About

Future Hackney is a social profit organisation, using visual arts, photography, oral histories, and co-creation to document and preserve the stories of communities in East London.

We specialise in producing inclusive visual and audio narratives that explore local heritage, social history, nightlife, protest, and everyday street life. Our work transforms the streets into galleries and lived experience into art—through images, exhibitions, archives and events that reflect the voices of local people.

We work directly with neighbourhoods to co-author stories through street photography workshops, oral history sessions, memory clubs and public exhibitions. These collaborative projects provide platforms for individuals to share their histories, contribute to a growing visual archive, and shape how innercity London is represented and remembered.

We support participants to gain creative skills, develop confidence, and take ownership of their neighbourhood story.

Street-Level Storytelling

Our latest exhibition - The Strip: A Love Letter to Our Neighbourhood  

A visual tribute to Dalston’s iconic Kingsland Road in Dalston

 Dalston Lane Street Gallery (opposite Hackney Peace Carnival Mural)  9 October 2024 – August 2025

Our indoor gallery - BSMT Space 529 Kingsland Rd, London E8 4AR 

Ran from - 19 October 2024 – 29 October 2024

It featured photography, oral histories, and stories from Kingsland Road, this multi-site exhibition shared the cultural roots of Dalston, highlighting its black history, radical spaces, and changing identity. The exhibition opened with a private view for the local community, contributors and a live takeover by The Mighty Ruler Sound System. We welcomed over 500 people to see the co-created work @BSMT and held talks and workshops over the two weeks.

Our ongoing street gallery - Gillett Square Stories

A celebration of one of Hackney’s most iconic and radical public spaces

 Red Cross Building, Gillett Square, Dalston 

January 2023 – June 2026

This powerful long-running exhibition explores the history, culture, and community of Gillett Square through striking portraiture, street photography, and audio stories. Created with residents, artists, and grassroots groups, it captured the square’s spirit as a vital space for resistance and creativity. Installed outside the Red Cross building in Dalston, hundreds of visitors have experienced the work, alongside talks, screenings, and community events that have brought the square’s past and future into dialogue.

Who We Work With

We co-partner with a network of creative and heritage organisations, youth groups, and local spaces. Current, past and present collaborations include: Bootstrap, BSMT Space, Rise 365, Young Hackney, Mediorite, Sistah Space, Kaffa Coffee, Queertopia, Ridley Road Market Traders, Dalston Superstore, the British Red Cross Dalston, Zoom Bike Project and Dalston Roundtable.

We also work with cultural and heritage partners including Hackney Museum and Archives, The Museum of Youth Culture, Autograph Gallery, Westminster University, East London Photography Archives, The National Trust (Sutton House), Hackney Council’s Culture Team, and Hackney CVS—while continuing to grow new partnerships across East London’s heritage and youth sectors.

Future Hackney www.futurehackney.com @futurehackney

Future Hackney’s images and stories are co-created within the neighbourhoods we work with alongside visual artists and community and educational practitioners including Don Travis Wayne Crichlow Neil Martinson Connie Swift Bart Janssen

Future Hackney is produced in association with Innercity Films. We partner with other creative organisations, individual artists, freelance professionals and local volunteers.

We are and have been funded and supported by a range of organisations including The National Lottery Heritage Fund The Community Fund Awards For All The Weavers Company Create London Freelands Foundation East End Community Foundation Museum of London Autograph Gallery Hackney Council Near Neighbours City Bridge Trust Uk Youth The Red Cross SYP Trust Hackney Museum Hackney Parochial Charity City of London