A Summer of Open Studios - 2015

Every year, we open our doors and invite the people of London to explore the studios and meet the faces behind the exceptional creative work taking place every day at our hubs. This year, we had the chance to unveil a whole new building - Old Paradise Yard - as well as developments to our already established locations - like Netil Market’s new bar and sun trap terrace. With over 250 studios fully occupied across 3 locations, 3 cafes, 2 markets, a theatre, a rooftop bar and approximately 700 creatives in our workspaces every day.

Hackney Downs Studios

We started out the Open Studios hat-trick with Hackney Downs Studios at the beginning of June. With RSVP slots flying out the window and close to 3 thousand people making the trip down on the night, the evening was electric.

As always, the main focus of the night is the market leading work initiated, planned and produced daily by our residents. One of the most recent additions to the community 58 Gin, ran gin tasting sessions in his railway arch space as well as a pop-up bar in our Village Green.

Another highlight was the amazing indoor jungle cove, created by The Forge in their photography studios. We posed for many a photo ourselves, this is the only one we’re willing to share…

The Village Green and The Russet were packed with revellers watching the sun set over the old factory. With tunes from Hoxton Radio, booze from former resident Signature Brew and One Mile End and eats from resident Mama Jerk.

One of our biggest reveals this year was the launch of a brand new theatre inside the warehouse: the Hackney Showroom. Run by Sam Curtis Lindsay and Nina Lyndon, this huge theatre space is set to provide affordable, whilst still groundbreaking, theatre for all of East London. The theatre launched on March 25th with their debut show POLITRIX, developed by The Big House, who work with care-leavers in the local area.

OPEN STUDIOS 2015 | Hackney Downs Studios | Eat Work Art from EatWorkArt on Vimeo.

Netil House

Next up was the big brother in the family, Netil House. An established presence in the London Fields community since opening in 08, the building - and of course the area - has undergone a lot of change since then. 2015 is set to be a big year once again for Netil, with two big new openings Winter 15, we can’t wait to release teasers of what is coming up as well as reinforce the hot spots for summer, open every day: Netil Market and Netil360.

As always, we kicked proceedings off at Netil Market. This ever growing market has had an exceptional year. With multiple new shacks airlifted in (yup, we don’t do things by halves), a cheeky feature in the New York Times and a host of new regular weekly traders…visitors had a lot to take in. Highlights included people chilling out at the newly installed terrace bar, as well as the opening of Arma Glass who is a former member of the team here at EAT WORK ART, now terrarium maker extraordinaire.

Once inside the building, three floors of studios lay waiting to be explored. Everything from ethical fashion brand The Acey (Profile), who recently joined our community, partnering with our new favourite London Fields cafe Tiosk to offer treats alongside the newest trends…To Kat & Bee, who crafts her handmade jewellery collections from her studio here at Netil House.

The race to the roof commenced as folks couldn’t wait to soak in the views of the capital from our newly refurbished rooftop bar Netil360. DJs on the night Deadboy and Murlo kept the vibe strong, as people lined up and down the stairs for a chance to take a sneaky peek.

One last thank you to resident Craig Essam, who created the flyer and poster for the evening which you can see below…

Old Paradise Yard

The newest and littlest of the bunch, Old Paradise Yard, had its moment in the sun at the end of July. A departure from our hubs in Hackney, Old Paradise in Waterloo is quickly becoming one of the areas most cherished little secrets. Just a stones throw from The House of Parliament and South Bank, this tiny community houses everything from a sewing school to art gallery.

The yard was full of animated conversation and a diverse range of creatives, locals and friends. Highlights included live folk, soul, jazz at the garden stage, i'klectik mojitos and nibbles, the gallery’s latest exhibition, Patrick’s jamaican bbq, the lovingly tended to veg patch, GW&Co’s ping pong table, Kennington’s dog, Lunch BXD’s brownies, sewing demos, Mentsen’s attention to detail and Old Paradise Audio in action.

Thanks to all involved in these large scale celebrations, the gardeners, welcome team, security, studio residents, friends, collaborators, clients, people who just stumbled in and everyone who shared their enthusiasm in person and online.