PLAY-HOUSE explores the current and future needs of the communities who live, work and play in Tower Hamlets. The festival works together with local families, community groups, schools, artistic and heritage organisations to offer free events and activities for east Londoners.
Presenting a day of free workshops and play for everyone at All Points East In The Neighbourhood, with street poet Mr Gee, imaginative storytelling and puppet-making with Storycraft, and the preview of an interactive sound walk, Generation Grime: Back2Bow, exploring the birthplace of grime music in east London.
Arthoppers and Storycraft for families who like to get creative and crafty together.
Playshop, Thinking Circle and #BecauseWe’veRead are great for everyday thinkers and philosophers looking for an inspiration to take action within their community.
And if you’re curious about the local history? Join Generation Grime: Back2Bow Interactive Sound Walk and see East London from a new perspective.
Your way of seeing the world is unique! Share it with the world at Mr Gee’s Poetry Workshop.
Programme of events:
Arthoppers present Speaking In Shapes
11am – 1pm
Speaking in shapes
Ask a friend a question and look out for the first thing they do… Do they look up at the sky, make a facial expression or move their hands? Body language is the secret code to communication which gives us clues into how a person is thinking and feeling.
Join Art Hoppers for ‘Speaking in shapes’ a fun family art session which invites visitors to take the best bits of their body language and make quirky, puppet caricatures of themselves, family or friends. Are you all about the hand gestures? Do you nod your head without realising? Maybe you jump up and down when you laugh? Enjoy getting to know what your body has to say.
Suitable for all ages.
(1.00pm – 1.30pm changeover)
Apples and Snakes present Storycraft
1.30 – 3pm
An interactive storytelling session with puppetry and poetry exploring the loveable characters that make our community – from the chip-munching teens to the singing vegetable sellers, the beat making buskers to the uncle and his cat. When something strange happens down the street, everyone must come together and make their voices one! This will be followed by a paper puppet making workshop where the participant will make a figure from their community and learn how to play with voice and movement to bring them to life. These puppets can be moved by up to three people so it’s a great team exercise for the whole family!
Suitable for ages 2 – 8.
(3.00pm – 3.30pm changeover)
HEC Global Learning presents Playshop
3.30 – 4.30pm
A ‘playshop’ immersing families in Thinking Games. We believe that through play and creativity, we can all think better together. In this workshop for children and adults alike, there will be games to pique our curiosity and wonder about the world and our place within it. This will be a relaxed, highly interactive space and time where joy, thought, laughter and questions collide.
Suitable for all ages.
(4.30pm – 5.00pm changeover)
Mr Gee presents Identity of East London: Poetry Workshop
5:00 – 6.30pm
Fancy yourself a poet? A song lyricist? A lover of the language? Or simply someone that has always had a fondness for an interesting turn of phrase? Join award-winning poet Mr Gee as he shares some of the insights behind his verses and his embracing of the Spoken Word. He encourages you to tap into your creative side and explore the words that you write, focusing on the poetry of time, place and personality of East London.
Suitable for ages 10+.
(6.30 – 7.00pm)
#BecauseWe’veRead The London Chapter presents Mapping Our Identities: Discussion and Craft Session
7 – 8.30pm
A discussion and craft workshop where participants and speakers will engage in a discussion around the journeys made in the west. Where we come from, our clothes, our food, our bodies, our languages, visually drawing our journeys on a global map and attaching words, articles, images to reflect the stories that come with that. Session facilitated by Maryam Abdullah from #BecauseWe’veRead The London Chapter and Sheetal Mistry of South Asian Sister’s Speak.
Suitable for ages 11+.
Day’s Summary & Closing words Highlights so far + Grime Walk, Visual Minutes
8.30pm – 9.30pm (Each walk is 20 mins)
Generation Grime: Back2Bow is an interactive sound walk exploring many of the significant locations in the foundations of the musical genre known as “Grime”. East London – and more specifically Bow, E3 – played a pivotal role in the birth and evolution of the Grime scene, from a spontaneous, localised and nameless subculture into a global phenomenon with an international audience of millions. This is a unique opportunity for listeners to physically explore a tiny geographical area near Victoria Park which shaped the musical landscape across the UK and beyond.
Suitable for ages 16+.
All Points Drawn: Visual Minutes
Ongoing
Artist Temujen Gunawardena will be creating an interactive visual installation at All Points East, capturing the essence of some of the activities and people’s stories and ideas. The wall will be a space to reflect, share and create a record of the day.
Introducing you to playful questioning and the creative challenges of our time the Thinking Circle, a group of local community philosophers, invite you to share and capture your thoughts as visual minutes.
www.allpointseastfestival.com / @allpointseastuk / All Points East UK
Find out about all our upcoming family events here.
