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491 Gallery. A community regeneration arts project in action.
491, A creative community success story! 2001 - 2010.
Community Resources.
Latest Project News.
Past news articles.
491 Gallery Films: 'Squatters'
The 491 Gallery community is wide and many after so many years of successful doings. And the 491 Gallery also has a growing membership of 'Friends', people who support the project, what it is doing and the reasons that it is run for.
We all believe in the power of creative expression and self-responsibility as a key to lasting community regeneration and everybodies creative empowerment.
The '491 Gallery' is a community collective, operating under the name 'The 491 Gallery project'.
Loved by many & feared by some, we are exploring the possibilities of real community empowerment & urban regeneration, building a bridge towards a new way of land management and holistic community-led development.
"A community needs a soul if it is to become a true home for human beings. We, the people must give it this soul"
Found inside the doors, of this derelict
factory were the debris of 8 years of misuse. Despite
the broken windows, rats, and dust, within 2 weeks,
the slow and steady clean-up process had begun, while
sowing the seeds for this Sustainable Community Regeneration
Arts Project.
Regeneration has now included bringing back into use
5 derelict properties and a considerable tract of fly
tipped land.
The project was founded in Oct 2001 by the Art Organisation, & with a small group of volunteers, some sheer determination & an amazing amount of support from the local community, the project has grown & grown.
The aim of the project was to turn this mis-used & derelict space, into a vibrant creative community resource. A creative outlet for local artists & a community space for workshops etc.
491 Gallery now hosts spaces for workshops, exhibitions,
events, art studio, textile studio, music studio, cinema,
photography studio, community & permaculture garden, and
has been a great inspiration to many people over the
years.
As a creative community arts project we aim to offer as many creative resourses to our members & the public as we can.
The 491 Gallery and its community has a huge creative potential to be tapped in to.
We offer a variety of creative resources and connections.
Offering educational and cultural activities to the community in an accessible way is a corner stone of our philosophy of creative community engagement.
The 491 Gallery provides workshop space, exhibition space, garden space, internet use and more.
However, its resources extend far beyond the building.
The 491 Gallery community is in itself a valuable resource, comprised of artists, musicians, environmental groups, teachers, film makers, gardeners, tradesmen and so on.
Each of us is skilled in some capacity or another and we have a space in which to
share those skills.
The exhibition space at 491 Gallery has spent many years providing countless artists with a space to display their messages and project their voices.
The 491 Gallery provides the space for artists at all different levels of their artistic career to exhibit. Whether you're a university student doing your end of year show, or a seasoned artist of many years then we welcome you to the space.
Our workshops provide an opportunity for you to learn new skills and develop your existing ones.
Our workshops run in the evenings and are offered by donation. We welcome both beginners and the experienced to all our classes.
There is a massive creative potential inside us to be realised. At the 491 Gallery, people can come together to communicate, exchange ideas, learn and meet like-minded individuals while developing art and the community.
We believe that the community and what that represents is itself is a resource to be utilised.
In a society that seems to be lacking that underlying sense of responsibility towards one another, the 491 Gallery harnesses the power of community simply by providing the space to welcome the community in and watch it grow.
The 491 Gallery is a hub for musicians and artists.
Over the years, bands have formed here, played here and set up projects here.
The Vertigo project next door has a rehearsal room for musicians to practice in.
The 491 Gallery has a vibrant music scene, with many of our residents being DJs or in bands that have played at some top venues including the Purple Turtle, Scala and the Edinburgh Festival.
There is a vast resource of musical knowledge amongst us here.
The skills amongst us are diverse and immense.
We currently offer one-to-one tuition in learning the drums and the guitar, and we welcome more!
If you would like to share your skill, whatever it may be, and have the chance to tutor others, then we can provide you with the space in which to do so. email us at info@491gallery.com
Here you can find all the latest news concering the
491 Project.
Whats new, whats changing, big ideas etc ...
Volunteers needed for garden projects.
The 491 Gallery is looking for some help with a couple of garden projects at the moment,
A wonderful space to relax in & the home of the NPS group, the gardens here at 491 are a wonderful asset to the 491 project.
We have some great projects going on at the moment in the 491 gardens. We are transforming the front of the project (the street side) into a wonderfully green space.
A new large plant bed is being built & new planter boxes are being planned.
All these ideas & plans need volunteers to help bring them into being. Can you help?
Website news. (Feb 2010)
Our website, 491gallery.com is currently under going a revamp!
If you would like to contribute an article, or write a piece for our new website we would love it! There are sections that need a constant stream of input & new info. We want to hear your voices!
These are just some examples of new sections of our website we'd love your input on:
- Your letters of support, or a rant on something that bugs you for our rants section.
- Have you been involved in the regeneration story of 491 Gallery? Then we'd love you to tell us about your experience.
- Are you an artist or musician? Then give us a brief outline of your work, a picture & your website link for our musician or artist directory.
- Have you run an exhibition or workshop here? Then submit pictures & info for our histories page.
- Write an article about past happenings here, or present.
- The Vertigo music project.
2009
July: The 491 Community Garden.
July: Leytonstone Arts Trail 2009.
July: Increased Disabled Access at 491 Gallery.
June: Wildlife observation pond in the 491 garden.
May: f491 Community Arts Festival.
Colette Crespin interviews the residents of Gallery 491 about their way of life and how they have improved the property by cleaning it up and filling it with creativity. More films can be found in the 491 Digital Gallery section of the website. |
