Last Friday, I was at the latest Grow London Local meet-up for small/start-up businesses, which took place at Fish Island’s lovely Social Yoga studio (see feature below).

The idea is pretty simple: drop in for a coffee, have a network and - most importantly - share stories and struggles from the entrepreneurial coalface with a bunch of like-minded local founders.

Meeting other people, who are most often equally busy running their own ventures, can be a really beneficial moment of reflection, connection and refocusing from the daily grind for everyone involved.

A few of the people I spoke to (shout out to Monica of Vital Signs Media and Jane of Guzzle mag 👋🏻) thought there should be more of these opportunities in the neighbourhood. Well, there are…

The Cultural Interest Group (CIG) has been meeting locally every second Friday morning of the month for an amazing 16 years now, bringing together stakeholders of all sizes - from sole-trading local artists to international property developers - to strengthen bonds between everyone invested in the area.

It’s free to attend, and you’ll always discover the location (it’s purposefully hosted at a different spot each time) plus the agenda of speakers listed in the CIG box in this very newsletter (see below) each month.

For February, we’re stretching our wings across the Park and over to The Rum House on the waterfront in Stratford, part of the impressive distillery and events venues run by Jim & Tonic at Sugar House Island (main pic above).

Whether you’re a freelancer in need of some human contact, a founder or resident looking to make some new local connections, or an existing stakeholder with plenty of news to share, the meeting is open to all, each and every month.

Meanwhile, many thanks to all the journos, photographers and other creatives who got in touch after last week’s callout for contributors keen to join our local media team. We’re reaching out to you all individually, and will have more news of plans for 2026 to share at the CIG, if you can make it along on Friday…

🖼️ Do make sure you catch the free exhibition of the fastest growing multi-disciplinary art prize in the UK, the John Ruskin Prize at Trinity Buoy Wharf. The awards support and promote artists, designers and makers whose work defies easy categorisation, all with the values of the radical polymath John Ruskin at it's very core. Runs to 21st Feb.

🎨 Creative Voices, Activist Voices: Sensory Stories of Creative Communities by Fun Palaces / Trowbridge Gardens / Thu 12th Feb – Sun 15th Mar / A new collaborative exhibition exploring the intersection of grassroots culture and civic activism, using photographs, objects, and storytelling to investigate how community-led creativity can unlock a wider voice for social change.

🎨 Make Space: February Workshop at V&A East Storehouse Thu 12th Feb. Get under the hood of the V&A’s archival collections in this grassroots workshop for the 16-24-year-olds. Artist Sally Barton is leading a session on banner-making, inspired by the social history and political campaigns of this corner of East London’s industrial past.

💃 TUTU - Chicos Mambo at Sadler’s Wells East Wed 11th Feb – Sun 15th Feb. This isn't your average ballet; it's a high-energy, collaborative celebration that pokes fun at the often stiff dance world with technical skill. Look out for the tutus, which promise to be bigger, bolder, and more anarchic than you'd ever expect.

🎭 Here There Are Blueberries at Stratford East until Sat 28th Feb. Back in 2007, a mysterious album featuring Nazi-era photographs arrived at the desk of a U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum archivist. As curators unravelled the shocking truth behind the images, the album made headlines, igniting a debate that reverberated far beyond the museum walls. Based on real events, this show tells the story of these photographs, what they reveal about the perpetrators of the Holocaust and our own humanity.

​🖥️ The latest DoublePortrait-hosted local AI Hackathon - Solving for Cybersecurity is taking place at University of Staffordshire London tonight, Wed 11th Feb where anyone interested in the world of vibe coding can join Staffs students and the wider tech community for 3-hours of rapid prototyping at the intersection of AI-assisted coding and cybersecurity challenges.

🔊 Strobe Soundsystem brings a mighty 16-stack rig back to life this Sat 14th Feb at Hackney Bridge, with a huge line-up including the legendary A Guy Called Gerald, techno don Saytek live, and reggae acid techno from Jah Scoop among the highlights.

You may have previously danced in front of some of these speakers when they powered Room 2 at the original site of The Cause pre-Covid, but now the system has been massively souped-up by Hackney Wick’s ‘techno pastor’ and Not For Sale Gallery anti-CEO’, Freshlov3.

He’s developed it into a 360 degree AV experience, which will take over the main room, alongside a second rave space also thundering with d&b, techno and dub DJs from afternoon through into the early hours.

🕺🏻 Hackney Wick mainstays Equal Parts return to Grow this Fri 13th Feb for a huge mid-February knees-up showcasing DJ sets from London rave veteran Secretsundaze and rising star Dem.

🎺 The Oracle Collective x UCL: Jazz Jam / UCL East Marshgate / Fri 13th Feb / As part of the ongoing Words Matter exhibition, this free early evening session looks at legacy of eugenics and reclaiming community narratives through improvised jazz. It will see an open-ended exchange between musicians, academics, and the neighbourhood itself.

💖 Tarts With Hearts is a sexy, full-throttle night of DJs, collectives, voguing battles, pole dancing, performances, vendors, and more that isn’t your average Valentines day party, but is happening on Sat 14th Feb at Colour Factory. Celebrate love in all its forms with an all QTIBPOC lineup including Bledi, Backstage, Cybertease, Tarts, House of Laveaux, Haus of Telfar, Pxssy Palace, Sippin T, Queer Bruk and Taali Not Charlie.

🎸 Wick’d Indie is back at the Lord Napier Star this Thu 12th Feb with Indy Amnesty rattling the proverbial windows with everything from the heavy-hitters like Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes to the fresh hooks of Wet Leg and Wolf Alice.

Profile your own local business, project or event to over 8,000 locals via this newsletter and 1,000s more on our social channels. Sign up to The Wick Business Community today.

🌿 Canalside music and culture hub, Grow, are currently looking for chefs and kitchen porters to join the team in their plant-based kitchen.

💼 The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park’s Community Anchor Network (CAN) is seeking an individual or small team for a 10-month freelance role to strengthen community power across the QEOP and surrounds. The CAN Partnerships Service will work across all their activities, carrying out research, engagement, mapping, evaluation, and relationship-building, while supporting Action Group organisations to lead the development and testing of the CAN model. If you already have a keen knowledge of the local area and can hit the ground running, send applications to [email protected] by Sun 15th Feb.

🚀 The Royal College of Art’s InnovationRCA Creative Brands Accelerator is open to applications from alumni. It’s is a call-to-arms for founders working in fashion, ceramics, digital design, and beyond, offering dedicated coaching from retail heavyweights, access to hot-desking in the heart of their incubator and a winter pop-up opportunity to showcase your craft to a global audience. Apply by Mon 23rd Mar.

📢 Last callout for any local employers looking to engage with students at Here East Student Jobs Fair on Fri 23rd Feb. Fill in the short form on the website if you have part time, internship and volunteering opportunities that could be an idea fit for the diverse and talented students attending Teesside University London, Loughborough University London, UCL, University of Staffordshire London and LMA.

🚮 The North London Community Fund (NLCF) is a £1million funding commitment to support projects that prevent waste to make a real difference in local communities. If your network supports residents in Hackney and you’ve got a great idea for a waste prevention project, grants of up to £20,000 are available for 2026–27. Applications by 16th Feb.

🆕 Arbeit Studios currently has 2 studios available at The Loop for sustainable circular economy businesses, and also 3 studios suitable for musicians and creative practitioners at their Wallis Road site.