🌸 Yes, summer’s undeniably ending, and while we’re all a little sad to see it go - stifling heatwaves and all - why not see it out in style with Hackney Bloom, a new community-led exhibition bringing together flowers, textiles and heaps of local creativity?

Running 17th–19th Sept at Sonic Tonics at Tradestars, the show brings together work by artists, local residents and creative partners, creating a shared garden where every piece has its own story.

Presented by Cheeky Studio × Roha Flower Shop, the event includes textile artworks, floral installations and pieces made by Hackney residents through a series of community workshops. Participating artists have been working with recycled yarn generously supplied by Cheekyarn, giving old materials a new lease of life.

Not only are Sonic Tonics hosting the exhibition space, but they will be serving up locally-brewed drinks while you wander around the work. And if you make it down for opening night, Japonica will be handing out Japanese-style bakery treats to the first 100 guests - so there's an extra reason to get there early…

Launch party tomorrow, Thurs 17th Sept, 6-9pm, before opening to visitors Fri 18th and Sat 19th, 12-5pm. Flowers, art, drinks and Japanese pastries - what more do you really need? 🌸

As part of our growing network of partner businesses, we’ve teamed up with Mainyard Studios to profile some of their amazing creative tenants over the next few weeks. First up is Ableton Certified Trainer, Jeremy Lively, who helps artists deliver killer tracks from his purpose-built studio.

There’s also a chance to get your first month rent-free if you’d like to make Mainyard the home of your own venture…

🚲 London Cycling Festival is rolling into East on Sun 20th Sept, with the closest festival hub at Victoria Park. Head over from 10am for a cycling-themed day including music, food, stalls, accessible bikes to try, entertainment, a pedal powered smoothie bike, plus a closed cycle loop around the park that’s open to riders of all ages. There are also marshalled rides setting off from around East London if you fancy getting there on two wheels and exploring the local area along the way.

☀️Sugar House Island Summer Social is happening on Fri 18th Sept, bringing an evening of live entertainment, food and drink to Sugar House Island. The free event showcases dance performances from East London Dance, live sets from Lina Sounds, Shelbee Tee, The Mutliverse and Dia Day, pet pawtraits for your furry friends, face painting, garden games, table tennis and more.

📸 We Are Yes are opening up their Wick space at Arbeit Studios for London Design Festival from Thurs 17th–Sun 20th Sept, with Imaging Devices and Prototypes, an exhibition looking at the weird and wonderful tools behind image-making. You’ll find modified cameras, experimental imaging equipment, bespoke devices and a newly built drawing machine, giving you a peek at the experiments, failures and one-off inventions that usually happen behind the scenes.

🎵 Sound of Style is at Westfield Stratford until Sun 20th Sept, celebrates the relationship between fashion, music and culture. Curated by designer Priya Ahluwalia, the installation runs alongside a programme of panels and live sets exploring the sounds, stories and cultural influences behind her work. There’s also an Ahluwalia pop-up featuring rare archival pieces, all free to visit.

💄 Spruce up your niknaks with Rhizomatic’s Lipstick and Lighter Holders Workshop at Algha Works on Sun 20th Sept - “for the girls, gays, and theys who are reapplying lip gloss every five minutes and/or cannot be too far away from their lighter”. Pick from a range of textiles and make a personalised case, no experience needed.

🌙 Dreams & The Inner Landscape interactive workshop is at Social Yoga on Sat 19th Sept, for an evening exploring dreams, symbolism and inner worlds of the mind. The workshop looks at dreams as a way of exploring intuition, creativity and self-understanding.

🎨Today, Wed 16th Sept, marks a new exhibition opening at Two More Years, as sculptural painter Maria Aetheria presents her new series Antevasin - reflecting on personal transformation through patterns shared between human experience and the rhythms of nature. The exhibition runs until 18th Oct.

Check out local culture reviews, features & interviews every week on thisisthewick.com

We’ve joined forces with new small business newsletter Ping, which offers free advice to exactly the kind of independent and neighbourhood businesses we like to champion around here, so why not give it a read…

🌎 Come Unity: London in Solidarity with Colombia is at Colour Factory on Thurs 17th Sept, bringing together a big night of live music and DJs in support of those affected by the Colombian earthquake. The lineup includes Quantic, Jamz Supernova, Florentino, Bonita and Slick N Bobby, with 100% of proceeds going towards the Colombian earthquake relief fund.

🎶 At Grow on Fri 18th Sept, Rook Records make their return, bringing a night of eclectic dance music spanning house, disco, Afro grooves and jazz. Rinse FM presenter Mr Redley heads up the lineup alongside Rook residents Jawa Jones, Tall Nico and Alfie Panaiotis.

🏳️‍🌈 SERVE: Day Edition is bringing its queer, FLINTA-friendly party to Algha’s Plantroom on Sat 19th Sept. The day-to-night lineup includes S_STEELE, HOLY C, Billy Jack (UK), J. Aria, Michelle Manetti and Aiden Francis b2b Fastlove, with the party promising underground sounds in one of the Wick’s more unusual spaces.

👠 Exxtravaganza: London Fashion Week Edition is bringing a suitably glamorous Sunday session to Fabwick on Sun 20th Sept. The house and electronic lineup features Alessandro Osini, Andrea Giudice, Larry Cadge, medmat and Rick Sanders, with the party leaning into fashion, creativity and a little bit of extravagance alongside the music.

👕 U-Shirt has launched a new website, making it easier to browse and shop its collection of customisable and upcycled pieces online. The Wick-based brand is all about giving old clothes a new life, with a focus on creative, individual designs rather than mass-produced fashion.

🏗️ Riverside East is looking for its next operator. The Olympic Park is offering up the venue as a new opportunity for retail, hospitality, leisure and event-led businesses, with 14,094 sq ft of indoor space and 27,258 sq ft outdoors. The site includes a fitted café/bar and kitchen, a large first-floor events space with its own catering kitchen and roof terrace, plus a courtyard that could be used for outdoor dining, seasonal activations or fan zones during stadium events.

🎨 Hackney Council’s PRIDE365 and Black History 365 grant recipients have been announced, with £16,000 going towards projects marking Transgender Awareness Week, World AIDS Day and LGBT+ History Month, and a further £10,000 funding six projects for this year’s Black History Season, alongside three new commissions. Hackney received 38 applications for PRIDE365 and 18 for Black History 365, with the full lists of successful projects now available to view.

🏃 Team Marathon London is bringing a new kind of running event to Hackney Wick in May 2027. Rather than one person taking on the full 26.2 miles, teams of four will each run 10.55km together, with no relay handover. The race will be wrapped up in a festival-style atmosphere with DJs, live music, a brass band, street food and drinks. Tickets start at £26.20 per runner. Join the waiting list here to grab tickets when released.

🥳 Planning an upcoming party and looking for a stunning local location? Timber Lodge, the striking Park-side venue on Honour Lea Avenue is offering readers of The Wick free venue hire and a very affordable discount minimum bar spend of only £950 (18+ parties only). Reach out to them via [email protected] or brewstreet.uk and simply quote THEWICK50 to get the special discount.

💼 East London Dance is looking for a new Executive Director. The organisation is after a strategic and entrepreneurial leader to help shape its next chapter, building on almost four decades of using dance to support participation, creativity and cultural impact across east London and beyond. The role will involve delivering the organisation’s vision, strengthening partnerships, driving sustainable growth and leading its work across culture, community engagement and organisational development. Applications close Thurs 8th Oct.

💸 The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust is offering grants of £500-£8,000 to UK-registered charities with an annual income of under £5m. The funding supports projects across three areas: participation in the performing arts, creative health interventions, and heritage crafts and skills, with a particular focus on increasing access for communities facing barriers to opportunity. Applications close on Fri 2nd Oct.

😂 Got a grassroots project that could do with £5,000? The Happiness Fund is offering two £5,000 grants to community-led projects working around mental health, wellbeing, inclusion or skills development. Run by Laughology, the fund is looking for projects that can have a long-term impact and help people thrive, so if you’ve got an idea that could make a difference in your community, it could be worth a look. Deadline is Fri 2nd Oct.

🎵 The Youth Music Trailblazer Fund is now open for applications, offering grants of £2,000-£30,000 to organisations running projects that help children and young people make, learn and earn in music. The fund is particularly interested in projects that trial a new way of working, help sustain a grassroots programme, disrupt the status quo - or ideally, all three. Applications close on Fri 20th Nov.

🌿 Sustainable seaweed packaging company Notpla is looking for a Graphic Designer to join its creative team. The full-time, permanent role involves everything from brand and campaign work to social, events and physical design, helping shape their visual identity. Notpla is also offering EMI share options, a zero-carbon pension and a hybrid working setup. Applications close 26th Sept. Apply here.

🚀Discover Creative Careers has launched a fresh chapter as an expanded UK-wide initiative designed to make creative careers accessible to all young people (ages 11–24), particularly those from underrepresented communities. Delivered by the Creative Careers Collective, the updated platform connects students, educators, and industry leaders with hands-on work experience opportunities, career resources, and pathways into the UK's creative economy.

📕 The Wick Book is a limited edition 160-page hardback historic record, looking at 15 years of culture, community and change in the neighbourhood through the pages of The Wick. We’re now down to the last 30+ copies.

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