Guess who's back in the Wick?

After an eight-month long hiatus, Hackney Wick’s inimitable night of experimental performance is preparing to return to its home of Oslo House next Thursday, 14th November.

We first profiled Runt of the Litter in the The Wick back in July 2022, as one of the most positive local creative endeavours to emerge from the societal shock of the Covid lockdown.

Founder Becky O’Brien told us back then that she wanted to create a platform - and host it in her own warehouse home - for “the weird shit, the unwanted stuff, the art that’s not really understood or seen as useful…I’m most interested in art that asks questions without trying to hammer home some obvious message.”

So, for this month’s eagerly-anticipated return, expect nothing less than outlandish and boundary-pushing performances from artists including macarbre cabaret duo Venus Raven and Tainted Saint, multidisciplinary political poet and Sexquisite Events founder Maedb Joy and loads more unexpected thrills and genuinely edgy talent, all in one place.

Register for free and pay what you can on the door.

The CIG meets again this Friday morning - everyone is welcome

🥫 Yes We Can is a new exhibition curated by Hackney Wick’s own Teddy Baden, featuring work by over 80 of renowned street artists, who have all customised their exhausted spraycans, many of which are for sale. It’s showing at Green Lanes-based Atom Gallery, with an opening party on Friday 8th Nov, and then the show runs daily until 30th Nov.

🤣 It's the return of local stand-up comedy fest Live at Stratford East this Friday 8th Nov featuring regular Mock the Week panelist Rhys James, the excellent Michal Odewale, and acclaimed comic Anita Magliano, with headliner direct from TV’s ‘Live at the Apollo’, Suzi Ruffell.

📽️ UCL’s School for the Creative and Cultural Industries Cinema Club is hosting a rare free screening on the Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves 90s classic Point Break, complete with an introduction to the themes of masculinity, homosocial bonding, games and play by Professor Tim Beasley-Murray. It’s at One Pool St Cinema on Wed Nov 20th.

📖 There's a free book launch at the stunning HTA Design offices on Wallis Rd next Tuesday, 12th Nov as author Flora Johnston speak with literary agent Lisa Houghton about her paperback release, ‘The Paris Peacemakers’, following the lives of three Scots in 1919 as they pick up their pieces of their lives as Europe is similarly stitched back together - for good of for ill.

🎧 Vinyl treasure-seeking for intrepid crate-diggers across all musical styles an genres is back, as Hackney Bridge Record Fair returns to the canalside Echo Building this Sunday 10th Nov. and it’s only a quid to get in.

🎧 High energy DJ heroine OK Williams (pictured) kicks off a month-long residency of Saturday nights at Color Factory this Sat, 9th Nov. The first installment of UK HUN? will see her performing a special B2B set with Mitsu alongside this week’s special guests Jossy and Drea.

🎶 It’s the 5th birthday special for the Onda Onda DJ Collective at Grow on Friday 8th Nov. The crew, hailing from Japan, Brazil, Uruguay and the UK, bring a suitably global musical outlook to their show on Netil Radio and magical club events, where the motto is ‘good vibes only’.

🕯️ If the US election results and other external dramas are getting too much, there are multiple chances to relax and find stillness with gong baths at Prince Edward Rd wellness hub Akasa. Tonight, Wed 6th Nov, there’s a Deep Connection and Relaxation Gong Bath taking you on a journey through sound, scent, vibration, intention and letting go. Or on Thurs 14th Nov there’s a Full Moon Women's Gong Bath Ceremony complete with journaling and Mugwort Tea. All are hosted by Akasa’s own Sunita Kaur.

🍵 The Trowbridge Gardens Parents & Carers Coffee Morning is back on Monday 11th November, this time with special guest host and infant sleep consultant Kerry Seckler, founder of Care It Out, with loads of advice on getting a decent night’s sleep for all the family.

📺 Missed the recent webinar on how to introduce better circular economy practices to your business, hosted by The Loop? Well the full hour of [ReRoute KX] Turning Circular Challenges Into Opportunities for Innovation is now available to watch in your own time on the HW&FT Community Development Trust’s new YouTube channel.

🏙️ Head to Bow Arts Nunnery Gallery this Sat 9th Nov for An ode to ‘Castles’ – an alternative characterisation of Ends with Nabil Al-Kinani, a workshop which explores the beauty and preservation of social housing estates and the people who make them what they are. You will be prompted to build your own love letter to urban space - with no writing experience required.

🧵 Local community creativity champions Caramel Rock and youth boxing, martial arts and personal development organisation Fight For Peace have come together for a new series of Fight For Peace after school club on Mondays and Wednesdays, where locals can learn sewing essentials, pattern cutting and fashion design fundamentals.

🖋️ The Good Growth Hub and a collection of the world’s leading design agencies are running a three-month training, with a £500 bursary and Macbook Pro provided for the duration of the course. Flipside 2025 is open to 19-30-year olds living locally who are committed to a career in design. Applications now open until 24th Nov.

🎤 There’s another chance to join a two-day song writing camp with The Inscape coming up across the weekend of 23-24th November in the studios at Grow. The Wick newsletter readers who use the code ‘CREATIVEWICK’ when booking get an exclusive 10% off too.

👩‍🎓 Loughborough University London is inviting local organisations to explore research collaborations with their masters students as part of the upcoming Collaborative Dissertation project. It gives you access to rigorously supervised research, and you can find out more about it either in person (on the Here East campus) or online at a special event on Wed Nov 27th. Register your interest here.

🗣️ Local residents meetup Hackney Wick Town Hall has announced a new partnership with the the Community Development Trust that aims to give greater power to the community over decisions that matter in the neighboourhood.

❎ It’s your last chance to nominate an individual or local organisation who you feel has made a selfless and positive contribution to live in Hackney at the Love Hackney Awards 2025 across no less than 10 different categories, from good neighbour to high street hero.

🍑 Youth creative art charity Skaped, in collaboration with Bethnal Green’s Vagina Museum are offering a paid opportunity for five young locals (18-30 years old) to spend a day co-designing a new mural for the museum. Focusing on body empowerment and bodily autonomy, the artwork will be created on Dec 7th following an interview process. Applications close 8th Nov.

🏢 London College of Fashion UAL are looking for a Specialist Technician (Learning and Teaching) Garment Technology to provide students with invaluable technical instruction in garment construction, pattern cutting, and the application of garment technology, ensuring that industry standards and innovative methods are upheld. Applications close 11th Nov.