Dispersal

To make way for the development of 2012 Olympic Games in London, 284 trades and businesses from the Lea Valley between Stratford and Hackney Wick had to be re-located. Recognizing that a vast swathe of East London working history was about to be lost, photographers Marion Davies and Debra Rapp, set about systematically documenting these spaces. From 2005 to 2007, they had amassed a large archive of images of 80 businesses – from belt-making, zinc galvanising, and salmon smoking – and the landscape surrounding them.

Looking at these images today is a potent reminder of the industrial and working-class history of the area in which V&A East now resides. The gradual erasure of spaces like these, dedicated to a rich array of industry and craft – a trend seen in many cities around the world – prompts the urgent question: How can we work to revive industries and cultures of making, while supporting new creative practices to emerge across our cities and communities?