A series of debates and special activities focusing on art, fashion, design, music, architecture, politics and ideas in London 2012 host boroughs (22 June to 17 July).
A series of ground-breaking panels and events exploring the unique past, present and future of the arts in London’s 2012 Olympic boroughs is due to get underway later this month.
Staged as part of the CREATE10 arts festival, sponsored by Deutsche Bank, FutureHistories will also look at developing trends in political thought and ideas in the games’ host region of East and South East London, with its rich history of radical thinking and as a site of key political developments across the ages.
FutureHistories Panel Events will feature four discussions exploring the unique cultural landscapes of the Olympic area with influential artists, designers and philosophers. They will also provide rare opportunities to meet and exchange ideas with world class, home-grown leaders in the worlds of fashion, art, music and philosophy.
FutureHistories Special Events will range from guided walks across East London with architect and designer Jason Bruges or artist Richard Wentworth to a run around the Olympic Park with Charlie Dark’s running club with a difference or an unusual ‘lunch’ with acclaimed philosopher and writer, Theodore Zeldin. They will also explore how young Londoners can engage with the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
First up in the panel events is FutureHistories: Fashion (22 June), an evening of conversation with Lulu Kennedy, founder of Fashion East, the launch pad for celebrated designers such as Gareth Pugh and Henry Holland. Also guesting will be Sarah Bunter, whose client list boasts Top Shop, Adidas and Levis Red Tab, and rising fashion star and RCA graduate, Holly Fulton, one of whose dresses was chosen to feature in the latest Sex and the City film.
With East London consistently being at the forefront of establishing new trends and breaking UK music subculture into the mainstream, FutureHistories: Music and the East End (30 June), curated by Saint Etienne’s Bob Stanley, will uncover the rich musical heritage of the area from rock ‘n’ roll and punk to dub, ska, jungle and grime. Chaired by Jude Kelly from The Guardian, speakers include Hackney rave legends Shut Up and Dance, Green Gartside (Scritti Polliti), and more to be confirmed.
FutureHistories: Art and London’s East End (6 July) brings together the cream of the crop of East London artists and curators for a session that looks at the past and future of the arts. Speakers include Iwona Blazwick, Director, Whitechapel Gallery, Gregor Muir, Director, Hauser and Wirth, gallerist Kate McGarry, and Turner Prize winner, Rachel Whiteread.
FutureHistories: Politics and Ideas (15 July) invites key philosophers, political commentators, historians and politicians for an open discussion on East London today. Speakers include Polly Toynbee, The Guardian, and Sukhdev Sandhu, The Daily Telegraph, and author of ‘London Calling: How Black and Asian Writers Imagined A City.’
The FutureHistories Special Event’s programme will start with ‘A Feast of Strangers (3 July). Taking place in the stunning surroundings of the Viewtube opposite the emerging Olympic stadium, the ‘feast’ is presented by Theodore Zeldin, highly acclaimed philosopher and advisor to Nicolas Sarkozy, for a meal that, intriguingly, doesn’t involve any food.
Other special events include a run around the Olympic Park with Charlie Dark’s Run Dem Crew (4 July), a running club made up of cultural creatives, culminating in a live performance from the club’s artistic collective at the Viewtube.
On 7 July, acclaimed designer and architect Jason Bruges will host a one-off guided walk offering an introduction to key artistic projects across the Olympic Park, while legendary artist Richard Wentworth will host a unique walk revealing the hidden side of the 2012 boroughs on 8 July.
The FutureHistories series will conclude with a day of music, performance, discussions and workshops, led by young people from across the five host boroughs, that will examine how young people can take part in the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games (17 July).
Full details of the FutureHistories Panel and Special Events’ programme follows NOTES TO EDITORS below.
CREATE10 (19 June – 1 August), sponsored by Deutsche Bank, is a major arts festival showcasing artists and creative venues in East and South East London, Europe’s largest cultural quarter. It will see more than 200 activities taking place in Greenwich, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest, where more than 12,000 artists live and work.
For more information on FutureHistories and CREATE10, please visit: www.createlondon.org
