explore change, belonging, home & gentrification in Hackney
Gentrification is an issue few can escape living in London, particularly for those of us living on a budget. With city-wide marches on rising rents to cereal and cat cafes populating the media, there’s plenty to say on the issue, and Hackney is often the first place on people’s lips when it comes to discussing hipsters and displacement. But what are the real impacts of changing London boroughs on the people, places and environments? Spatial dislocation is often described as a ‘zero-sum’ game but is there a possibility for integration and a re-visioning of space?
The free ‘Creating Hackney as Home‘ event focuses on telling the story from a local perspective, showing 5 short films from the Open University’s “Creating Hackney as Home” research project in partnership with Hackney-based ‘Immediate Theatre’ and ‘Mouth that Roars’. The films made by five young peer-researchers explore issues of home and belonging for young people in Hackney and how they manage and think about these changes in their everyday lives.
Creating Hackney as Home
From journeys through and across the city come explorations of the impact of gentrification and the history of style, as well as reflections on growing up and out of space and managing everyday cultural diversity.
The event will also screen the provocative and acclaimed ‘Legacy in the Dust’ (2008), Winstan Whitter’s film highlighting the life and death of Dalston’s legendary ‘Four Aces Club’. Today, the streets of Dalston morph as night falls and people from over London flock to the many bars that have sprung up, but few appreciate the musical heritage of the area. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Four Aces Club showcased some of the most influential black music to pass through London, including artists such as Desmond Dekker, Ben E. King and Jimmy Cliff while being frequented by the likes of Bob Marley, Bob Dylan and the Sex Pistols. A hub in the golden days of reggae, it was transformed in the 1980s into ‘Labyrinth’ , a centre of the rave scene featuring acid house, drum and bass, and jungle.
The legendary Four Aces Club in Dalston – Pic by legacyinthedust.net
The director, Winstan Whitter, will be present on the night to discuss his film and long-term documentary film work in Hackney, as well as some of the film-makers and researchers from the ‘Creating Hackney as Home’ project for a unique Q&A opportunity which should provide for some lively discussions.
Trailer for the film:
The event is FREE but please book with jan.smith (@) open.ac.uk
What: Creating Hackney as Home
When: Thursday 5th March, 6.30pm
Where: The Russet, Hackney Downs Studios, 17 Amhurst Terrace, London E8 2BT
Cost: FREE
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You may also want to check the free film screenings in London in March.
