WEAVER'S COMMUNITY ARTS CENTRE

by Nancy Guest

This proposal is centred around knitting the estranged groups of Bethnal Green into a circular community through theatre in a time of government cuts to the arts. The concept was to up-cycle donated fabrics into costumes for community theatre/dance. The proposal sought to reduce the waste within the performance industry so costumes would be reupholstered into practical clothing, sold from the ground floor of the building and available to the refugee and homeless community on a “pay-what-you-can” scheme. The first floor of the building is occupied by a rehearsal studio with a floor-to-ceiling window (making open-air performances possible) while the second floor hosts the fabrication studio where elderly members of the community and those looking to gain employability skills lead the costume/dress-making process. An infrastructure of pulleys and clothing rails allows the produce to circulate between each floor with ease.