F_able: A fictional archive of underused spaces in Roman Road

posted in: Urban Regeneration | 1

F_able is a project being led by students from Central Saint Martins exploring underused spaces in and around Roman Road. Since August 2019, the group have been working with residents from Bow along with spoken word poets, musicians, visual and performance artists, schools, and Roman Road Trust. Local people are invited to attend the final walking tour on Sunday 24th November.

The project aims to generate ideas to transform abandoned or under-used spaces without imposing the proposed changes in real life. The spaces selected include; Victoria Fish Bar, Globe Town Market Square, First Choice Cakes, Roman Road Car Park, and others.

F_able reimagines the potential for common space free from the customary barriers imposed by organisations, systems and government. The project is using the Common Room as its inspiration and partner.

The project uses Saidiya Hartman’s method of ‘critical fabulation,’ which combines archival research with critical theory and fictional narrative. The aim is to explore ‘ways of storytelling that rework how things that we design come into being and what they do in the world’.

Through their fabulations, F_able intends to create imaginary ideas for currently underused spaces that go beyond the restrictions of existing planning legislation to unlock the potential of local common space.

These imaginary proposals have been produced by a process of collective thinking during workshops held with artists and the local community.

The imaginary ideas will be brought to life in two ways; Firstly, there will be a walking tour on Sunday 24th November in which collaborating artists will install or perform a trace of the fictitious ideas.

Secondly, the workshops and walking tour will be documented as if the imaginary ideas for the spaces had truly happened. This will create a fictional yet tangible archive of future possibilities which are currently unrealisable.

F_able define this project as an activist method of bringing attention to the need for communal, resistant spaces in a city submerged by privatisation.

F_able has been developed by Masters students from Central Saint Martins; Helena Aðalsteinsdóttir, Mya Berger, Kat Christidi, Will Heyward, Tashy Hughes, Lucy Malone, Sara Milosavljević, and Anna Spyropoulos.

The project works in collaboration with local artists; Camilla Brendon, Lottie Bolster, Ella Dorman-Gajic, Noemi Gunea, Grace Lambert, Ale Lopez, Iftikhar Latif, Veronica Rowlands, Elly Rutherford, Harry Wright.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

F_able Walking Tour: Sunday 24th November, 5.00pm. Starts at the Common Room, E3 5NS.

Walking tour featuring performances, art installations and discussions about the fictitious events imagined during the course of the project.

All welcome, please email for more information: fableproject2019@gmail.com

Visit F_able on Facebook.

Visit F_able on Instagram.

 

PREVIOUS EVENTS

School workshops: 11th & 15th October at Old Ford Primary School, Bow.

Workshop with local children exploring selected disused spaces through their eyes.

 

Common Room workshops: 12th & 19th October at the Common Room.

Workshop with members of local communities and artists designed to develop ideas around the disused spaces.

  1. Richard Palmer

    Mindfulness/meditation group.Annual outdoor music festivals – swing dance/jump jive, folk/country/blues, world music/ old time music hall..

    A space and activities for autistic people.

    A community cinema club.

    An annual conmunity festival day.

    Free guided local history walks around Roman Road

    Pub tour of the Roman Road area.

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