Social Activities
We are pleased to confirm a number of social activities that will take place across the Conference at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Creative Connections: Art, Place and Local Impact
Zoe Parker Illustration
Zoe Parker Illustration
Zoe Parker is a Fashion Illustrator, Live Event Illustrator, Wedding Illustrator, Portrait Artist, and Graphic Recorder based in Croydon.
Zoe will be creating Live Fashion Illustrations of delegates on request at the Conference on Thursday 10th September in the Founders Square Marquee.
Each drawing will take about 5-10 minutes and be drawn in a stylish fashion illustration likeness.
Zoe can draw people while they wait, or take a photo for delegates to pick up the drawing later.
Illustration will be charged at £25 each. Card or cash payment is available.
Zoe runs creative art workshops (Dress Up and Draw) and sells art prints inspired by fashion design and couture. She lives with her son and their four cats, who keep her home-studio lively and full of personality.
Drawing people is Zoe’s greatest joy. She is endlessly inspired by expressive clothing, bold silhouettes, and individuals who look like they have a story to tell. She fell in love with fashion illustration and adores capturing people dressed up for weddings, parties, and special events. Live illustration allows her to document these moments, by hand, in real time.
Zoe has illustrated people from all walks of life. In 2015, she travelled to Ethiopia and created a series of charcoal drawings and paintings inspired by the tribeswomen she met. One of these pieces went on to win an award in the Royal Watercolour Society’s annual competition, a milestone that continues to shape her artistic journey.
You can explore Zoe’s latest work on Instagram or follow her behind‑the‑scenes updates on her blog.
What Zoe Offers
- Fashion Illustration
- Live Event Illustration (corporate events, weddings, brand activations, parties)
- Wedding Illustration & Guest Portraits
- Portrait Commissions
- Graphic Recording / Live Scribing
- Creative Art Workshops
- Art Prints & Original Artwork
Marcia John - MJohn Designs
Marcia John - Woven Textile & Yarn Winding Art
Artworks will be on display at the Conference in Windsor Buildng and will be available for purchase.
Card or cash payment is available.
Marcia John is a textile artist whose practice centres on hand‑dyed and hand‑woven textiles informed by her Afro‑Caribbean heritage. Working with sustainable fibres, she combines traditional weaving techniques with considered dye processes to produce refined, tactile works. Her approach is grounded in a rigorous exploration of materiality, structure, and pattern, resulting in textiles that demonstrate technical precision and a distinctive artistic voice.
Through each project, Marcia brings together craftsmanship, research, and creative inquiry to produce thoughtfully constructed pieces that reflect both cultural lineage and contemporary textile practice.
Sara Hayfa - Intuitive Artist
Sara Hayfa - Intuitive Artist
Artworks will be on display at the Conference in Windsor Buildng and will be available for purchase.
Card or cash payment is available.
Originally from Morocco, Sara Hayfa is a self-taught artist whose creative journey began in childhood through a natural love of drawing and painting. Her practice is centred on intuitive art, allowing each work to develop through spontaneous marks, colour, texture and emotion.
Working primarily with acrylics and mixed media, she creates richly textured pieces that translate inner feelings and energy into physical form. Her work explores the connection between emotion, identity, culture and the unseen aspects of human experience.
Alongside her artistic practice, Sara is studying Holistic Art Therapy, deepening her interest in the relationship between creativity, emotional expression and wellbeing.
Sharon Flowers - Flower Posie’s Handmade Rugs
Sharon Flowers - Flower Posie’s Handmade Rugs
Artworks will be on display at the Conference in Windsor Buildng and will be available for purchase.
Card or cash payment is available.
Sharon Flowers is a South London-based textile and mixed-media artist whose work explores African heritage, culture, pattern and identity through contemporary craft.
Drawing inspiration from African textiles, traditional motifs and bold pattern, Sharon creates distinctive hand-tufted works that transform familiar forms and cultural references into tactile pieces of art. Her practice includes sculptural wall hangings, rugs and smaller textile works, often incorporating the shape of the African continent and patterns inspired by African fabrics.
With a background in Art & Design and Fashion, Sharon has returned to her creative practice with an emphasis on making by hand. Her work embraces texture, colour and the individuality of the handmade process, allowing each piece to retain its own character rather than seeking mechanical perfection.
Through Flower Posie’s Handmade Rugs, Sharon continues to explore the relationship between textile, heritage, design and contemporary art, creating pieces that are both decorative and culturally expressive.
BBQ Lunch on the South Quad
BBQ Lunch on the South Quad
Location: South Quad, Founders Building
Dates/Times: Wednesday 9th September - 12:45 - 13:00 SOLD OUT I Thursday 10th September - 12:30 - 13:30
Capacity: 200
Why not make the most of your Conference experience and join us for a relaxed BBQ lunch on the beautiful South Quad?
Available to a limited number of delegates, this is a fantastic opportunity to enjoy delicious food, catch up with colleagues and make new connections in the stunning surroundings of Royal Holloway's iconic campus. If the weather is on our side, there's no better place to take a break, soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the English summer.
Places are limited, so be sure to reserve your BBQ ticket when registering.
To pre-register, please follow the steps below:
Log in to your BAM account > My Events > View Booking > My Sessions
Self-Guided Campus Walks
Self-Guided Campus Walks
Take some time out from the Lecture Theatres and go for our specially created walks around Royal Holloway’s campus. Taking approximately 30 minutes, these walks offers an opportunity to explore more of the campus, enjoy its green surroundings, and connect with fellow delegates in an informal setting.
Royal Holloway Self-Guided Campus Walk
'Escape the Room' Self-Guided Wellbeing Walk
Musical Performance at The Chapel
Musical Performance at The Chapel
Location: The Chapel, Founders Building
Dates/Times: Wednesday 9th September - 20:00 - 20:30 SOLD OUT I Thursday 10th September - 12:30 - 13:00
(Meet 15 minutes before at Windsor Foyer)
Capacity: 100
Housed in one of the most spectacular university buildings in the world, and completed in 1886, the beautiful gilded chapel includes bas-reliefs by Ceccardo Fucigna and a fine three-manual organ.
To pre-register, please follow the steps below:
Log in to your BAM account > My Events > View Booking > My Sessions
The Chapel will be open throughout the Conference for individual prayer and quiet space. The above are the only times that access will be registration only.
Crosslands Bar – Thursday Evening Socialising
Crosslands Bar – Thursday Evening Socialising
On Thursday evening, the Crosslands Bar will be open for delegates looking to socialise in a relaxed, informal setting.
Due to capacity limitations for this year's Gala Networking Reception, provisions have been made to open Crosslands Bar as an alternative venue for those unable to secure Gala tickets.
Key Information:
- Opening Hours: 19:30 - 22:00
- Capacity & Access: Maximum capacity is 87 people. Entry and seating are strictly on a first-come, first-served basis, with capacity monitored by venue staff.
- Offerings: A selection of draught beers, spirits, soft drinks, tea, and coffee.
- Payment & Operation: Crosslands Bar is an independent commercial entity on campus, not managed or funded by BAM. Purchases are individual pay-as-you-go via card payments only. (American Express is not accepted.)
CoStar Futures Studio Virtual Tour - SOLD OUT
CoStar Futures Studio Virtual Tour - SOLD OUT
Location: Co-Star Futures Lab,
Date: Thursday 10th September 2026
Times: 12:00 - 12:45 I 12:45 - 13:30 (Meet 15 minutes before at Windsor Foyer)
Capacity: 30 (per session)
What does academia-industry collaboration look like when it works?
At BAM2026, you can see one up close.
Part of the £51.1m CoSTAR National Lab, the Futures Studio at Royal Holloway, University of London, is a research & development facility dedicated to advancing virtual production, immersive media, and spatial audio.
Researchers and creative companies work side by side to turn ideas into market-ready tools -- a living case of collaboration and de-risking R&D in action.
Prof Peter Richardson, Co-Director of StoryFutures, will lead a demo of the studio, from its 10.5m LED volume to its next-generation audio capabilities.
For anyone weighing how research translates into innovative practice, it's a rare chance to see the theory made real.
Join us during the conference.
The Futures Studio at Royal Holloway, University of London is a research and development facility dedicated to advancing virtual production, immersive media and next-generation audio technologies for the creative industries.
As part of the CoSTAR National Lab’s facilities, the studio provides a collaborative space where researchers, students and industry partners can experiment with tools such as LED-volume virtual production, real-time rendering and spatial audio to develop new forms of storytelling and media production.
The Futures Studio also serves as a testbed for a major new facility - the CoSTAR Stage at Pinewood Studios, which will be led by the same team and will bring large-scale virtual production and creative-technology R&D directly into one of the world’s leading film studio environments.
The Futures Studio was jointly funded by Royal Holloway, University of London and Surrey County Council.
Specifications
The Futures Studio is a prototyping facility that offers the following core production and research capabilities:
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LED volume-based virtual production for real-time environments and in-camera backgrounds
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Real-time Unreal Engine pipelines for interactive scene rendering and virtual environments
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Camera tracking and in-camera VFX enabling parallax-correct imagery on LED walls
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High-end cinema camera capture with professional cinema cameras, lenses, and motion rigs
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Immersive and spatial audio production, including multichannel playback and recording
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XR and mixed-reality experimentation using VR/AR headsets and 3D scanning tools
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Live performance and music production in an acoustically treated studio environment
These capabilities are supported by a dedicated LED virtual production stage, camera tracking systems, high-performance rendering servers, immersive audio infrastructure and XR capture tools, enabling small-to-medium scale film, television, music and immersive media productions.
Yoga - SOLD OUT
Yoga - SOLD OUT
Location: Sports Centre - Jane Holloway Building
Instructor: Maxine
Date: Wednesday 9th September 2026
Time: 15:30 - 16:10 (Meet 15 minutes before at Windsor Foyer)
Capacity: 20
Take a moment to stretch, unwind, and recharge with an on-campus yoga session on Wednesday 9th September from 15:30 - 16:10.
No experience is needed. Mats are provided—just wear comfortable clothing.
Spaces are limited to 20 participants, so please book online to secure your place.
Dr Catherine Elizabeth Georgiou
Dr Catherine Elizabeth Georgiou is a Lecturer of International Business at Royal Holloway University of London in the SIBE (Strategic International Business and Entrepreneurship department). Her research interests include international cooperation, information economics, and the institutional environment. She has published in leading publications including Management International Review, and the International Small Business Journal.
Picture Gallery Guided Tour - SOLD OUT
Picture Gallery Guided Tour - SOLD OUT
Location: Picture Gallery, Founders Building
Guide: Kathryn
Date: Wednesday 9th September 2026 and Thursday 10th September
Time: 10:15 - 10:45 (Meet 15 minutes before at Windsor Foyer)
Capacity: 30
RHUL’s Art Collections Officer, Kathryn, leading the tours. She usually offers introductory talks covering Thomas Holloway and the early history of the College, the development of the Picture Gallery, and highlights from the collection.
