FOTHCP are looking forward to seeing friends and community at the annual Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park Summer Fair!

This will be a day of fun activities, informative tours, stalls for local makers, delicious food and drink and of course a chance to find out more about the work the Friends do at Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park.

If you would like to apply for a stall or exhibitor space, please email contact@fothcp.org. We are particularly looking for:

• food and drinks stalls

• handmade crafts

• activities and workshops

• artists and makers

• face painting and hair braiding

• sustainable and eco organisations

• and more!

The Creative Enterprise Zones team is seeking to appoint a delivery partner for the London Made Me retail development programme 2024:

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/571e7d6d-53c0-4481-9881-ab78c55699d3

 About the programme:

The London Made Me retail development programme aims to give London's talented artists and creative businesses from across London's 12 Creative Enterprise Zones the opportunity to gain a hands-on experience of high street retail and launch their own retail offer to the public in a collective pop-up shop in a central London location.

 The 2024 edition:

Building on the highly successful 2022 and 2023 editions of the programme, the CEZ team is seeking to appoint a delivery partner who will:

• Provide a vital ‘through line’ for the three-part programme, acting as a key liaison across the LEARN, BUILD and TRADE phases, supporting participants with visible leadership, project management and problem-solving skills throughout.

• Support the participants to take part in a 'real time' shop-build alongside designers and tradespeople, and a month-long public trading period in a central London location during the festive season.

Information session

The team is running an information session for prospective bidders on 19 June 2024. You can sign up for the session here: https://forms.office.com/e/RBjkEkbMdE

 For more information, please visit the webpage.

At this symposium, we ask: how can we create safe spaces and facilitate participatory fashion practices that foster cultural sustainability and community resilience?

This event is part of the public engagement and cultural programme of the ‘Shifting Narratives’ exhibition delivered within the AHRC-funded project ‘Decolonising Fashion and Textiles’ led by Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF), London College of Fashion (LCF), University of the Arts London (UAL), with a wide range of partners. This participatory action research project explores the concepts of cultural sustainability and community resilience through the lived experiences of London-based refugees and asylum seekers. Throughout a reciprocal process of learning and making fashion and textiles, the project team and participants challenged dominant design practice and brought to the forefront the refugees’ shifting identities, cultural heritages, and collective visions for a more equitable and sustainable future.

To join this event for free online or in person, please click here.

Take part in one of five insightful tours to discover the outputs of ‘Decolonising Fashion and Textiles – Design for Cultural Sustainability with Refugee Communities’, a collaborative project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) led by Dr Francesco Mazzarella (Centre for Sustainable Fashion, London College of Fashion, University of the Arts London) across three east London boroughs (Newham, Tower Hamlets, and Waltham Forest) from 2022 to 2024.

Available times:

Tour 1: 13.00 – 13.30 (1pm - 1:30pm BST).

Tour 2: 14.30 – 15.00 (2:30pm - 3:00pm BST).

Tour 3: 16.00 – 16.30 BST (4:00pm - 4:30pm BST).

Tour 4: 17.30 – 18.00 BST (5:30pm - 6:00pm BST).

Tour 5: 18.30 – 19.00 BST (6:30pm - 7:00pm BST).

Throughout five immersive sections – focused on storytelling, making, learning, and activating – you can experience multi-media outputs, including textile autobiographies, a map, garments and accessories, textile artefacts, banners, photography and campaigning for policy change. You can gain insight into the lived experiences of London-based refugees and asylum seekers in relation to the themes of cultural sustainability and community resilience. At the tour, you will have the opportunity to engage with the Project Lead and fellow visitors to understand the reciprocal process of making and learning – through fashion and textiles – that brought this project to life.

For more information and to book your free ticket, click here.

The exhibition was made possible with the support of the Barbican Library, Arbeit Project Ltd, Bow Arts, the London boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest; Poplar HARCA, Rosetta Arts, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees.

This is an invite for 'Fashioning Stories of Change'. This is an event, as part of Refugee Week. Through performances and conversations, we will be celebrating refugees’ craft skills, personal and cultural identities, and stories of positive change, shaped through fashion and the visual arts.

This event is free to attend. For more information, please click here.

Due to popular demand, Art Friend are pleased to announce that ‘Rejects’ is returning to London for summer 2024. The premise is to showcase and celebrate some incredible artworks that have been overlooked by the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and to give the artists their chance to shine! 

We are looking for artists who have previously submitted work to the RA Summer Exhibition and didn't get selected but who still have their work available. Apply HERE If you do not already have an account with curatorspace.com, you will need to create an account in order to create your submission. It is free and easy to sign up!

Community Clothes Swap will be taking place in Plaistow Library.

This event is free to attend and no booking is required.

All you need to bring is gently used and cleaned clothing, accessories, shoes and bags.

TOMA (The Other MA) is a 2016 artist-run program in Southend-on-Sea. They offer affordable and accessible art education to artists facing barriers. They have an open call for their 2024 program and are looking for 15 artists to join. You can find more information, including open days and the application form on their website.

Deadline: 6pm on 12 January 2024

Evo Fashion – a high-impact programme designed to help fashion businesses improve their sustainability, increase team effectiveness and accelerate growth.

Delivered by Fashion District and Evo Learning, this five-month experiential programme for emerging brands and fashion technology businesses is free, funded by London & Partners as part of the Grow London Early Stage programme. Taking a holistic approach to business strategy, the programme will cover topics such as design for circularity, supply chain sustainability, ethical working standards, founder wellbeing and investment readiness.

Applications close on 8th January 2024. For more information and to apply, visit: www.evolearning.co/fashion

We are thrilled to share the exciting news that Alice Acreman has recently launched an exclusive capsule collection in collaboration with the renowned musician, John Legend.

There are a total of six stunning pieces, all of which will be exclusively available for purchase on Etsy from October until the end of December. Each one has been designed in Alice’s studio at our site in Leyton Green and skillfully crafted with the high quality Alice Acreman Silks is known for but infused with a touch of John Legend's style.

The two silk robes in prints 'Wild' and 'Embrace' are unisex garments made from luxurious silk and digitally printed with Alice’s own illustrations invoking warm and cosy winter vibes.

Pair the robes with coordinating bow ties and silk pocket squares, sold separately or as a set. Prices for accessories start at £48.

To shop the collection, please click here.

To find out more about the collection head over to Alice Acreman Silks Instagram and Website.

The Peoples Pantry Refill bus will be returning to Devonshire Road, N13 on Saturday the 16th December.

Come along to choose from over 200 pantry, bathroom and eco cleaner essentials!

Make sure to bring your own container as it is packaging free.

The refill bus is on Devonshire Road from 11:30am- 12:15pm.

Join us for a special night at St Mary of Eton, Hackney Wick, E9 5JA on Friday, December 8th.

Arrive at 7 pm to kick off a sumptuous three-course candlelit dinner at 7:30 pm. Just £25 gets you a delightful evening in a unique setting!

Your participation supports the weekly free community meal that's a favourite for many Hackney Wick residents.

Fancy a festive treat? Expect wine, live tunes, and heart-warming seasonal dishes.

Whether you're booking a table for the gang or a cosy corner spot for two, we've got you. Reserve your tickets now!

A 3 hour workshop with artist Elly Clarke to develop creative writing about your work for applications, websites, proposals, grants & exploration of your own processes.

The workshop is interactive and inclusive, where all attendees are urged to join in editing others' work. Prior to the session, time is dedicated to creating a safe environment for everyone to comfortably engage in heartfelt writing about art. The session will not be recorded.

Bring a 250-300 word artist statement you already have, to work on. Sharing your statement with the group is encouraged, but not compulsory!

Group will be a minimum of 6 people; max 12. We will take regular breaks. If we are only 6 people, the session will finish 20 minutes early.

This workshop is suitable for artists at all stages of their career.

Please book a ticket via Eventbrite.