Free entry
Sat 3 Oct, from 4pm
Alba Caffe
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 11am–6pm |
| Wednesday | 11am–6pm |
| Thursday | 11am–9pm |
| Friday | 11am–6pm |
| Saturday | 11am–6pm |
| Sunday | 11am–6pm |
Whitechapel Gallery is committed to making all of our events as accessible as possible for every audience member. Please contact access@whitechapelgallery.org if you would like to discuss a particular request and we will gladly discuss with you the best way to accommodate it.
Information about access on site at the gallery is available here https://www.whitechapelgallery.org/visit/access/
This includes information about Lift access; Borrowing wheelchairs & seating; Assistance Animals; Parking; Toilets and baby care facilities; Blind & Partially Sighted Visitors; Subtitles and transcripts; British Sign Language (BSL) and hearing induction loops; Deaf Messaging Service (DMS).
On Saturday 3rd October, Alba Caffe at Whitechapel Gallery will be joining The Strength Between Us – a free weekend of conversation and creative gatherings to celebrate East London’s long history of defiance against fascism in the way they love most: sharing food and finding joy in the act of resistance.
From 4pm onwards, Alba’s chefs and volunteers will be serving 250 portions of free pasta to anyone and everyone who passes by, bringing together people from all backgrounds through steaming bowls of pasta with parmesan and lashings of butter (no dietaries, sorry!)
Their Antifascist Pasta Party takes inspiration from a true and remarkable event (pastasciutta antifascista) that happened in Italy in 1943. The partisan Cervi family, humble farmers who led the local peasant resistance to Benito Mussolini’s rule, brought their entire town together for celebratory plates of pasta when Mussolini was overthrown in July 1943. They cooked up 370 kilos of forbidden pasta, served simply with butter and parmesan, immortalising the dish as a joyful symbol of resistance and solidarity.
As well as taking inspiration from the Italian resistance, the weekend coincides with the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street, when thousands of East Londoners united to oppose Oswald Mosely’s British Union of Fascists, and stand in solidarity with local Jewish communities. Widely remembered as a defining moment in the history of collective resistance to fascism in Britain, its legacy continues to resonate across generations and inspiring communities today.
Developed in partnership between Whitechapel Gallery, the Runnymede Trust and ON ROAD, The Strength Between Us will run Sat 3 and Sun 4 October. Alba Caffè will remain open until 7pm on Saturday 3rd selling wine, coffee, spritzes and cakes once the pasta runs out, alongside a resistance playlist compiled by A Ghost Column.
