Take a rare peek inside these local landmarks

We’re in the midst of Open House London 2024, which affords us all the rare chance to have a nosey around iconic local buildings, places and spaces not usually open to the public.

Despite some key attractions getting heavily booked up, there are plenty of drop-in sessions across the coming days everywhere from breweries to bus stations, churches to private homes, here in East London and right across the capital.

In these parts, Saturday’s highlights include Cody Dock (pictured above) where you’ll find exhibitions, live folk music, workshops and demonstrations of that award-winning rolling bridge, open studios at Grow, guided tours inside Hackney Bridge and architect-led walks around the glorious hospital-turned-council-HQ Tower Hamlets Town Hall.

♻️ Before all that though, Wallis Road’s circular economy hub The Loop throws its doors wide to the general public tomorrow evening, Thursday 19th September, 5pm-9pm. Last chance to register for free to come and discover all the phenomenal work now taking place at this experimental community ownership project, with networking and drinks too. See you there…

🍯 Starting today, Wednesday 18th Sept, and running through until Saturday as we come out of another London Fashion Week is Adidas Formations, an exhibition of 11 wheel-thrown sculptures by Brooklyn-based ceramic designer (and goalkeeper) Lev Rosenbush at Indra Gallery. His studio, Halftime, has worked with the famous sports brand to reinterpret traditional symbols of athletic success, such as trophies, capturing the emotional complexity, movement, and dynamism of the beautiful game, alongside the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, which finds beauty in imperfections and life’s impermanence.

🩻 You can’t have failed to have encounter the emotive skeleton characters of Squarms adorning the streets of Hackney Wick and far beyond. Tonight (Wed 18th) at Two More Years, they are launching a solo show of drawings and paintings as the latest in the ongoing series of month-long gallery pop-ups.

🩰 Help raise money for a charity offering orphaned children in Kenya and Malawi an arts education, including ballet, music and circus on Sunday 22nd Sept, at Anno’s Africa Fundraising Concert and Circus Show at Juju’s Bar and Stage in Shoreditch. Actor-supporters Hayley Mills hosts, while Adrian Dunbar is among the performers.

🐘 Smeed Road's Not For Sale Gallery is currently showing Even Elephants Have Elections, by artists Maria and Polina Pomidor, who explore the relationship between individuals and autocratic states, inviting the audience to reflect on their own experiences with freedom of speech. The exhibition features a series of flags from project, SPEECH(LESS), as well as a series of political watercolors and is open Sundays until the end of the month or by appointment.

🏗️ Wicked Changes IV is the latest edition in Felstead Arts exhibition series exploring how East London artists respond to current social and urban challenges of large-scale redevelopment; who is involved in creating the new image of the area, and who is left behind. See the exhibition at The Trampery now. Runs until November 30th.

🔓 Space Studios are offering the chance to visit over 300 artists across their 11 East London studio buildings across the last two weekends of the month, 20th - 29th September. Check out the various dates and times for each location.

🎥 Book now for a special screening of previously banned cult movie classic Foxy Brown as part of Token Homo’s Bar Trash film nights. Following the sad closure of Rule Zero, the new pop-up home of Beer Merchants Tap kicks off on October 9th.

🎺 Beloved genre-defying selector Patrick Forge is at Grow this Saturday, 21st Sept, to take you on a 4-hour eclectic musical journey as he headlines regular jazz, broken beat, Latin soul and disco shindig DeepDig.

🎤 Expect a roadblock at Colour Factory on Saturday (21st) as the after party following Asake’s big concert at the 02 sees DJs, dancing competitions and even a £1k money drop keep the post gig glow vibes going late into the night.

👁️ The Contemporary Visual Arts Network London and UCL Pearl in Dagenham are running for a day exploring innovative ways to view and curate art in different contexts. The Opening Up The World: A Multisensorial Approach to the Future of Visual Arts event will test ways to make art accessible and inclusive ways of making art exhibitions, transpose art to locations around the world, and leverage data for inclusive audience development. It’s a great opportunity to expand your creative practice and curatorial ideas through scientific possibilities, with bursaries are available for artists to take part. Wednesday 25th September, 2pm – 5pm.

🍏 Saturday (21st) sees a Fire Cider Immunity Building Tonic workshop at the Mobile Garden by Hackney Bridge, teaching you how to brew a strong tonic made from apple cider vinegar infused with herbs, spices, and other seasonal immune-boosting ingredients. You’ll be able to take a jar home to share afterwards, too. (Adults only).

🤷🏻‍♂️ Then on Sunday (22nd), the Mobile Garden hosts two workshops with their partners in sustainable fashion, with a Flax to Fibre Processing session for all abilities in the morning, and a Fresh Leaf Indigo Dyeing workshop in the afternoon, where participants can update their wardrobe with new aqua-marine shades but zero chemicals or waste.

💅🏻 Not one but two new nail bar openings in the area this month, and both are offering tasty introductory offers. TW Nails Club at Omega Works currently has 30% off all treatments to celebrate their grand opening, while the new Rookwood Way canalside branch of Dream Nails has a promotional soft launch period of 50% off all treatments running from 24th Sept - 15th October. 

🎾Fab Tennis is offering limited spaces for girls aged 5-12 to enjoy free tennis sessions on Saturdays, right through to the end of the year. It all takes place at Eastway’s Young Hackney, sign up now to secure a spot.

🙏Community meditation sessions at are held every Tuesday to Thursday at 7am at Akasa, to get your day of to a really positive start. There’s complimentary tea and seasoned practitioners on hand to help guide you.

💁🏻‍♂️ The Help to Grow: Management Programme is an opportunity for local SME founders to boost their leadership skills and their business performance. The programme is delivered by business experts at Fashion Business School, LCF and is 90% funded by the UK Government, but if you are an alumnus and/or networked with UAL and meet the eligibility requirements, you can get a bursary so the entire 12-week programme, including 1-1 mentoring, will be fully funded. The next course begins on 30th October.

🚺 Tower Hamlets is launching two fully-funded programmes to support female-led businesses or community/voluntary sector organisations in the borough. Women Mean Business will support 50 small independent such businesses to expand, while the Social Enterprise Impact Project will do the same for 50 voluntary groups. There’s a launch event on midday-2pm tomorrow, Thursday 19th September at the town hall - register here.

🎬 Hackney residents (aged 18 or over) with a passion for a career in the movie or TV industry should take advantage of Hackney Council’s exciting FREE training in partnership with Screen Hackney, which is led by industry experts. The two-day Set Ready programme will train you in the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to work as a Location Marshal on large-scale film or TV productions. Upon completion, you'll be eligible for a paid placement on a major film or TV production. The course takes place 22nd & 23rd October - apply before Tuesday 1st October. 

☕ If you are looking for a creative workspace, Hackney Wick Arts Club currently have 5 spaces available in their vibrant, mixed-use workshop. For £175 per month, you’ll get your own workspace with a desk, wifi, and 24-hour access, plus perks like a coffee machine. Best of all, you’ll join a friendly community of skilled artisans, including boat builders, jewellers, welders, carpenters, cabinet makers, illustrators, and fine artists. Email [email protected] for more details or to arrange a viewing

🫂 For nearly a decade, Wick Award has been creating opportunities for young people, building community connections and improving wellbeing for all in the area. Now they are planning to establish a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) to continue this vital work for the future. Everyone is invited to a meeting on Tuesday 24th September from 6.30pm-8pm at Gascoyne 2 Community Hall where you’ll have a chance to share your priorities for Wick Award's future initiatives, learn more about the CIO plans and connect with other locals and groups looking to address the community’s most pressing needs.