Material Histories is a collaborative project celebrating the rich and layered history of the textile industry in the East End. Working alongside contemporary artists, local community groups have created five large-scale banners inspired by the area’s longstanding connections to textile production, craft and migration. The banners trace histories that span centuries, from Huguenot silk weavers and Jewish tailoring workshops to Irish linen workers and Bangladeshi garment makers, highlighting the communities whose skills and cultural traditions helped shape the identity of the East End. Combining archival research, storytelling and collective making, the project reflects on textiles not only as material objects, but also as carriers of memory, resilience and shared histories.

Reframing the East End
Reframing the East End is a participatory photography project exploring how the local area can be seen, remembered and represented today. Working with social documentary photographer Rehan Jamil, participants investigated Bethnal Green through archival research and street photography, documenting everyday life while responding to historical images, local stories and changing urban landscapes.

The resulting exhibition brings together contemporary photographs that offer personal and often unexpected perspectives on the East End, reflecting on community, change, identity and belonging.

The launch event is an opportunity to meet contributors and collaborators, explore both exhibitions, and celebrate the creativity and histories of East London communities together.