to council funding
for mental health meant that they lost a larger space at the
Chocolate Factory in Wood Green, where they’d been based for
years. The council does pay for Pamela’s wages, as well as wages
for four specialist tutors in four disciplines: sewing, screen
printing, ceramics and jewellery. However, they don’t cover the
cost of raw materials or the studio’s full rent. A community interest
company since 2011, Studio 306 funds itself through
what is made and then sold at markets, in shops, and online. It’s
a lean operation.
Pamela’s goal is to become self-sustainable; to increase
the tutors’ hours to more than one day a week; and to own the
space where they’re based. In October, they’ll move to the old
Wood Green post office. A positive thing which has already come
out of their hard work is some hard-won recognition. Pamela,
who is trained in community mental healthcare, was invited to
the royal wedding and did the rounds on news outlets. On the big
day, she wore an elegant necklace, designed by the team. It was
auctioned off after the wedding to raise money.
Whenever Pamela talks about the work she does, she’s quick
to point out that it’s a team effort: “We are all one family. Everybody
who has a link with us, as far as I’m concerned, is part of
the 306 family.” Pamela attributes the collective’s success to
“passionate” people, such as sewing tutor Sharon Williams.
10
11