A Family Affair Across Generations
Earlier this month, The Grant family brought their collaborative creativity to the Lighthouse Project Space in a two-week residency. Titled A picture that never fades, the residency was curated by Green Ray Gallery and programmed by our Future Creative Leaders as part of our 12-month programme that aims to diversify sector-wide cultural leadership.
The Grant family, comprising of Colin, Cato, Jazz, Jo, and Maya, represent a rich tapestry of creative talent. Each member brought their unique artistic perspective, contributing to a collective body of work that transcended individual expression. The residency marked a rare opportunity to see a family of artists from different generations working side by side, exploring the idea of culture as a living, breathing entity shaped by both our past and our present—one that is porous, evolving, and deeply emblematic of personal and collective identity.
"The Grant family are a legacy in motion, a fitting demonstration of what happens when art endures beyond its ancestors to form a living, breathing unit of artists unique in practice, with kinship in common. Programming the Grant family residency felt like the natural next step for FCL, a vital documentation of art that honours history, and welcomes in a future of expansive and expressive inter-generational art."
Elsa Monteith - Lighthouse Future Creative Leader
The residency has been curated by Green Ray Gallery and programmed by our Future Creative Leaders as part of a 12-month programme that aims to diversify sector-wide cultural leadership.
An Interactive, Evolving Art Experience
A picture that never fades was inspired by a diverse range of artistic influences. The work was underpinned by the concept that memories, like images, never truly fade; instead, they evolve becoming part of the cultural fabric. The public residency programme included workshops, a SpeakySpokey live poetry and music event, a period of public access showcasing works in progress made by the artists during the residency, alongside a screening of animations by Jazz Grant. Visitors were invited to draw their own eyes on an interactive wall in the space designed to evoke a sense of perpetual observation.
SpeakySpokey was a sold-out event with 120 people visiting the Lighthouse Project Space to experience family tales. Poet Raymond Antrobus debuted his new collection, Signs, Music and Sea Sharp read from The Swagger of Dorothy Gale & Other Filthy Ways to Strut. The SpeakySpokey cabaret featured music from Fiorella, Owen, Isaac and Louie, and was hosted by Colin Grant.
@colincraiggrant | @raymond_antrobus | @seathepoet | @cato.ink | @cla.yfoot | @fiorellaamicuccirose | @harryksimplydredd
Food provided from the pop-up restaurant by @iamspicemonkey and Green Ray-themed cocktails by Ellen.
You can listen to readings and music from the evening below.
About the artists
Jazz
Jazz’s collages and film animations explore the construction of memory and personal history. Her work includes the creation of a mural for Jay Z’s Book of HOV, NYC exhibition. Jazz’s first solo exhibition Smoke Forgets the Earth opened in summer 2024.
https://jazzgrantstudio.com | @jazzgrantstudio
Maya
Maya is a designer who has crafted her own style drawing on traditional and digital photography, and collage, inspired by vintage magazines and movie stars. Maya is the founder of the peripatetic Green Ray Gallery. | @missohiostudio
Cato
Cato is a multidisciplinary artist and musician. Cato pairs acrylic, collage, and airbrush in vibrant scenes, constructed from old photographs of jazz musicians, and street culture. Cato's most recent show was at the Eric Firestone Gallery, NYC.
https://catoink.art | @cato.ink
Jo
Jo has recently realigned with her art practice which included participatory group shows in Brighton in the 2000s. She is painting and drawing from photos and YouTube video stills and is developing site-specific drawing projects
Colin
Colin is an author and director of WritersMosaic. His books include I’m Black So You Don’t Have to Be. His oral history of migration to Britain, What We Leave We Carry will be published in 2025.
https://colingrant.info | @colincraiggrant
About Green Ray Gallery
Green Ray Gallery is an inspiring new travelling gallery. Experience is the focus of the gallery, curating unique shows, residencies and events. Green Ray introduces the world to magical new talent whilst simultaneously partnering with established artists and brands.
ABOUT OUR FUTURE CREATIVE LEADERS & OUR FUNDERS
Future Creative Leaders (FCL) is a 12-month paid programme offering young creatives from underrepresented backgrounds the opportunity to work closely with Lighthouse's leadership team to explore various aspects of creative leadership. Funded and supported by Art Fund’s ‘Reimagine Grants’ and Chalk Cliff Trust, over the year, participants will co-curate programmes, select participants for mini-residencies, and recruit their successors, all while exploring alternative governance structures, accountability, and power-sharing.
