We’re obviously not going to claim that dezeen track what we’re up to, however….
Hot the heels of our brief, succinct, exploration of the current state of the British design industry, dezeen – the leading UK based design and architecture portal – have teamed up with Hackney Council and curator/critic Beatrice Galilee to organise a day dedicated to design from the London Borough of Hackney.
A chance, if you like, to get a feel not only for what is currently happening in the London design community, but also to gauge the mood and expectations of those practitioners from the East London enclave.
For although it is very easy to sink into stereotypes when talking about “Creative Hackney” – and believe us we’re swimming hard against the tide of temptation – the Borough is home to a particularly high density of creative talents, both established and emerging. And as such is a useful barometer.
Indeed, and completely unwittingly, all our interviews in connection with the exhibition British Design 1948-2012 at the V&A have a Hackney connection. And Harry Thaler‘s atelier is also in the very much maligned and misunderstood municipality.
Designed in Hackney Day is, in effect, a physical manifestation of the series of the same name that has been running at dezeen.com since March 2012 and aims to not only profile the diversity of design being practiced in Hackney but also explore and discuss current topics amongst and challenges faced by the creative community as London changes and evolves.
Details are admittedly very scarce at the moment, but the event takes place on August 1st in Hackney House and in addition to talks, discussions, performances and DJ sets a Pecha Kucha evening will help reinforce the variety and vitality of the Borough.
We just hope that all involved seize the opportunity to not only present a united marketing front for the Borough – which is presumably one of the background ideas – but much more, to seriously explore and analyse where the community is and where it is going.
Communities such as Hackney invariably evolve organically; their growth being promoted by a mix of advantageous factors. Then comes the, equally inevitable, moment when the factors cease to be advantageous.
What then?
In addition, as the number of, invariably self-employed, “creatives” grows and they become just as global and transitory as the markets in which they are active, questions as to how communities face up to and respond to challenges of, for example, affordable ateliers, appropriate infrastructure or access to clients will become increasingly important and increasingly urgent.
Regardless of if you are in Berlin, New York, Eindhoven … or Hackney.
And so we find it good that such an event is being organised and are looking forward to seeing what emerges.
Further details, as and when they are announced, can be found at www.designedinhackney.com
Designed in Hackney Day 2012