5 December - 15 December
By setting up a portable furnace upcycled from a shopping trolley and other discarded items, installed in the backyard of 50 Aberfeldy Street from 21st-24th November, we started with a demo and open registration for the weekend workshops. Professional glassmakers Tom Chadwin and Freya Bernard guided participants through the process of blowing and shaping molten glass, each piece designed to be part of a larger construction now exhibited for a week in early December. A previous work with some similarity can be seen here https://vimeo.com/148330720
The resulting collaborative chandelier is made from individual pieces created by participants, to be exhibited in the front of our new next door unit at 48 Aberfeldy Street, with a public opening on Thursday 5th December from 4-9pm as part of east London’s ‘First Thursdays’ initiative organised by Whitechapel Gallery. The chandelier will be installed for a week, after which participants can collect their individual pieces to keep, by visiting The Tommy Flowers between 5-11pm from Thursday 12th- Saturday 14th and from 3-7pm on Sunday 15th December.
The Thames Plate Glassworks was a large manufacturer on the nearby River Lea in the 19th Century, linking into the industrial heritage of Poplar.
Project made possible with a Culture Seeds grant from the Mayor of London with continuing support for 48-50 Aberfeldy Street, from Aberfeldy Big Local and Poplar HARCA. Special thanks to glassmaker Jon Lewis for providing much support, who runs regular workshops from his studio at Parndon Mill, Harlow.
Fitzrovia Noir CIC
The Tommy Flowers
50 Aberfeldy Street
E14 0NU
Exhibition opening – all welcome
4pm-9pm
Opening reception with artists and participants in attendance.
The chandelier will be suspended on a mirrorball motor, to slowly rotate in the front room of 48 Aberfeldy Street E14 0NU, a former post office currently being refurbished by https://volunteerityourself.org/about giving opportunities for young people to learn new skills.
We’re asking local people what they would like to see in a proposed ‘Culture Kitchen’ where we’d like to offer experimental cuisine, drawing on the immediate cultural mix, becoming a new place for people to dine and socialise.
fitzrovianoir@gmail.com
The Tommy Flowers is in walking distance of a range of DLR stations: East India, All Saints and Langdon Park, plus Canning Town on the DLR/Jubilee Line, which connects with the 309 bus route, a ten minute journey.
Because of massive development in the immediate area, the walking route from East India is currently indirect, so we recommend the 309 bus that also runs from Bethnal Green. There is also a TFL cycle hire rack opposite and free parking after 5:30pm weekdays and free all weekend.
Hear more about the local area here:
https://soundcloud.com/eastcastradio/the-tommy-flowers-community-pub
