Hundreds of history-lovers got to enjoy Hackney’s heritage at an online archive event.
Just over 300 people attended Stoke Newington Amir Dotan’s free online event organised by The Hackney Society and Friends of the Hackney Archives, called A Glimpse into Hackney Archives, on October 20.
Amir has 6,500 followers on Twitter and says he is known as “the history guy” around Stoke Newington, where his work resonates with the community.
READ MORE: Hackney history: How a £20m government compensation pot went to slave owners - and not slavesA local resident who saw the event advertised, Richard Beer, said: “When you’ve lived somewhere a long time, you kind of take it for granted that it’s always been the way it is now.
“Change is so gradual that it goes unnoticed. But seeing these photos side by side is a testament to how much the area has changed.
“There’s also something quite poignant about seeing places that were destroyed in the war and rebuilt completely differently.”
Amir’s collection of photographs and drawings is almost 7,000 strong.
He said: “It’s great to know that a little sketch that I uncovered in a box gets disseminated across the globe with a click of a button.”
Amir is always looking for more photos to add to his collection: “I’ve got no doubt that there’s still a lot of shoe boxes with photos that people will one day uncover and get in touch and say, ‘look, my dad took all these photos in the 40s. Are you interested?’ I will probably start jumping in my seat and say, ‘yes please.’”
Eseoghene Okonedo, who has lived in Hackney since the early 90s, said the pictures “fascinate” her: “It’s like touching the past. I find myself wondering what life was like as I look at the clothes and people.”
The photographs make Eseoghene “nostalgic and long for the old Hackney edgy community vibe”.
Hackney’s Cllr Sophie Cameron (Clissold, Lab) said she feels “heartened” by how popular the history of Stoke Newington is: “One of the things that is so amazing about the local area is that there are so many people invested in the history…and it really affirms their identity.
“It gives people a connection to the past that sometimes they feel is missing in modern life.”
The Hackney Archives image database has been online since January, but it has not been widely advertised.
Any Hackney resident can search the database by inputting a key term, date or place, here.
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