Acrylics workshop

The Pigments Festival (2026) is a one-day event hosted at the Camberwell College of Arts co-organised by Lecturer in Painting Juan Bolivar and BA Painting Course Leader Paula Smithard. The event includes lectures and practical demonstrations as an interactive symposium. It focuses on the science, history, and sustainability of pigments and materials used by artists. The event brings together BA Painting and BA Illustration students with experts from Colart (the parent company of Winsor & Newton and Liquitex). The festival explores the Science of paint and the chemical and geological makeup of pigments. A focus is sustainable providing a forum to discuss how artists can adopt eco-friendly studio practices and rethink the materials they use, integrating climate, social, and racial justice into creative illustration and painting.

The event consisted of presentations by Dr Ruth Siddal and Vincent Hart. Dr Ruth Siddall is a geologist, who applies analytical techniques from the field of Earth Sciences to further the understanding of cultural material, including pigments, construction and decorative stone, ceramics and plasters. Ruth has collaborated with contemporary artists and architects in aspects of geo-materiality and was Scientist in Residence at the UCL Slade School of Fine Art during 2018-19 when she was the recipient of the Geologists’ Association’s Halstead Medal for the public promotion of geology. She is the co-author of the Pigment Compendium as well as numerous other books and articles on geological materials used in art and cultural heritage. 

Vincent Hart is an artist living and working in London. He is a visiting practitioner and associate lecturer for the university’s Fine art Programme and holds a position at the university as a Specialist Technician for Painting. Vincent was also a recipient of the 2021 Winsor & Newton/ROI residency award and continues to enjoy a close relationship Winsor & Newton. In his practice Vincent places heavy emphasis on the interrogation of materials that we as artists commonly work with, specifically in the discipline of painting. This has manifested in recent years in his ongoing research into of natural pigments and the spectrum of histories associated with them.

The Pigments Festival began with introductions by Paula Smithard and Juan Bolivar with questions and prompts about materials in relation climate, social, and racial justice - and Bolivar's research into pigments following visits to historic sites in Pompei and Rome.

The event included practical demonstrations and workshops by Mark Cann a chemist and Technical Excellence Manager at Colart and Stephanie Nebbia artist and curator and artist in residence at Winsor & Newton, artists Vince Hart and Juan Bolivar - and an opportunity for students to try new innovative materials including a new Bio-based acrylic paint and canvasses made from recycled plastic bottles both by Liquitex.

Here Bolivar led an acrylics workshop focusing on Bio-based acrylic paint and testing new sustainable pigments used in Cadmium-Free acrylics. The workshop functioned as a hands-on demonstration and intersective forum answering questions about research into materials and pigments.

The event was Supported by Winsor & Newton with materials provided by Winsor & Newton and Liquitex - iconic brands part of Colart Int - a registered B Corp company and the world's largest manufacturer and supplier of Fine art and Graphic materails.

• https://juanbolivar.com/
• https://ruthsiddall.co.uk/Home.html
• https://www.vincehart.com/biography
• https://www.stephanienebbia.com/