Hoxton Story
Written and Directed by Lisa Goldman
An interactive archive, a booklet and a limited series
of intimate walkabout performances, written and directed
by Lisa Goldman, the Red Room’s Artistic Director.
Hoxton Story is a unique journey through a "regenerated"
London community - a visual and aural living montage
of facts, fictions and verbatim testimony. The
project has multiple manifestations and is designed to explore
the process of, and feelings around, the now mythical “regeneration”
of Hoxton. Juxtaposing the perspectives of tenants, squatters,
residents, council workers, community activists, artists,
architects and developers, it explores their dreams, disappointments
and achievements in relation to the land/environment of
Hoxton - as home, work and recreation; as public space &
as capital waiting to be realised.
The Red Room has collaborated with web artist Elvina Flower
of Safetycat to develop the Hoxton Story Interactive Archive. The Archive
offers the opportunity to browse a selection of images,
to hear extracts of testimony from local residents, and
to play online games which relate to the Hoxton Story’s
themes and concerns.
To use the Hoxton Story Archive you will need the Flash Player version 7 installed on your browser. If you do not have it already, you can download it for free from: Macromedia Flash Player
Click on the icons to see what they contain.
WARNING some audio files contain strong language.
The Archive will open in a new window.
Alternatively you can access the Hoxton Story Audio from a simple list, by theme and person HERE
All portrait's are by Leo Asemota, map and other photography by Jenny Kagan, graphics by NEW, programming by Safetycat.
Hoxton was put on the cultural and media map in the 1990’s,
famed as a groovy district du jour, playground to Tracey
Emin and a new young British art crowd, home to the Hoxton
Fin and spawning a new life style crowd and rash of loft
apartments. The area was also identified as in severe need
of urban regeneration and the government promised an influx
of funding to improve housing and social amenities.
Over the last year the Red Room has been interviewing
residents of Hoxton housing estates to ask what has changed
for them. Their perspectives form the basis of the project,
which includes the performances.
Hoxton Story explores new working models which exist between
and beyond traditional participatory community arts and
oral archiving. It creatively engages residents over a sustained
period; it celebrates resilience and supports grass-roots
creativity, and gives local volunteers valuable experience
of collaborating with a professional artistic team. At the
same time, Hoxton Story is led by a clear vision articulated
by artists; it creates work which explores a wide spectrum
of social concerns; it aims to provoke debate about how
the ‘host community’ might move forward, and
in doing so supports positive social change. The performances
blend verbatim testimony with fictional narratives and characters,
as a means to transcend the limitations of supposedly ‘objective’
reportage and to draw audiences into an intimate, emotional
realm that gives real issues lasting impact. The Hoxton
Story Archive will be available through the London Borough
of Hackney’s Archives Department (http://www.hackney.gov.uk/index/hackney/archives.htm)
from October 2005.
The Red Room can offer Hoxton Story as a model for creative,
theatre led inter-community dialogue, which can be offered
to communities in the throes of rapid regeneration, both
nationally and internationally. Our work uses creative approaches
to promote positive, equal dialogue between sectors and
agencies and to foster critical engagement with urban regeneration
and the needs of communities directly affected by it. If
you are an organisation interested in discussing the possibility
of a Red Room residency to support positive community development
in a regeneration context, please contact info@theredroom.org.uk
to request more information.
The Red Room wishes to thank the National Heritage Lottery
Fund and Arts Council England, London for their support
for Hoxton Story.
Hoxton Story's partner project is 'The Harmony Suite' by
Collective Encounters (www.collective-encounters.org.uk).
Performances scheduled for 14-17 September 2005 in Liverpool.
For more information contact info@collective-encounters.org.uk
or 0151 298 9744.
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