What it's all about

The aim of my idea is to celebrate the diverse and transient nature of the community of Hackney by putting on an exhibition within the community. Working with other creative residents that originate from other corners of the globe but have now made Hackney their home, the plan is to interview further local people representative of the melting pot that is Hackney. From that, the range of artists will take inspiration from these people to develop further artworks collaboratively, and independently, celebrating the positive integration that exists in our community.

Culturally Hackney is remarkable. Its 200,000 residents come from every part of the world. Historically Hackney is a place where migrant communities arrived as transitory residents, then stayed and settled. That process continues today. The Afro-Caribbean community developed fully from the 1950s, but there has been a Black presence in Hackney since at least 1630. Similarly, people from the Indian subcontinent came to Hackney in numbers after the Second World War. There are major Turkish, Vietnamese and West African communities living side by side and Jewish people have been living in Hackney since 1684.
Diversity has been accompanied by tolerance and community cohesion. In the 2006 MORI survey of residents, 76% said that Hackney was a place where people from different backgrounds got on well together. This is much higher than other areas with similar population profiles.

This tolerance and open attitude has encouraged a strong artistic community to develop and flourish, and you'll find musicians, painters, sculptures and designers also calling this place home. They may come from France, America, Africa, Australia or even other parts of the UK but all have chosen to make this their home, at least for a time, before continuing on the transient trend of the residents of this part of London.
Some will settle here for good, others will take something with them of Hackney when they leave but all leave a legacy and a mark. It is this coming together and the result of the fusion of ideas and experiences that I wolud like to celebrate in this project.

Working with an artist friend of mine, Marnie Baumer, we would like to interview local residents about their time in Hackney, who they are, where they come from and what brought them here. From their stories we will take inspiration and create a range of artwork. We will also ask other people to respond creatively to the stories.

The results may take the form of sculpture, song, poetry or film and will be a direct response to our investigation into the exciting mix of local residents.

My aim is to carry out this project over the summer months in between the end of this year and the start of the September term. We would then put on an exhibition in Hackney at the end of the summer at one of the local gallery spaces. We would also hope to contact Hackney council to see if they would like to get involved. They may even let us exhibit in their gallery space.

The funding would help towards the cost of hiring equipment to carry out the filming, and the material production of the final artworks. It would also go towards the hire of the gallery space if we could not find one for free as well as the cost of promoting the exhibition.

"...It has been for centuries now a place that has respected points of view that are different from the mainstream; a place to which people have come to find refuge from the family and social pressures of being in some way different. We are a non-conformist borough and that's part of what makes Hackney a good place to live in..."
Councillor Geoff Taylor - Hackney Citizenship Ceremony

I would love to talk to you further about my idea and it would be great if you could contact me on 07814019384 or Lucy.Tomlins@slaughterandmay.com.

Regards

Lucy Tomlins

What's needed to make it a reality