WHAT’S THIS? ANOTHER LIFE DRAWING CLASS IN AN EX- STRIP PUB IN EAST LONDON? HOSTED BY ACTUAL STRIPPERS?
Life Drawing with ELSC first launched in 2013 as a natural progression from the age-old practice of hiring professional harlots & hussies as models for art.
Our class is fast paced & involves high-octane aerial pole poses with a unique section we call “strip-freeze” – a striptease routine interspersed with one minute poses. We incorporate some traditional life drawing with a couple 5, 10 and 15 minute poses. We also have an extremely popular “audience participation” exercise, incorporating multiple figures to draw.
We work to de-stigmatise sex work & create our own working conditions through this interdisciplinary class. All our models have experience as strippers or sex workers. ELSC welcomes all gender expressions & identities, and artists from all ethnic & cultural backgrounds. We support a diverse audience that reflects our community of strippers & sex workers.
We are giving artists a unique opportunity to draw strippers performing and pole-dancing, in a venue once lauded for it’s striptease shows.
The class will be led but not tutored. All levels of ability welcome. All paper & drawing materials are available for a £2.50 donation (free materials for students who bring photo ID).
Our doors are open to professional artists, designers, sketchers, illustrators, animators, doodlers, students and first-timers alike. No experience necessary – we can’t wait to make love and make art with you, every other Monday, 7-9:30pm!
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Who is the ELSC? And why did we start this class?
The classes are entirely self-organised and hosted by a group called East London Strippers Collective (ELSC), a group of strippers challenging stereotypes and societal attitudes towards strip clubs, by inviting a new audience of onlookers inside.
Many artists have used sex workers as models & muses for their work, however because sex work throughout history has been framed as inherently degrading, this age-old practice has been a long-ignored fact. The term ‘muse’ is important to this history as it is often used in the context of the male ‘creator’ who is inspired’ by his female muse – in other words, she’s incapable of her own creation or self-realisation – reinforcing women as passive object in relation to the male, active, subject.
The way we navigate the artist/muse issue & questions of exploitation in the sex industry is by asserting sex work as work, & stripping as a legitimate art form. The message isn’t about blanket narratives of exploitation or empowerment, but framing this work in a way that centres harm-reduction, destigmatisation & labour rights.
The desire for sex workers as art models isn’t going away & after centuries of poor representation, our view is that it’s irresponsible to produce this artwork without using it as a platform for de-stigmatisation & the sex worker’s rights movement. Images produced in our classes break away from the strip club’s prevailing male gaze, giving an insight into our dancers’ worlds & celebrating ownership over their own images, reclaiming the agency that is too often stripped of narratives around our bodies,
The Crown & Shuttle is proud of it’s own history as a traditional East London boozer. Back in the day, as a Truman Brewery public house, it was common for strippers and showgirls to perform alongside other entertainers, comedians, and bands, all booked to entertain the rowdy punters. Crown & Shuttle’s upstairs venue, Filthy Fanny’s, is a nod to the steamier side of Shoreditch, back when pub landladies were tough old matriarchs, and before licensing laws clamped down on striptease entertainment. ELSC is proud to be collaborating with the Crown & Shuttle on this updated version of the art of stripping.
HELPFUL TIPS
- We accept drop ins - but we cannot guarantee you a space in our class unless you book online!
- Each ticket guarantees one seat or stool - if you require more than a seat's worth of space for yourself or your materials please book two tickets.
- If you arrive before 18:45, please wait patiently in the bar area downstairs of the pub.
- If you are more than 10 mins late, please knock and wait outside for the host to meet, greet and seat you!
- We offer accessible ticket pricing for those on low income, we also offer free tickets to Sex Workers
- If you have any questions or queries, drop us a message via Outsavvy or email us at info@eastlondonstripperscollective.com