Today, we’re announcing a major new project, brought to you with love by The Wick.

We’re curating the best photography, art and storytelling from the newspaper into a beautifully-crafted, limited edition hardback photobook, to be printed mid-November in good time for Christmas gifting.

The Wick – 15 Years of Culture, Community & Change will be a coffee table essential for everyone with an interest in the dramatic changes seen in Hackney Wick & Fish Island since the coming of the London 2012 Olympics.

With 160 pages of historic and artistic images, plus inspirational stories of the joys and pains, the battles and victories (and their scars), the book will reveal how the area’s unique creative spirit has persisted, despite – and often in direct response to – the ongoing upheaval of massive urban regeneration.

It’s an unfinished story, but one that deserves to be told; right here, right now.

All proceeds raised from the book will go towards growing The Wick’s continued coverage of local people, places, events and businesses, plus the monthly open-access Cultural Interest Group (CIG) meetings, delivered by Creative Wick.

The CIG meets again this Friday morning - all welcome

🦍 The self-proclaimed ‘exhibition like no other’ opens this Fri 8th Aug at The Copper Box as virtual band Gorillaz blaze back into our collective consciousness with their hot immersive experience, House of Kong, that runs for a limited time only (until 3rd Sept). Damon Albarn and the rest of the performers behind-the-comic-book band are also playing some sold out live gigs in the venue at the end of the month, with resale tickets your only chance of being there, so stay sharp on those waitlists…

🌈 The 20th anniversary edition of UK Black Pride is back in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for the third time on Sun 10th Aug. Expect all the energy including performances, DJs, talks, community stalls and workshops. It’s totally free and is the world's largest pride celebration for LGBTQI+ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Latin American and Middle Eastern-descent. (See below for details of the official Hackney Wick afters, too).

🏙️ Platformed is a new collaborative print exhibition celebrating some of East London often-overlooked architectural gems, in particular London City Airport DLR station. Presented by local artist and founder of One Plus Photography, Hajia Dahiru, the exhibition focuses on the unique design and form of key public spaces – including the DLR station itself – and highlights how infrastructure can also be cultural landmarks. It opens this Fri 8th Aug at Stratford Library, where it will then be on display until 31st Aug.

📸 The third talk in the series from top London photographers taking place at the World Press Photo Exhibition at Here East’s MPB Gallery takes place on Wed 13th Aug, with the award-winning Laura Pannack and Nwaka Okparaeke, a photographer known for her signature vibrancy of colour and unexpected compositions.

🎭 Kwame Owusu's adaptation of Shakespeare's classic Romeo & Juliet set against an East London skyline with music and dance is a summer highlight at Stratford East from Thurs 7th - Sat 9th Aug. The cast is made up of non-professional performers drawn from the Stratford East Young Company, a new company of Sadler’s Wells young dancers, and a chorus featuring Newham residents.

🌞Elevate your midweek on the roof terrace of The Lord Napier now the sun’s back, as you’ll find 100 FREE glasses of Lady A Rosé being dished out tonight, Wed 6th Aug, from 6pm. And when that lot have run out, further glasses of the pale, crisp, highly quaffable vino will then be only £5, all night long. Meanwhile, remember that the Napier and sister pub The Leyton Star are running a summer special of half price karaoke rooms on Fridays all this month.

🥳 NYC/LDN based promotion XOXA come to the terrace at Crate Brewery for an open air day-into-night party this Sat 9th Aug on what promises to be another scorchio all-dayer. And if it all gets a bit much, there’s a morning of yoga, somatic movement and breathwork at the Silo loft the following morning on Sun 10th, ending with a delicious communal brunch for all involved.

🎉 It’s an epic weekend at Queen’s Yard venue The Color Factory, that first of all celebrates its 4th birthday on Sat 9th Aug with an epic triple dancefloor bash featuring FKA.M4A. Dee Diggs, Rattlesnakke, De Schuurman and loads more all night long.

Then on Sun 10th the venue hosts The official UK Black Pride Afterparty (see above for details of the main event) with a party to honour the revolutionary impact of queer BIPOC women, non-binary, and trans DJs on London’s club scene, past, present and future.

🎨 Mainyard Leyton’s The Oneness Gallery has an open call for submissions to an international art campaign supported by the British Consulate-General for an upcoming exhibition in Hong Kong exploring self-love, healing, and authenticity. Thirty digital works will be selected and displayed at the dynamic Asian city’s Park Lane Hotel and promoted across their partner platforms, as well as three top works winning a cash prize. Apply by Fri 8th Aug. 

💷 Hackney Council’s Voluntary & Community Sector Grants Programme has just launched this week, and is now accepting applications for 2025 and 2026. There is funding available for a variety of goals including projects that support local residents at risk of harm from deep rooted inequalities, help build infrastructure and support systems for Black and Global Majority-led orgs, test new ideas and projects and support physical activity in the borough.

🦺 The COLLABORATE: SAFER SPACES Commission offers four diverse-led teams support and up to £50k each in flexible funding to develop collaborative ideas around the theme of ‘Safer Spaces’, as part of the final round of Westfield East Bank Creative Futures Fund, supported by Westfield Stratford City and Foundation for Future London. The commission will provide time and space to develop, test and embed collaborative work, with wraparound co-designed support at each stage. Apply by 18th Aug.

♨️ The Community Sauna Baths have two job openings at the moment as they look to preserve the spirit and heritage of their home at The Bath House building, while bringing structure and reliability to its management for the future. Apply now for Building Manager position and also for the role of Events Manager, across all their London sites.

Via interviews with artists and organisers, and footage shot in the run-up to and during the much-missed Hackney Wicked arts festival in the summer of 2010, this video is a snapshot of a moment in time for the neighbourhood and it’s artist community.

If you’ve got a video you’d like us to consider including in this new slot, do get in touch: [email protected]