Projects, events and exhibitions

Initially supported by a grant from the National Archives’ COVID-19 Archives Fund, we have been working to conserve and secure the future of the archives of the An Viet Foundation in collaboration with the An Viet Archives Steering Panel and Hackney Chinese Community Services.

The emergency conservation work is now complete and we are currently exploring fundraising opportunities that will support the cataloguing and sharing of the collection.

The An Viet Foundation (AVF) was set up in Hackney in 1981 to support Vietnamese settlement in London after the Second Indochina War.

It was a central hub for Vietnamese families providing support with housing, health outreach, English language, and mother-tongue classes.

The AVF housed the ‘Southeast Asian Research Centre’ which was established by Mr Vu Khanh Thanh, the AVF’s former Director.

When the AVF formally wound up in 2017, the documents from the research centre along with the organisation’s records were stored in the Old Bath House (formerly An Viet House) on Englefield Road, but were significantly damaged due to vandalism. The collection is the largest known archive of British-Vietnamese history.

A Living Legacy is an ongoing project led by Hackney Archives ensuring that a space for Hackney’s African heritage communities continues to exist at Hackney Archives/Dalston CLR James Library.

The project takes its inspiration from the community activism that created the original CLR James LIbrary in the early 1980s.

Thanks to seed funding from Hackney Community Fund, our initial project activities include the creation of the ‘Legacy Reading Room’, (a space within Hackney Archives where material from the archives relating to African heritage communities in Hackney is readily accessible) and the delivery of a year-long programme of events in partnership with the CLR James Legacy Project team, R Consultancy and others.

We are keen to collaborate with local organisations and individuals on this project, so get in touch if you have an idea you’d like to discuss, email: archives@hackney.gov.uk.

Thanks to support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, non-religious church New Unity has transformed its Newington Green Meeting House into a fully accessible, free heritage space, sharing its radical history and encouraging visitors to think differently.

The building – which was a hotbed of revolutionary thinking in the 18th century – holds stories of Richard Price, Anna Laetitia Barbauld, Andrew Pritchard and most notably Mary Wollstonecraft – leading to it being described as the birthplace of feminism.

Hackney Archives is supporting this project by assisting a team of volunteers to catalogue material from New Unity’s archive; some of which will be featured in an online exhibition on the New Unity website.

In the 1980s a community photography group based at the Rio Cinema were working on the Tape/Slide project.

They took to the streets capturing thousands of amazing shots of Hackney, then came back and sequenced a slideshow to audio tape.

Hackney Archives are currently working closely with the Rio to preserve and share this unique photographic collection.

Charles Constantine Collins (also known as Sir Collins), was a Hackney-based music producer, businessman, campaigner, organiser and citizen archivist who arrived in London from Jamaica in 1957.

Throughout his life, Sir Collins remained focussed on creating and documenting a legacy for both his family and his community.

He knew the power of history and understood the need for people to have their activities and achievements documented for future generations.

When he died in 2018, Sir Collins passed the baton to his descendants who have revived the OGYG (Older Generation Younger Generation) community organisation founded by their late father and, together with Hackney Archives, are working to make the large collection of papers and audio-visual material he collected accessible to the public.

Through a grant from the Archives Revealed Programme supported by The National Archives, The Pilgrim Trust and The Wolfson Foundation we are currently in the process of sorting and cataloguing the collection.

Our current aim is to make the collection accessible to researchers by 2024.

We are currently collaborating with the Turkish Cypriot Cultural Association (TCCA) on a National Heritage Lottery Fund supported project to assess, catalogue, and digitise the archival material they have collected since their establishment in 1977.

The project aims to trace the organisation’s activities, creating an intergenerational bridge between first-generation service users and young people.

TCCA will be working with a Turkish artist and delivering other accessible activities including a series of tree-planting events in relevant parts of London where the Turkish community has made an impact.

Hackney Archives are currently supporting ‘Trailblazing Women in Hackney: Heroines Of Our Time’, a project led by Xenia, a Hackney-based organisation welcoming all women and working to build empathy and connection across differences.

Supported by a grant from the Mayor’s Office ‘Untold Stories’ fund, the project will create a new heritage trail to uncover and celebrate the hidden histories of trailblazing women in Hackney. Hackney Archives will be helping project participants research the archive and conduct oral history interviews to document womens’ stories.

Since 2019, there has been a National Heritage Lottery funded restoration project underway at Abney Park Cemetery in Stoke Newington.

Abney Unearthed, a sub-project of the restoration initiative, was developed to re-map the cemetery and to research the life-stories of some of the almost 200,000 people interred at Abney Park.

Hackney Archives are supporting the project by surveying and assessing the Abney Park Trust archive collection, providing archival training for project volunteers, and delivering basic research skills training sessions.

Working with local young people and student researchers to better understand evidence of African enslavement and colonialism in our collections and make them more representative of today’s Hackney.

Home – City – Stories was an app-based walk arising out of a wider research project exploring what it means to feel at home, or not at home, on and nearby the Kingsland Road in East London. The project was led by researchers from Queen Mary University London.

A digitisation and engagement project supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation preserving over 150,000 images from the R.A. Gibson Photographic Studio formerly on Lower Clapton Road.

Local Roots / Global Routes was a collaborative project led by Legacies of British Slave-ownership and Hackney Heritage and funded by Arts Council England. The project created a learning resource concerning the links between Hackney and transatlantic slavery.

Mapping the Change – was a project recording the significant changes the boroughs of Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest underwent in becoming host boroughs for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. As part of this project, Hackney Archives asked community organisations and individuals from across the borough to put their stamp on local history through contributing photos, stories and documents.

Archives Basics

Archives Basics is an exciting programme of events that are free for everyone, showcasing the wide range of collections at Hackney Archives.

Archives Basics: From Strongroom to Searchroom

A live talk and tour around the searchroom, to explore what’s in our collections. We will show you how to explore Hackney’s past and present. This guided session online and in person is perfect for absolute beginners, for those who have never used archives or local history library services before.

It’s a relaxed and friendly session to find out how to access our collections with plenty of time for Q&A with archives staff.

Archives Basics: Exploring the Catalogue

Learn how to register, search and request items to view from our online catalogue. Discover hints and tips about getting the most out of your search.

This guided session, organised for small groups, is aimed specifically at absolute beginners, for those who have never used archives or local history library services before.

Archives Live

Archives Live is an exciting programme of events that are free for everyone, with special guests and panel talks, including an audience Q&A.

Showcasing the wide range of collections at Hackney Archives, we welcome you to our relaxed and informative sessions.

Past Archives Live Sessions include:

• Archives Live! Author Talk with Martin Sugarman – Author of six books on the Jewish contribution to the British war effort in WW2, Martin Sugarman researches and advises on how to find out about Jewish Military ancestors. Our guest on London History Day celebrating London’s resilience was Hackney-born Martin Sugarman, Archivist of the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women (AJEX) .
• Archives Live! Music, Poetry and Open Mic with special guest Amaroun – Amaroun is a multi-talented solo-artist, music producer, filmmaker and poet. Amaroun creates authentic and joyful kaleidoscopic alternative r’n’b, which takes you on a journey through her heritage, background and creative process, insights and music new and old. Her music is about coming out, moving up and never being kept down.

Celebrating Hackney’s LGBTQIA+ Past & Present with Proud Hackney

Hackney Archives, Pride 365 and Proud Hackney’s exploration through time: handling some of the historical material featured in the postcast, it was a chance to share experiences, stories and histories with people who are passionate about Hackney’s LGBTQIA+ history and future over a cup of tea and a slice of cake.

Open House Festival is a two week celebration of London’s homes, architecture and neighbourhoods. You can get inside some of London’s best known buildings, as well as some of its best kept secrets.

2022 was the 30th birthday of the Open House Festival and many buildings in Hackney opened up again for the first time in two years.

Hackney Archives Show & Tell programme invites everyone to find out more and get hands on with our collections in a relaxed, inclusive and friendly environment.

Show & Tell events are designed around a specific theme and items from our collections, with a guest talk or guided session with staff.

Past events include:

Special guest Luise Vormittag will be discussing ‘Cracks in the Pavement’

In this project 24 East London residents walked on various shared routes over a period of six months. It resulted in five physical, collaborative maps of different areas of Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Islington.

Luise Vormittag is an illustrator, designer, researcher, writer and educator based in London.

Zine Making Adults and Children’s Workshops

As part of Hackney Archives Black History Season in a safe, encouraging and creative space attendees made their own ‘Per-zine’ (personal zine).

Using a range of materials, images and content specifically around celebrating Black History past and present, participants created a little zine around personal views of the world. The workshop specifically aimed to readdress and carve out a safe space and amplify Black voices and culture.

This programme is ongoing. Contact us for more information to hear about future zine workshops in person or online.

Hackney Memories Reminiscence Sessions

In a safe and reflective space, chat and reminiscence whilst sharing memories and experiences. Led by archives staff, share recollections prompted by a wide variety of fabulous photos, posters and pamphlets from Hackney Archives.

This programme is ongoing. Contact us for more information.