Have a Hackney Wick-end

From art roulette to spicy Colombian bites and a floating cinema, E9 is the place to be this weekend for your cutting-edge fix, says Susannah Butter
Smokey Tails
20 August 2013

Encircled by Victoria Park and the marshes, there has always been potential in Hackney Wick, as well as plenty of derelict warehouses to party in. But this weekend it is a destination in its own right. Everyone is coming east for Hackney WickED arts extravaganza. And with so much in the area, it’s easy to make a wick-end of it.

Hackney WickED is a free festival, now in its sixth year (after a break last year for the Olympics), designed to celebrate the area’s many creatives. Hackney Wick has the highest density of artists in the world, from weekend amateurs to Bridget Riley.

“The Olympics gave Hackney Wick attention and we hope the artists who make the area so great can benefit from that. Hackney Wick has changed a lot in recent years,” says the festival’s director, Anna Maloney, from the event’s hub in Queen’s Yard. “When we started in 2009 there were no bars or restaurants. Now there’s Crate Brewery, Forman’s on Fish Island, and much more. But an important part of the festival is still to encourage the artists and keep the people who live and work here close together.”

And Hackney Wick is about to get even more wicked. Smokey Tails, a pop-up barbecue and cocktails venue, opened this week, and there will be plenty of music on its sunny terrace on the River Lea Navigation because the team behind it includes DJ Seth Troxler and the people responsible for Bank of England Governor Mark Carney’s favourite festival, Wilderness, as well as Secret Garden Party.

Smokey Tails’ co-founder Jo Vidler says: “We chose Hackney Wick because it has become an artistic hub of London and being next to the water gives us the environment we wanted. We’ll see how this goes — but potentially we would like a permanent place.”

Like the area, the transport links have improved — get on the Overground to Hackney Wick, or the number 30 bus, because this weekend is the perfect time to get a feel for the area. Here’s how to have a fine time in E9.

Festival time: Hackney WickED is a celebration of innovative art, music and pop-up food stalls

Art

With more than 350 participating artists, Hackney WickED is a good place to start a London art collection. There are open studios and bigger exhibitions in the area’s galleries, and a performance art-specific event space.

Most of the work is for sale and prices range from £1 for local crafts to around £10,000. Former Young British Artist Gavin Turk is a patron of WickED and many of those in the festival’s Tomorrow’s People show have gone on to achieve great things. This year look out for Fantich & Young’s surreal sculptures and paintings by Conrad Clarke. Other highlights include a graffiti jam and Art Roulette on Friday, 6pm-9pm, where you can gamble on the roulette wheel for artworks, and a live sculpture event on Saturday called The Shrine. Sunday brings performance art and cocktails. Otherwise, spend a pleasant afternoon wandering between studios.

Food and drink

Those who make it east before 2pm will be rewarded with a handsome brunch. There’s The Counter Café, with its trademark spicy homemade baked beans (Stour Space, 7 Roach Road, E3, thecountercafe.co.uk), or Forman’s Riverside Restaurant and Bar, for its famous smoked salmon (Stour Road, Fish Island, E3, formans.co.uk). Both are excellent for dinner too. The Counter does tapas and Forman’s has an impressive à la carte menu.

The Hackney Pearl is another favourite (11 Prince Edward Road, E9, thehackneypearl.com). There’s the surreal sight of a tree growing in the middle of the road, strong coffee for brunch, cocktails and a dinner menu featuring courgette flowers and pork belly.

Now there’s also Smokey Tails, with its wood-decked sun trap of a terrace overlooking the River Lea Navigation, smoked meats, frozen cocktails, guest ales and a special barbecue sauce passed down to Seth Troxler from his grandfather (The Container Yard, 119 Wallis Road, E9, smokeytails.co.uk).

More of Hackney Wick’s good food will be available at WickED’s Queen’s Yard hub. Don Arancini specialises in risotto balls and will serve versions with chorizo chilli and saffron, smoked gammon with mozzarella or wild mushroom and pecorino.

For something a bit spicer, try Ning’s Malaysian street food, or Colombian Arepas’s corn buns with hot fillings. A favourite of the festival curators are Crate’s juicy chorizo buns.

Afterwards, slake your thirst with locally brewed lager from Crate’s Queen’s Yard pop-up (cratebrewery.com), or some mezcal from Quiquiriqui. It’s a tequila-esque spirit that comes from the agave plant, and the Quiquiriqui crew serve it from a Seventies ambulance (quiquiriqui.co.uk).

Nightlife

Urban Sessions is the beer palace of east London. There are more than 500 draught beers, cocktails, DJs, live brewing and tasting events. It’s open until 2am on Saturday night (Cre8 Centre, The Old Baths, 80 Eastway, E9, urbansessions.co.uk)

This weekend there’s also a party being held at the Yard Theatre. Starting today, music promoter and record label Upset the Rhythm is putting on Yard Party, a three-day feast of international underground music.

There’s a wide variety of sounds, from folk to noise and romantic pop. US Girls play tonight, as well as indie-pop band Scott and Charlene’s Wedding (Unit 2a, White Post Lane, E9, theyardtheatre.co.uk)

Hackney WickED stresses that this year the focus is on art, and the music events finish by midnight so as not to disturb residents. But there’s still a lot on offer for a late-afternoon dance.

DJs from Nova will spin in the main yard from 6pm until 11.45pm on Saturday, and Vinyl Pimp from 11am-10pm on Sunday.

Wheels

You don’t have to bring your bike to explore the area on two wheels. At The Bicycle Library in Hackney WickED’s Queen’s Yard site the librarians will find the right ride for you and you can borrow it for as long as you like. They also stock TWOnFRO accessories and have a lovely café filled with all things bike.

If you’re more of a skater boy or girl, Frontside Gardens skate park is the place to practise your ollies. It started as a pop-up but fans wouldn’t let it go so it’s stayed on. There is talk of adding a cinema (67 Rothbury Road, E9, frontside.org.uk)

Shop

Give the Hackney hipsters a run for their money by scoring a wicked deal on a vintage gem at Goldsmith Vintage Emporium Open Studio and Pop-up Shop (The Peanut Factory, 56 Dace Road, E3). Down the road there’s the Wick Curiosity shop, which this weekend is selling books (43 White Post Lane, E9)

Film

Watch a film on the Floating Cinema. It’s been there all summer, with movies and events — and this weekend there’s Mystery River, the premiere of film-maker Michael Smith’s film about his tour along the Lea with (Lea Rowing Club, E5, floatingcinema.info)

As part of Hackney WickED there’s The Lab Film Festival, showing the work of local emerging talent. So when they’re the next Noah Baumbach you can say you saw them first.

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