The Wick Curiosity Shop will come to the Wick in early March for a week long outing. We are currently looking for an empty shop to take over. Please get in touch if you know of any exciting locations.
As part of the week long outing we will be hosting 5 walks as part of the Route Book project. Re-Planting Sunflower Avenue, revisiting Printers Paradise, Knitting our way through the wick, Take a swim in the canal and explore all things fish.
Also up and coming on the Horizon are the brand new 'WICK SESSIONS' hosted by the Curiosity Shop. Bringing together Wick based projects and the people behind it for an informal chat.
Watch this space for more or sign up to our mailing list to keep posted.
Collecting stories of the River Lea Navigation Canal between
Hackney Wick to Old Ford Lock
What can you tell us about the canal?
What do you remember?
Come and meet Chris Dorley Brown, Jessie
Brennan and Daniel Lehan who are creating new artworks about the
canal.
The event starts with a film screening which includes rare footage of Cliff Richard and The Shadows' visit to Hackney Wick in the 1960s, plus scenes from Lesney Toy Factory, Hackney's first computer pub, Kingsmead Estate and the Trowbridge blowdown. 11am to 11.45am.
Then join the artists to add your stories and contribute to the creation of a physical map of Hackney Wick from 12 - 2pm
Saturday 22nd January
11am to 2pm
Free - Refreshments provided
Hackney Museum , 1 Reading Lane, E8 1GQ
All children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an
adult.
The Cut is an oral history project led by artists and produced by SPACE. Three artists and a team of local volunteers are exploring the Hackney Cut, or Lea River Navigation Canal , and the industrial, physical and social history of Hackney Wick. By collecting stories (up to the present day) from the people who work and live alongside the canal the project will document the importance of The Cut to the community in an area undergoing huge change.
Contact: Fiona Fieber fifi@spacestudios.org.uk 0208 525 4347 www.spacestudios.org.uk
Some images of the seed bomb walk to plant wild flower seeds along Sunflower Avenue on a sunny Sunday morning in Hackney Wick.
Sunflower Avenue connects MaBley Green to Victoria Park cutting straight through the heart of Hackney Wick. It is a Local Initiative by Lea Bank Square Purple Garden to establish a planted connection between the two local parks
View
Sunflower Abenue in a larger map
As part of 'Made in Hackney Wick' public works has secured a commission from muf architecture & art to run a project in the Hackney Wick entitled 'Route Book'.
As the landscape of Hackney Wick and Fish Island changes once again and new routes are being cut across the area, bridges being build and new connections being made we will revisit every day journeys, walks and narratives that cut through Hackney Wick and Fish Island from a very local perspective.
'Route Book' will directly contribute to - and be a continuation of the Wick Curiosity Shop. Watch this space.
![The Cut - an oral histroy project by [SPACE]](/img/wcs/h2/trans/000000/The%20Cut%20-%20an%20oral%20histroy%20project%20by%20%5BSPACE%5D.png)
SPACE has received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund for a major new artist led project in Hackney Wick.
Over 8 months, from September 2010, oral historian, Lisa Rigg, will work with SPACE and artists to capture and then present the outcomes in March 2011, storing the histories at Hackney Museum and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The artists will engage with diverse groups of local people in these areas through collaborative and participatory processes. Spaces for dialogue will be created within communities, through which divergent histories and aspirations for the future may be explored. The programme will build on SPACE's current collaborations, such as Hackney Wick Festival, to create initiatives that will be realised in both highly visible and socially embedded ways.
For more information or if you want to get involved click here
For information on the Lauch event which will take place as part of the Hackney Wick Festival click here
The Guardian has published a short film profiling Hackney Wick showing some familiar faces and places.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/davehillblog/video/2009/nov/19/2012-olympics-hackney-wick
The Art of Regeneration: creating an artistic and community legacy for London 2012
Hilary Powell will be taking part in what looks to be an interesting event on 24th November 2009 - 5-8pm. The event, taking place at Goldsmith's College (Lecture Theatre RHB 309) where the Centre for Urban and Community Research's focus is on the cultural and visual exploration of the built and social fabric of cities will centre on the artistic, cultural and community legacy of Olympic Regeneration stratagies.
Speakers include: Sarah Weir (Head of Arts and Cultural Strategy for the Olympic Delivery Authority), Emma Wheelhouse (Senior Stakeholder and Community Engagement Manager, Olympic Legacy Company), Professor Graeme Evans, Director of the Cities Institute London Metropolitan University, Gesche Wuerfel (photographer), Dr Hilary Powell (artist).
The panel will be chaired by the director of the Centre (Professor Caroline Knowles). A photographic exhibition will supplement the event.
You can register for the event at the Legacy Now website (look up events, calendar) or write direct to legacynow@lda.gov.uk
Hilary Powell's article 'Olympic Sports Spirits and Stories' highlighting the range of artistic activities happening around the the London 2012 Olympic site and including the Wick Curiosity Shop is available to read in the new publication 'Critical Cities: Ideas, Knowledge and Agitation from Emerging Urbanists'. It is the first in a series of books produced by urban platform This Is Not A Gateway, in association with independent publisher Myrdle Court Press. It brings together a collection of critical papers, visual essays, transcripts of recorded conversations and actions by emerging urbanists.
The Wick Curiosity Shop made it into The New Statesman:
.... There has, however, already been a prolific response to the London Olympics from artists in east London. For an "alternative cultural Olympiad", visit the Wick Curiosity Shop.
to read the full article click here