Walking in the East End of London

TA~DA!  After Ridley and Soroya, here is Sen’s  post. By the way, I hope you guys could bear my immure English writing.

The four of us really appreciate that we could have such an opportunity to explore the east end.  SinceI remember when I first came to CIDA, Toks told me how important and amazing of this area. But east end was just a concept for me that time. Apparently, the best way to access one place is experiencing rather than just google or wekipedia it.  

OK, map first.  I suppose it will be helpful to understand the route of our field trip.

Although east end has been seen as dangerous place in the past, with a group of cutting edge designers moved in, this area quickly grow up as an international renowned culture cluster.  Along with the gathering of artists and the developing of creative industries here, an increasing number of galleries, bars, coffee bars, clubs continue to establishing.  It is definitely a cultural site now.

Our first destination is the the whitechapel bell foundry, since it located at the first corner from CIDA office. The foundry is famous as it produced Big Ben and the Liberty Bell and had been seen as the the oldest manufacturing company in UK. An old lady who works there introduced its background and show the exhibition room to us. Unfortunately, the manufacture area does not open to public, so we just see around the exhibition and the gift shop. Anyway, we girls are fond of those exquisite bell souvenirs, such as tolling bells, carillon bells and handbells.

 

Then we continue our field trip along the Brick Lane, the complex cultural area which could represent the East End. It runs from Spitalfields at the north end woen to Aldgate at the south. So, it seems like we enter it from the south entry. In addition to its fascinating history, the road is known for its various markets which take places every weekend.

The majority restaurants there are Bangladeshi flavor. Curry smell? Ha? We love it and the prices reasonable. Some vintage shops are sprawling the street, add more mystery sense to Brick Lane, try to think that, you are a young lady who eating India food in 1960s!

Here comes the big things in Brick Lane—The paintings on the wall. Pictures first.

 

 

 

Despite the truth that I am a fake fans of street art, I had touched by those paintings. The images are vivid, some of them even like photos. The themes of these paintings including anti-war, environment, Jazz culture, cartoon and so on. We were shocked by the giant paintings of a crane on the wall, and we had been told that had been finished over night. How the artist done this genius job so quickly!

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting that some paintings keep changing as Ridley noticed one tiny part of one animal painting is changed after she visited Brick Lane last year.  yeah, this one.

 

Then, it snow, again...We are frozen. But nothing can held our steps to explore the

Soraya and Lihua used their phones to find the location of Old Spitalfields markets. We found the Shroidech High Street Station first and walked back and forth, finally, we found the markets. It was lunch time, the markets was kind of busy. Over 150 stalls operating, offering an impressive array of  art, fashion, gifts, antiques and food, they look for something original, of excellent quality and good value for money.  Some fashion and modern brands there such as Benefits, Canteen  are the good combination of old and new.

After lunch, we kept find the Petticoat Lane market.  It is near Liverpool Street and the scale of this market is much smaller than the previous one and it was sprawling along the street.  But we have been told that on Sundays, the market will spreads out much further. The area is well-known for its leather goods, plus you will also find chain store clothes at bargain prices.  The prices here remained me the Zoo market in Beijing. You know, its so hard to find the cheaper price in London~~

Then we walked back to Whitechapel Street and visited the Whitechapel Gallery.  The gallery was founded in 1901 as one of the first publicly funded galleries focus on temporary exhibitions. For over a centry, the gallery has premiered world-class artists from modern artists, such as Pablo Picasso, Kackson Pollock and so on.  Lovely display of limited edition prints by well known and not so well known artists currently on display. Especially, the exhibition called Aspen Magazine: 1965-1971 showed in Gallery 4 display some complete sets of rarely seen publications. Issued in a box, Aspen was one of the first multi -media magazines and became a time capsule of the period.Although I had to admitted that I can’t understand the modern art sometimes, I still try to catch the spirit and meanings that the artists conveyed.

Our last stop is the Muslin area near whitechaple tube station. Exotic but interesting sphere for us. Most of the Whitechapel population are from Bangladesh and it is also a major Islamic area. The street market attracts a very large number of tourists as well. We did not spend much time there, just see around.

It is such a busy and meaningful day for us. Field trip is always the best way to understand an area. Try to touch,feel the history and cultural atmosphere there.

Discovery Trip: Seeing East London in Your Own Eyes

It is the second week of my internship at CIDA and the first time for me to have a chance to spend a whole day walking around the area, where CIDA is, and engaged myself into the special cultural atmosphere of East London. At the very beginning, I can only understand why we were arranged to have a tour around this area, but will never imagine how deeply I was shocked by this trip and what I saw and felt.  As a matter of fact, what we did was more like a research or an exploration, rather than a simple tour in East London. I have to say that it was undoubtedly a good idea to have such a meaningful trip. 

 

 

It was very nice that Rebecca showed us the map of the area around CIDA and pointed out a few sites and galleries she recommended in the morning. Then we began to do research ourselves and prepare for the trip. About 11am, we set out from the office.

Our first stop is the Church Bell Foundry, because when I passed by it last Thursday, I was attracted by the old building and its name and curious about what is on in it. We found some old bells there and even some models telling people how to produce a bell. I am sure people can get enamours knowledge about bells there.

 

 

I had to admit that what Wikipedia tells you are quite different from what you see and feel yourself. Before this walk, I only knew that Brick Lane was famous for its vintage stores and had no idea about what it is exactly like and why it develops like this. So for me the trip was not only full of surprise, but also helped me have a deeper understanding about the cultural diversity in East London.

 

 

 

 What impressed me most was the wall painting on Brick Lane and many small streets I cannot name. These painting are not only simply pained on the wall, but also integrated with the building and the street. They have become parts of them and tell the stories about them. I cannot help thinking about a story for each one when I stood in front of them, even though I know none of what I was thinking can be true.

 

Such kind of painting can be found almost everywhere around this cultural centre of East London. We walked along Brick Lane and finally arrived at Spitafields Market, which is now more like a square with popular fashion, food, vintage stores, modern restaurants and general market. However, you won’t feel any disharmony. Each market has its own feature. Petticoat Lane Market is glutted with all kinds of cheap clothes and beautiful cloth from India or Pakistan. The stores on Commercial Street have their own brand.

 

 

 Our final stop, which is also the most ‘cultural’ part of this trip, is the Whitechapel Gallery. This is one of the most famous contemporary art galleries in East London. Unlike the National Galley and National Portrait Gallery, there are not many visitors here. However, all the exhibitions are of special characteristics and implications. Aspen, which was one of the first multi -media magazines and became a time capsule of the period, is now shown in Whitechapel Gallery. All ten complete sets of the rarely seen publication, which are Issued in boxes are displayed in a room. Visitor can also listen to the audio recordings.

 

Collection Sandretto Re Rebaudengo: Viral Research

Aspen Magazine: 1965-1971

 

Having walked around this area for a whole day, I can to some extent understand why   so many new emerging artists and cultural organisations like CIDA prefer to work in East London. This area has the most diversified and impressive culture, which is completely different from the so-called mainstream culture and fill with innovation and passion. This is exactly what I want to see, to learn and to feel.  I believe that my internship at CIDA can help me have a better understanding of cultural and creative industries. I am sure that one day is not enough to fully understand all these. I will definitely want to spend more time exploring this area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

East London: Cultural Diversity and Eclectic Art

 

East London is brimming with culture- literally. Walking around Whitechapel, Petticoat Lane, Shoreditch, Brick Lane and Aldgate will expose you to world-renowned street art, a barrage of vintage shops, and cuisine ranging from award-winning Indian curries to jellied eels. 

 

 

The whole area is such a pleasant surprise, a hotbed of so many distinct cultures and languages; you'll come across shop signs written in Mandarin, Arabic, Hindu and Persian, catering to the specific culture that is concentrated in that particular neighbourhood.  

Each area did have a particular feel to it. In Whitechapel, for example, you have the East London Mosque calling the noon prayer next to the Royal London Hospital and across from a small market where you can buy embellished saris next to vegetable stalls and small shops selling Muslim prayer beads and incense sticks.

On Bricklane, the road is filled with incredible graffiti and street art, including famous pieces by ROA, Milotchais and Cranio, next to a row of Indian restaurants that have all been voted 'Best Curry' over the years. Of course, the vintage shops are another highlight of this famous street. They're not cheap, though, but they fit well into the neighbourhood's eclectic, artistic and urban vibe.

 

Shoreditch gets animated at night with so many popular pubs, bars and clubs in the area. Shoreditch Church faces the entrance to Spitafields Market, an indoor space which may have once been an organically created market, but now is filled with restaurant chains, boutiques and a few clothes stalls selling the same merchandise you'd find in Camden and Portabello market.

Past the market, you reach the commercial center, a sharp contradiction to the gritty streets of Brick Lane and Pettycoat Lane.

 

 

Petticoat Lane market has always been touted as one of the cheapest clothes markets you'll ever find in London; which is clearly true: you can buy dresses for as little as 5£, suits for 10£ and there are tons of fabric stores selling beautiful batik and African tribal prints. The market seems to be run by and catering to East African, Indian and Pakistani cultures, at least judging by the sellers' nationalities and the speciality shops.

 

 

One of the highlights of our walk around the area was visiting the Whitechapel Gallery next to Aldgate East station, which has free entry and one of the best art bookshops in London. The gallery's architecture is very interesting, with a variety of rooms in different sizes and on different levels that allows for a different art viewing experience. Also, their original prints are priced at 100£, making their displayed art affordable to anyone.

Having walked around these areas for a few hours, we interns can safely assume that CIDA is at the hub of a lively and booming cultural hotbed full of so many distinct and fascinatingly juxtaposed lifestyles and cultures. It's a great location and brings so much of London's unique cultural fabric together in a tight space.