Hackney WickED Returns For A Weekend Of Art And Festival Fun

Hackney WickED

The Olympic dust has settled and life has returned to normal (as normal as it gets) in the Wick. The organisers of Hackney WickED are delighted to announce that the Hackney WickED Art Festival will return for a 3-day programme this weekend with emphasis on the Art. Approaching its’ 6th year Hackney WickED remains dedicated to providing a platform for artists to showcase their work alongside established and international names. Championing creativity through Exhibitions, open Studios, film, Music, fete for the WickED, Workshops, artists talks and critical debates.

Hackney Wick has more artists per capita than anywhere else in the world with 624 Studios in Hackney Wick; 1 in 7 people is either an artist or arts centre practitioners (Survey by MUF Architects, 2009). The areas iconic industrial warehouses harbour a mass of studios associated with the some of London’s top artists.  East London has undergone a raft of transformations over the last decade putting it at the centre of the map for creative arts in Europe. “The Wick” lies between the Olympic Park and Victoria Park and is a cauldron of creative and artistic talent. Since its inception in 2008 Hackney WickED has been a major stakeholder in the East London arts community, successfully providing an infrastructure and platform for local artists, galleries and studios to work together alongside established and international names.

The festival includes: Open your studio, pop-up a gallery, volunteer your time to help make it happen or simply come along to celebrate the long anticipated revival of the Hackney WickED Art Festival. Friday 16th August 2013 – launching at 6pm, through to 9pm. Saturday 17th August 2013 12-6pm and Sunday 18th August 2013 12-6pm.

A victim of its’ own success in 2011 with record crowd numbers, the festival for 2013 will return to its’ roots with a complete focus on ART and take place on a smaller scale. The Festival Hub will be based in Queen’s Yard, Hackney Wick, which will be organised in partnership with the new Headline Sponsor Crate Brewery, with music and performances in WickED Buskers Corner, a Fate for the WickED (market stalls of art installations and wares), Open Studios to explore, the WickED Head Quarters at the newly opened Glass Factory and explosions of pop up art and wonders as only you would expect from Hackney WickED.
Tom Seaton of Crate Brewery said,“We have been part of Hackney WickED Art Festival since the early days, when Counter Café was one of the only eateries in the Wick and we hosted events in our back yard. Now with the success of Crate in Queen Yard, we are able to really get behind the festival. We see it as a way to help sustain the artist community in the area and support Team WickED to make the festival HAPPEN – it’s something all of the local businesses missed last year as the launch of the 2012 Games was when HWAF would normally take place, yet 2012 it was a ghost town.”

The Hackney WickED Festival Directors are proud to also work with a local producer as a sponsor, “We like the idea of Made in the Wick and Crate produce really good quality beers and ales, so it’s a pleasure to exclusively work with a fantastic local producer who is interested in supporting the wider community.” The Festival Hub will be a controlled area and epicenter of Hackney WickED’s official activity, whilst working with artists, studios, galleries and venues across Hackney Wick and Fish Island to create a type of Fringe Festival.

Hackney WickED also incorporates a thorough Development Programme, which aims to educate and inspire children and adults alike through art. All events are free of charge and kindly supported by East Village.

Photo: © PC Robinson Artlyst 2011

See Full Programme Line Up Here

Watch Vine Here

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