Sidequest X Lakwena: What's on this Clerkenwell Design Week

22nd Apr 2026

Mosaics as pixelated portals to paradise

Designed by Lakwena and created with Trend Group and Solus, Sidequest: Mosaics as Pixelated Portals to Paradise explores mosaics as pixelated portals - thresholds into collective, imagined, and transcendent worlds.

Bringing together Lakwena’s bold, bright and uplifting visual language with the ancient craft of mosaic, the installation transforms fragmented tesserae into gateways of colour, pattern, and meaning. Each panel acts as a portal, reflecting how individual pieces - and people - come together to form shared experiences.

Trend Group has brought the artwork to life through a range of specialist mosaic techniques, combining precision-cut glass tesserae with traditional smalti craftsmanship. Using richly coloured glass tesserae, each surface has been carefully composed through colour, contrast and pattern to create a strong sense of cohesion and rhythm within Lakwena’s graphic language. The result is a series of bold, unified compositions that reveal how individual pieces can come together to form something striking and complete.

Explore the programme of events, talks, and showroom experiences below - and step through the portals. Make sure to RSVP to secure your spot.

Lush Bath Bomb Masterclass

Experience the craftsmanship that goes into every Lush creation in this hands-on workshop. Get tactile with ingredients, learn about our buying stories and make your own product to take home ready for your next soak.

TIMES	11:00 - 11:30
	11:45 - 12:15
	12:30 - 13:00
	14:15 - 14:45
	15:00 - 15:30
	15:45 - 16:15
	16:30 - 17:00

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Joyful Colour: How Does Colour Make Us Feel?

Join founder and global colour forecaster Anna Starmer for an inside look at Luminary Colour and the inspiration behind Issue 33, celebrating a shift from “Chromophobia” to joyful, immersive colours that evoke feeling and human connection in response to our increasingly screen-based lives. She reveals how Luminary Studio transforms research into future-focused colour stories, inspiring a deeper connection to colour, materials, and design.

With food by 5 Incorporated.

FOOD AND DRINKS	18:00 - 18:30
TALK	18:30 - 19:30

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Music by Dr Leo Soul

Born in Northwest London, Dr Leo Soul is a Pianist with a taste for neo soul, jazz and lo-fi blues. He has performed at places and events such as Ronnie Scott’s, Southbank Centre, Love Supreme and The Secret Garden Festival. Soon to be releasing his very first EP later this year. Be prepared, for he will sooth the sentiment of your well being.

Dr Leo Soul	20:00 - 21:15
Jo Sinclair DJ Set	21:15 - 22:00

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Mosaic Manifesto Through Colour

Join us for a colour theory workshop with Studio Justine Fox in creative dialogue with our Sidequest installation. In this session, we’ll explore our personal experience of Sidequest closely - its palette, its relationships and visual language - through three working lenses: applied colour psychology, symbolism and placemaking. Each guest will create their own small mini mosaic to take home along with a deeper understanding of colour strategy for more intuitive and emotional cities.

TIME	11:00 - 12:30

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Interdependence Day: Exuberant Collectivity and the Cure for Burnout

This talk by writer and sculptor Phineas Harper explores the cultural, expressive and social potential of togetherness. How could collectivity solve the climate crisis? Is Romeo and Juliet a ripoff? Are nuclear families fit for the 21st century, and are the police killing community life? Above all, what can design, urbanism and society at large learn from a giant April Fool's Day online experiment?

With food by 5 Incorporated.

FOOD AND DRINKS	18:00 - 18:30
TALK	18:30 - 19:30

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Touching Bass

Errol & Alex Rita are leading UK voices in DJing and cultural curation, heading up Touching Bass, a London-based movement spanning a label, events and radio, known for its eclectic sound and strong community ethos. They continue to build a global reputation for thoughtful, soulful experiences across dancefloors and major cultural spaces. They'll be joined by Rohan Ayinde for the performance.

TIME	20:00 - 22:00

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Venetian Mask Workshop

Join us for a hands-on Venetian mask-making workshop inspired by the elegance of traditional designs and our mosaic collection Sidequest, consisting of 170 colours and shades. Using mosaics and acrylics, you’ll craft a unique mask - whether bold and expressive or delicate and refined - while exploring colour, pattern and texture in a playful, tactile way.

TIME	14:00 - 14:30
	14:45 - 15:15
	15:30 - 16:00
	16:15 - 16:45

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The Five Points Project with Plumm

The Five Points Project is a platform built to alleviate loneliness through live music and open collaboration. A cross-genre, fully improvised jam session, Five Points is a home away from home - a roaming third space where musicians and music lovers alike gather to connect in real physical spaces.

TIME	16:00 - 18:00

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Introduction to Sidequest with Lakwena

Join a talk with Lakwena exploring the concept behind Sidequest: Mosaics as Pixelated Portals to Paradise, created with Trend Group and Solus. The discussion unpacks mosaics as ‘pixelated portals’ - thresholds into collective, imagined worlds - where fragmented tesserae become vibrant gateways of colour, pattern, and meaning. It offers insight into how the installation transforms individual pieces into shared experiences, inviting audiences to step through these artistic portals.

With food by 5 Incorporated.

FOOD AND DRINKS	18:00 - 18:30
TALK	18:30 - 19:15

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Erol Alkan

Experience a set from Erol Alkan, widely recognised as one of the most distinctive figures in electronic and alternative music culture. Guided by instinct and a deep passion and knowledge of music, his DJ sets build a powerful connection with the crowd - blending carefully curated selections into a seamless musical narrative. The result is an unforgettable, transformative experience on the dance floor.