Line-ups, updates and news for Hackney Wicked 2011.
Please note: there is no Hackney WickED festival in 2012.
Did you know that apparently there are more artists per capita in Hackney Wick than anywhere else in the world? Well, you do now. And Hackney Wicked, the annual three-day art extravaganza, provides an opportunity for all these artists to showcase just what it is they've been getting up to. There's always loads going on: all manner of exhibitions, open studios, parties, film screenings, live art events and flea markets make the Wick the place to be for at least one weekend every summer.
Founded in 2008 by a group of local Hackney Wick gallerists, three-day arts fest Hackney Wicked was an instant success, with loads of crazy events like Bike Polo with Gilbert & George and a game of cricket on Victoria Park with Aaron Barschak, the Comedy Terrorist. Various exhibitions at Schwartz Gallery, Decima, The Residence, Elevator Gallery and Stour Space have also kept the festival close to its original art-focused purpose.
And yet, times change. With the imminent arrival of the 2012 Olympics, Hackney Wick has changed beyond recognition in recent years – there's now a smart restaurant called the Hackney Purl and a brilliant cafe called the Counter, but The Residence has moved out to Victoria Park, and Decima have upped sticks too.
Perhaps reflecting this, things at Hackney Wicked seemed to get a little political back in 2009 with the departure of original founders Ingrid Z of The Residence and Decima's David C West and Alex Chappel. The feeling on their side was, it seems, that Hackney Wicked was moving too far from its original roots. Certainly all was not quite as harmonious as it once seemed to be.
Nonetheless, Hackney Wick is an amazing area – still quite unlike any other in London. And Hackney Wicked is the best chance to see the Wick at its finest, before the developers ruin it for ever.
Read Tom's interview with the organisers of Hackney Wicked, 2008.
Read Tom's interview with the organisers of Hackney Wicked, 2009.
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