A festival celebrating all forms of art is returning to east London this Friday.
Hackney WickED will provide a platform for local creatives to showcase their work alongside established international talent.
Now in its sixth year, the festival hopes to be bigger than ever, especially in light of Arts Council funding granted for the first time.
Festival director Anna Maloney said: “As a small community interests company, we have been surviving somehow for all of these years which is quite special in itself.
“After the Olympics we had to cancel a year because of security issues. So bringing the festival back in full format for 2013 was nerve-wracking. A lot changed for us regarding infrastructure in the area.”
This year exhibitions, open studios, film screenings, art markets, fashion displays and workshops will all be featured.
Anna said: “As always, the focus is on art. We want people to visit the open studios and realise the art is for sale – don’t be shy to talk with the artists and find out their inspirations and stories. Here you don’t have to just look, you can engage with the artist and buy affordable art.”
The festival hub will be at Formans in Stour Road, Fish Island.
Main Yard, Number 90 Bar and Kitchen’s monthly festival in Wallis Road, will also be collaborating with Hackney WickED to put on a special series of events.
Visit hackneywicked.co.uk
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