Tori West, KLVDR, Flock Together and Ruby Etc.: Tickets are now available for November’s Nicer Tuesdays!

This week’s been full of surprises. The biggest, no doubt, is that November’s Nicer Tuesdays is going to be happening on a Monday! (Don’t worry, it’ll be just as nice, though.) Truth is, we just couldn’t wait. And in typical Nicer Tuesdays’ style, we’ve collected the very best creative talent to share with you the insights and practices that they’ve picked up along the way.

November’s edition will see the likes of Tori West, founder and editor-in-chief of Bricks magazine; Kalvadour Peterson (KLVDR), whose directorial flair can be spotted in Stormzy’s latest music video; Ollie Olanipekun, the creative force behind bird-watching collective Flock Together and creative studio Futurimpose; and Ruby Etc., who is known for her painfully accurate yet hilariously introspective illustrations. The speakers will delve into the difficult yet necessary moments in their creative journeys, what they’ve learnt, and how they use this knowledge to empower their own practice and the next generation of creatives.

As this is an 18+ event, please bring ID with you to the venue. If you are in need of disability access, please make yourself known to a member of the EartH Hackney team on the evening or email hello@nicertuesdays.com so we can arrange assistance. Head below to read more about our incredible panel of speakers.

Kicking things off will be the multi-talented Tori West, founder of Bricks magazine. The London-based print publication has grown massively in recent years and Tori’s radically inclusive, extensive and dissident ethos has seen Bricks play the part of educator, mentor and reliable friend. Bricks has been more than magazine, holding the old-fashioned establishment to account while providing a comprehensive support network and career resource via its newsletter. Tori, whose writing has been featured in titles such as Elle, Nylon, Dazed and Gurls Talk, has dedicated her work to socio-political issues within fashion, music, arts and culture. And Bricks has opened its very own affordable photography studio to boot.

Next up we have Kalvadour Peterson aka KLVDR. A staple in the music video scene, KLVDR is the virtuoso responsible for Stormzy’s jam-packed stunner of a video Mel Made Me Do It. KLVDR will join us to discuss the making of the video in the context of his wider creative practice, how he goes about delivering exactly what a client needs (even when it’s not what they initially want), and how his connection to the culture he grew up in influences his practice today. If uplifting content produced with cinematic finesse is your thing, this is the talk for you.

The last time we spoke to Ollie Olanipekun, he told us it was time for change. He introduced us to his independent creative studio Futurimpose – the streamlined evolution of his first venture Superimpose – with the revised mission of changing the design industry through processes informed by social justice. This lined up perfectly with advice on prioritising your own creative sensibilities, an ethos he championed at his last visit to Nicer Tuesdays. Fast forward 4 years and the powerhouse autodidact is back, at the helm of BIPOC-focused bird-watching collective Flock Together. Still putting connection and community at the heart of his practice, Ollie uses Flock Together to build a network of BIPOC birders who share knowledge, champion ecological protection and reclaim green space. He’ll tell us about how his continual evolution has led him to merge Flock Together with his creative practice and how he uses it to empower the next generation of nature-lovers.

Rounding things off, illustrator, cartoonist and self-described “big silly” Ruby Etc. will be live drawing while – very impressively – talking us through her process. She’s something of an expert when it comes to talking about the awkward, uncomfortable and deeply relatable situations that make up modern life and her autobiographical illustrations have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times and The Welcome Collection, among others. Ruby’s drawing and sketch-booking workshops have been widely praised across the board and we can’t wait to see what she pulls out of the bag this time.