Material Histories & Reframing the East End Exhibition Launch

Join Made In the East End's Material Histories & Reframing the East End Exhibition - showcasing community textile banners and photography!
About this Event

Join us at Oxford House for the launch of two new exhibitions: Material Histories and Reframing the East End, celebrating the people, stories and creative histories that continue to shape the East End of London.Bringing together collaborative textile works and contemporary photography, the evening will showcase projects developed with local participants and artists.

Tuesday 30 June

17:30 – 19:30

Free admission. Booking via Eventbrite recommended. Donations welcome.

Material Histories

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 East End can be seen, remembered and represented today.Working with social documentary photographer Rehan Jamil, participants investigated the area 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.