Life Drawing with ELSC

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WHAT'S THIS? A LIFE DRAWING CLASS IN A FORMER STRIP JOINT, RUN ENTIRELY BY STRIPPERS WHO HAVE STARTED THEIR OWN WORKER LED BUSINESS?
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Come and join a life drawing class like no other. Models at our class are some of the most celebrated pole dancers, adult performers and striptease artists in the UK. The session is fast-paced, often featuring aerial pole tricks, eye-wateringly high-heels, the art of stripping in all it's raw, breath-taking power and beauty.

Our classes have been running for over a decade, breaking through stereotypes and bringing the age-honoured relationship between art and sex work bang-up-to-date... in a unique setting!

We have developed our flagship ‘strip-freeze’ section of the class – a striptease routine interspersed with short poses. As the model performs, the host calls out ‘Freeze!’ giving participants one or two minutes to capture the pose before the model continues moving. This is a warm-up exercise and an intense drawing experience. Once the model is naked, the length of the poses follow a more traditional pattern.

Life drawing with ELSC is a truly original event, produced by the East London Strippers Collective. We invite new audiences of visual artists into our world to draw incredible performers as they work. Every class is entirely self-organised - no dodgy club bosses taking a cut. Here, unlike elsewhere in the sex industry, we are in charge of our own workplace.

Professional artists, sketchers, doodlers, illustrators and artists of all levels are welcome, from veterans to beginners alike, same for all genders, identities and backgrounds. All we ask is you do not treat us differently because of who we are. We can't wait to meet you!

£15-£30 per person per class. Materials are provided for £3.00 (free materials for students who bring ID). The class is lead but not tutored. Limited spaces available.

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WHO ARE EAST LONDON STRIPPERS COLLECTIVE?
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ELSC is an incorporated Community Interest Company (CIC) run by current and former strippers and sex workers, who've built a self-organised, worker-led business for over 13 years. They've had enough of the exploitation in their clubs, grown tired of the relentless misogyny in their industry, bored of the stigma and stereotyping that surrounds their jobs, and sick of the poor misrepresentations of sex workers at every level of society - from music videos to policy and regulations - not to mention the misguided campaigns to shut down workplaces and criminalise their jobs.

ELSC was founded by a community of women who all worked as strippers across East London. United by grievances around their working conditions and licensing legislation that has had a negative impact on workers, they began taking matters into their own hands. In 2013 they started the world's first stripper life drawing classes at The White Horse, Hackney's first strip venue to open its doors and invite curious onlookers into a hidden world normally shrouded in mystery and stigma.
Sadly, the White Horse venue is no longer, so ELSC moved up the road; the Crown and Shuttle is an old school East End boozer, where back in the 80s and 90s strippers would entertain the rowdy masses, alongside bands, comedians and other louche entertainment.

For over a decade, ELSC have earned a reputation as a culturally significant organisation, operating at the intersection where feminism, labour rights, class consciousness, racialised identities and sex workers' struggle for safety, respect and self-determination meet. Members of ELSC are a unique community of artists, writers, comedians, community organisers, business directors, photographers, PhD students, public speakers; between them they have many other accolades, as well as proudly identifying as current and former sex workers. In 2023 they were awarded the Supporting Act Foundation €50k impact grant, and have since been awarded project grant funding by Spectra, and Disrupt.

As well as life drawing classes, ELSC have explored many possibilities for creating their own work opportunities, including producing public and private parties, pop-up strip clubs, hen & stag entertainment services, as well as producing merch, a series of self-published Zines, and mobilising as a protest bloc at International Women's Day and London Dyke marches. But the life drawing still remains their most established and well-attended event.

Learn more about ELSC events, resources and merch on their website:
https://eastlondonstripperscollective.com/