First Thursdays is finally back with an exciting series of free events scheduled from 6 to 9 pm! There are three recommendations for tonight: a music night at Nunnery Gallery with Gusty Ferro and Joseph Ijoyemi, an annual group show with artworks by Studio 1.1 members, and the permanent display at Hackney Museum. If you plan to visit all of them, the entire walking route will be around one hour and thirty minutes long.
The first stop will be at Studio 1.1. The exhibition encompasses a great variety of works from the following artists: Joshua Raffell, Siobhan Beaton, Day Bowman, Min Angel, Deepa Chudasama, Chris Cook, Russell Herron, Rebecca Tucker, Tim Waskett, Jane Walker, Michele Marcoux, Pauline Hall, Olivia Irvine, Jane Pryor, Clare Chandler, Domingo Arjonilla, D.J. Roberts, Nicky Amin, Marianne Shorten.
Later the walk will head to Hackney Museum, where you will have the chance to visit their permanent display. Hackney’s tradition of welcoming newcomers means that its history encompasses the world-wide roots of many communities. The displays reveal this diverse and changing history through interviews, objects and images, illustrating the forces that have driven people to leave their homes, and the opportunities that people have found in the borough of Hackney to make a living and start new lives. Plus our display of artworks from the Chalmers Bequest features historic paintings alongside commissions from Terence Besmirch, Margarita Gluzberg and Paul Needham.
The final stop will be at Nunnery Gallery for a special late opening as part of their Bow Arts’ East London Art Prize, which celebrates the talent and diversity of 12 artworks by artists based in east London. The event will be a special opportunity to see the live activations of the artworks by Gusty Ferrero and Joseph Ijoyemi. Gusty Ferro will be activating their shortlisted installation ‘Untitled’ (2024-2025) by dismantling and assembling elements of the work. Using contact mics and electronic devices, the interactions with the materials in displacement will create live soundscapes. The performance will explore notions of tension between the body, objects, and the physical infrastructure that surrounds us in the city. Building on from his shortlisted work ‘Revival Boats’ (2023) for his live performance, Joseph Ijoyemi will be performing ‘Fragments’ (2025) live, a sound piece featuring recordings from his recent journey to Ondo, Nigeria, where he worked closely with traditional goldsmiths and blacksmiths. Drawing on the authentic sounds and conversations Joseph documented, the performance will serve both as a tribute and a living archive, invoking the importance of remembering ones roots and honouring cultural legacies passed through generations.
