Morning! We’re landing in your inboxes a few hours earlier than usual this week, to give you a bit more time to make sure this evening’s plans revolve around the first ever Wick Wednesday CIG and social (full details in the box below).

From today, the usual monthly Friday morning Cultural Interest Group meetings are moving to the last Wednesday afternoon of each month, with a chance to stay on after to enjoy some lowkey networking and likeminded socialising (or just turn up for the drinks if you can’t make the earlier bit 🍻).

The idea is to foster even more of those serendipitous encounters that the CIG has been creating space for in the area for over 16 years now, while also rebooting the Wick Wednesday format, which encourages local businesses to put on tempting offers and events on the same night.

More on all that when we see you all later on, at the lovely HTA Design…

It might also be your last chance to pick up a copy of the recent relaunched print edition of The Wick (issue 20), with free pull-out poster centrefold by street artist Mul.

If you’ve been paying attention to the walls in and around Hackney Wick over the last few years then you’ll surely have spotted his instantly recognisable hearts with legs - bright, bold and positive emblems that stand out from the broad assortment of public art sprayed across the area.

For Mul, the hearts are an intrinsic part of his stylistic contribution to the street art landscape – his calling card. But what’s the story behind them?

Read graffiti culture journalist Marcus Barnes’ full interview with Mul now on thisisthewick.com

🏨As part of the London Festival of Architecture, HTA Design is hosting a retrospective exhibition: Building Belonging on Thurs 25th Jun, tracing the history of our estate regeneration projects from 1969 to now. The Line will also be doing a Wellbeing Walk on Sat 27th Jun where you can encounter public artworks set against the River Lea and East London's waterways.

🥃Burnt Umber and Yebiga Rakija present a big Balkan Night Out in the Wick this Fri 27th Jun. The celebration of Balkan music, culture food and rakija will involve a talk from Billy Gould on his connection to the Balkans, the story behind Yebiga Rakija, a rakija toast and a bottle-signing session, with Balkan Beats founder Robert Šoko on the decks.

📐The Festival of Stuff is happening at the The Institute of Making in Stratford on Sat 27th Jun. The theme is measurement - with lots of hands-on activities such as inlaying ancient bog oak, making decorative chain and dipping birthday candles. Get up close and personal (and high!) in a scissor lift, delve into mini microscopic worlds, and learn about the recording of time through fossils, accompanied by the rhythms of Taiko Japanese drummers.

🌈Hackney Pride Fayre takes place on Sun 28th Jun across Chats Palace, Chatsworth Road Market and Homerton Library - support local LGBTQIA+ artists, makers, crafters and foodies, and take part in some fun activities too.

🎤The boys are Back For Good, or at least for this week… catch some of the remaining tickets to see Take That at London Stadium in the park, Thurs 25th - Sat 27th Jun.

🦪Brie Yourself is running a Cultured Pearls workshop this evening Wed 24th Jun at 6pm, where you can learn the traditional art of pearl stringing with real cultured pearls, silk thread and sterling silver clasps.

🌍London Climate Action Week has lots of events going on this week. This afternoon Wed 25th Jun from 12-1pm join a Gardening Session and help restore Gainsborough Canal Garden. No experience needed - learn how to help a green space thrive, support local biodiversity and meet new people. Later tonight from 6.30pm there’s the Rewilding the Old River Lea guided walk, lead by Wildlife Gardeners of Haggerston, uncovering how the river is being restored to its natural, pre-industrial state. On Fri 27th there’s Volunteer with the Tree Musketeers - help with a range of tasks including potting, mulching, watering, weeding, pruning, propagation, maintaining woodland and caring for young trees. Check out the full list of events here.

🎓Tomorrow Thurs 25th Jun Loughborough University London is holding a Collaborative Project Show at Here East, where students will be showcasing their projects with partner organisations. First is a drinks reception, followed by some talks and the project showcases.

👗The current artist in residence at Two More Years is hosting a Fashion Live Drawing session next Mon 29th Jun - a two-hour drawing session featuring ten poses across two looks from designer Sehyun Park.  Suitable for all levels; bring your preferred drawing materials. RSVP by sending an email to [email protected] 

🎭 Review: The Harder They Come at Stratford East (runs to Sat 4th Jul)

Check out more local culture reviews every week on thisisthewick.com

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☀️Multi Multi Festival is the big hitter this weekend, taking over 11 venues in the Wick on Sat 27th Jun. The day-into-night party is at Hackney Bridge Gardens, Crate Brewery, Grow, The Bath House, Vittoria Wharf, Colour Factory, The Lord Napier and more. Run by Secretsundaze, the event displays some of the finest underground electronic music, from deep house and techno to global grooves and ambient beats.

🎵At Grow this Fri 26th Jun, the crew behind Overjoyed return with Leanne Wright as headliner, joining resident selectors Gilla and Russ Ryan. Expect a warm, high-energy mix of rare grooves, soulful house and R&B.

🍑Sheffield's Apricot Ballroom is taking over Colour Factory this Fri June 26th. It's headed by the DJ duo Nonna Fab and Joi La Frique, known for their upbeat, feel-good music - everything from funk and soul to house and jazz.

🍄Sun 28th Jun at No.90 is the launch party for the very cool looking Plants Can Dance album. Created by FCD founder Brian d’Souza, the album is a compilation of plant and mushroom inspired music from different artists. As part of the launch you’ll get the chance to make your own plant music in a biosonification workshop, followed by a listening session of the album and a Q&A. The album also comes with a 28-page mini book.

❄️With the mad heat hitting us this week, the team at Social Yoga are opening up their air con studio as a refuge and free space for families to come and cool down. It’s open to anyone from Fish Island and nearby for the rest of the week while the heat peaks, from 10-12 and 1-4. There’s tea and coffee, iced drinks, accessible shower with baby change, they’ve got a few crafty things the kids can play with - but feel free to bring your own toys, snacks and drinks along too to Studio 91, Glow Court.

♻️ After five successful years, the original Refill Therapy store on Wallis Road is officially closed while the team work hard behind the scenes to secure a new permanent home (which looks like it’s going to be near Hackney Bridge). In the meantime, you can still grab your zero-waste essentials over at their East Village shop (6 Victory Parade, E20 1FS), which is now open seven days a week.

📞 Fish Island Village Craft Market is back on Sun 28th Jun, popping up just over the water at HWK, and currently has an open call for all artists, makers or local businesses who’d like to trade on the day. The market will be open from 10am - 6pm, so if you’re interested in taking part, email Abi on [email protected]

🖼️ Entries are now open for the 9th John Ruskin Prize, a multidisciplinary art prize open to all artists, designers and craftspeople, of all nationalities, aged 18 and over. Run by The big Draw, and supported by the Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust, this year’s theme invites you to question the role of the maker today - what does it mean to create with an awareness of consequence, while also posing the challenge: must art serve a purpose beyond itself? Selected works will be exhibited at Trinity Buoy Wharf in 2027, and four winners will receive prizes totalling £9,500. Apply before 17th Nov.

👩🏼‍🎓 UCL School of Management has 6 full scholarships available for applicants from East London who want to pursue a postgraduate programme, including the MSc Creativity, Innovation and Leadership. Applicants need to be resident of East London since 2020 and have a household income of less than £42k. The full-time course starts in Sept 2026 and is at their Canary Wharf campus. Apply by 26th Jun.

🛩️ London City Airport Community Fund has open funding application for projects that build stronger, greener communities or create pathways into employment. Get funding for up to £3000. Deadline 26th Jun.

📕 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 100 copies.

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