adidas Originals and GUAP celebrate the graduation of the latest Originals Creator Network cohort

This week, adidas Originals and GUAP celebrated the graduation of the 2024 Originals Creator Network (OCN) cohort, a creative career development programme for young emerging London talent.

The celebration was held at London’s prestigious Somerset House, where the cohort of ‘Originals’ exhibited a diverse range of photographic, film, and graphic design works, created under this year’s theme of the ‘Year of Sport’. 

The pieces created explore athlete lives, sport communities and representation within sport, resulting in a vibrant and dynamic celebration of athleticism and artistic innovation. 

Since its 2022 inception, adidas Originals and GUAP have successfully led three cohorts through the OCN programme supporting a total of 60 London creatives. Set over five months, the ‘Originals’ explore a range of skills including creative direction and production, as well as receiving an end-of-programme grant to facilitate the creation of a final piece of work.

The OCN programme is set to land in Manchester in partnership with Factory International at Aviva Studios later this year, where participants will have access to educational workshops led by industry experts and receive support from mentors over the five month period.

Discover more on the 2024 London OCN’s final works below. 

Beyond The Track

Creators: Geneve Chu, Lily Mackintosh, Tiffany Raab, Motunrayo Sowunmi & Aicha Thomas

Samuel Reardon is a British track and field athlete who competes over 400m and 800m. After becoming the British Indoor Champion over 400 metres, he joined the 4x400m mixed relay team before participating in the 4x400m metres men’s relay at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. We were moved by his story and his openness to share his journey with us ‘Beyond the Track’.

We aim to celebrate Reardon as not only an emerging adidas athlete, but as a creative. In addition to highlighting his relationships and interests that contribute to his career, we also want to give people a glimpse into his preparation for races alongside his positive attitude to training and competitions.

Bodies in Motion

Creators: Sahara Malcolm-Smith, Melissa Ewuraba Anaman, Kammie Kaktyte, Kat Friar, Chiara Xie

Take a closer look into the lives of our athletes, as they give us insight into their journeys so far. Our goal was to empower them as individuals and as athletes and make them feel respected within their sports.

Sinead is an aspiring bodybuilder who trains daily, working towards her goals of winning her first title in the field. Esther is a pole dancer under the alias Xanniest, who combines fitness with sensuality to create stunning dance moves when she spins on the pole. Our aerial acrobat, Grace contorts her body in various dynamic shapes while suspended in the air.

Hallowed Ground

Creators: Matt Jennings, Andrei Singco, André Martin, Lex Lee

Hallowed Grounds explores sports heritage through a collection of individual artworks and physical artefacts. The project features sports cards, stickers, and posters, memorabilia that archives contemporary sporting activities and hobbies, providing a window into the ways sports shape our lives and memories.

Common Ground

Creators: Sergio L Lopez Borja, Hannah Murrell, Lucien Phoenix, Sam Mvemba

In sports, we nurture bonds with strangers. We build our chosen families as we struggle, fight, and overcome, and the community we surround ourselves with becomes a ritual part of our life.

In this exhibition, we explore this theme, through different sporting communities, looking at what it means to have spaces to move and train, how gyms can become front rooms, tracks, back gardens, and the city our home.

We invite you to explore your common ground through the shared sports experience.