A new community arts space is launching in Hackney Wick, which aims to give local artists a place to showcase their talents.
Open House on Prince Edward Road was set up by Mike Slovich, who bought the three-storey warehouse space, restored it and is now living in it - on the top floor.
He invites the community and local creatives to come to Open House’s launch on Sunday (September 5), for the first of many regular community events.
Mike told the Gazette: “I found this space here in Hackney at the beginning of the year and purchased it in May.
“I moved in and since then I’ve just been fixing it up, painting all the walls, fixing the plumbing and everything in between.
“And really, this event on Sunday is finally opening it up to the public, so people can come in and see the space and have a think.
He continued: "The idea being, what would you like to do with this space? The more fun and audience interactive the better.”
The software engineer who grew up in the American mid-west, in Cleveland, Ohio, also plans to host kids’ art classes at the space every Tuesday after school, led by after school programme Art Bash.
Mike added: “To be able to put that back into buying an amazing building like this, and restoring it and making sure it’s a space where creatives can share what they want, rather than tearing it down and turning it into flats - which is some other stuff that tends to happen in this area in London right now.
"I really feel like that’s the way I can share and give back to the community."
The Open House’s Open Door Sunday launch event is free and will feature a yoga, chai and DJ set, local creatives fair and live music until.
The event will take place at Open House from 10am-7pm at 5 Prince Edward Road, Hackney.
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