A spiritual and communal home to thousands over the centuries; 59 Brick Lane was born as a Huguenot church, later becoming a Methodist church, then a synagogue, and is now home to the Brick Lane Mosque.
In the latest episode of their brilliant podcast series, Dash Arts’ Artistic Director Josephine Burton delves into the history behind this evolving building, sharing stories of sacred spaces, immigration and recycled history with guests including:
The Vice Chair of the Brick Lane Mosque Harmuz Ali, Author Rachel Lichtenstein, who researched the building as part of her book On Brick Lane, Architect and Co-Curator of the UK’s architectural pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale Shahed Saleem, Architect Dan Leon (who worked with Shahed on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday multi-faith architectural project), Director of the Swadhinata Trust Ansar Ahmed Ullah, Academic and Curator Rosalind Parker, who has written about faith in the public space, and Rebekah Coffman, an American Academic at NYU whose research focuses on architectural reuse.
It’s a fascinating episode shining a light on the communities of East London, and the many layers of 59 Brick Lane’s history to date. We can’t wait to be having more conversations like these back in our building when it’s safe to do so. For now, listen in below:
Visit Rachel Lichtenstein’s online project A Memory Map of the Jewish East End
Buy Rachel Lichtenstein’s book On Brick Lane
Find out more about the Friday, Saturday and Sunday multi-faith architectural project
Find out about the Swadhinata Trust
Visit the Brick Lane Mosque website
Listen to more Dash Arts Podcasts
Music credits:
Umbra Sumus – Jah Wobble
Pagamenska – Oi Va Voi
Do you have a story about life on Brick Lane that you want to share with us, or a project you’re working on related to our neighbourhood? We’d love to hear about it – drop us an email.
Image by Dan Dodman via Unsplash.
