After 30 years, a daytime life drawing class at Hampstead Community Centre has been told to either cover up its models or relocate. The Times has the story.
Tony Swann, who runs the daytime class, said he had been told by the trust running Hampstead Community Centre in North London that there were safeguarding concerns.
Hilary Curtis, a 63 year-old life model, said: “The fact they said we could stay if we switched to using clothed models makes it seem very clear to me that it is prudishness.”
Swann added: “The class has been running for 30 years and in that time no children have been outraged, no parents have been outraged.”
He said that an early morning toddler’s group had “cleared out by the time I turn up” and the drawing class ended long before an after-school club at 3.30pm.
“It just seems a morality thing,” he said. “It strikes me as almost like the Taliban coming in saying you can’t run a class. I wasn’t aware that it was a dangerous thing to be doing.”
Curtis said: “Capturing the human form presents a unique challenge. Throughout the history of western art it has been the core discipline for professional artists who want to challenge themselves. It hones observational skills and hand-to-eye co-ordination, while people pursuing it for leisure find it an incredibly rewarding and absorbing activity.”
She said that one of the core stated aims of the trust running the community centre was to “support activity for older people to combat social isolation” and yet “most of the people who attend that class are clearly retired people”. …
Guy Wingate, a trustee of the community centre, confirmed there had been “safeguarding concerns” which for confidentiality and data protection reasons he could not share.
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