Abandoned club saved by artists who dream it can be ‘Tate East’

A group of artists have occupied a social club that has stood abandoned for 15 years and want to open it up to the community again as an arts space.. Archant

A group of artists occupying an abandoned council building hope to turn it into a community arts centre that they say could one day rival the Tate Modern.

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A group of artists have occupied a social club that has stood abandoned for 15 years and want to open it up to the community again as an arts space.. A group of artists have occupied a social club that has stood abandoned for 15 years and want to open it up to the community again as an arts space..

The Tate Institute was built in 1887 as a social club for workers at the nearby Tate & Lyle factory, but the once-bustling music hall on the corner of Wythes Road and Albert Road has stood silent and shabby since it was boarded up in 2011.

Since April, however, the old hall has been quietly undergoing a transformation thanks to the Craftory, a group of artists who moved in and set about repairing the 130-year-old wreck.

Now a collective of 11 people, including couple Franco and Elena Cacciapuoti, and one cat are living and working there.

Elena, an artist and former teaching assistant, said “the building was in a terrible state” when they arrived. “The ceiling had dropped down on the floor, it was a big pile of rubbish.”

A group of artists have occupied a social club that has stood abandoned for 15 years and want to open it up to the community again as an arts space.. Lelamdais Guillaume, bike repairing. A group of artists have occupied a social club that has stood abandoned for 15 years and want to open it up to the community again as an arts space.. Lelamdais Guillaume, bike repairing.

After “months and months of building and repairing” – and £4,000 of materials – former mechanic Franco and his friends have repaired the leaking roof and turned the main hall into workshops, including an art studio and bike repair station.

There’s even a “heritage corner” where relics of the Tate’s former glory have been saved from the rubble.

Perhaps ironically, the Craftory have even installed security cameras, and Franco says they have foiled two break-ins since they moved in.

However, Craftory have no urge to keep the Tate Institute to themselves.

A group of artists have occupied a social club that has stood abandoned for 15 years and want to open it up to the community again as an arts space.. The artists studios. A group of artists have occupied a social club that has stood abandoned for 15 years and want to open it up to the community again as an arts space.. The artists studios.

They welcome visitors and hope to turn the building into an east London version of the more famous Tate art galleries.

A proposed “Silvertown ArtSpace” would be a community hub hosting workshops, family-friendly activities, all kinds of art and even a cafe – in other words, a modern-day version of the social club it once was, but with paint pots instead of pint pots.

The “Tate East” need not be a pipe dream, as many locals are on board with the idea, and University of East London academics have visited and offered support.

However, this vision is jeopardised by the simple fact that the Tate Institute still belongs to the council, and the Craftory are technically breaking the law by occupying the boarded-up structure.

A group of artists have occupied a social club that has stood abandoned for 15 years and want to open it up to the community again as an arts space.. The museum corner. A group of artists have occupied a social club that has stood abandoned for 15 years and want to open it up to the community again as an arts space.. The museum corner.

Franco said: “We don’t have a choice really. It’s their property – if they want to take it back, they will.”

A Newham Council spokesman said: “The council was granted a possession order for the Tate Institute at court on Monday, September 12, which came into effect immediately.

“It is now at the council’s discretion as to when it enforces this order.”

A group of artists have occupied a social club that has stood abandoned for 15 years and want to open it up to the community again as an arts space.. A group of artists have occupied a social club that has stood abandoned for 15 years and want to open it up to the community again as an arts space..

ARTIST’S STORY

Elena Cacciapuoti, 27, described her life before the Craftory as “normal”.

A group of artists have occupied a social club that has stood abandoned for 15 years and want to open it up to the community again as an arts space.. The herb garde. A group of artists have occupied a social club that has stood abandoned for 15 years and want to open it up to the community again as an arts space.. The herb garde.

“I was renting in north London and had a normal full-time job just like everyone else here. I was a teaching assistant and making art until I couldn’t combine the two,” she said. “Once I stretched a big canvas and I couldn’t fit in the room. It was like a tragicomedy.

“I was very upset every day and had a life crisis – then this opportunity came up. I thought it was crazy but I was desperate to have space for my art.”

The Tate has helped others to pursue their passions too.

Elena said: “We have one neighbour who brings his sewing machines here to work. When I listened to his story it was very emotional because all his life he had been doing things that aren’t what he wants to do.”

Zoah Hedges-Stocks Zoah Hedges-Stocks

Elena hopes to share her enthusiasm with others. “I want to run art classes for people who are planning to study it in the future, and a class for everyone to just get together to do something fun,” she said.

Zoah Hedges-Stocks Zoah Hedges-Stocks

RESIDENTS’ RESPONSE

A petition asking for the council’s permission to set up an arts and craft workshop in the building has attracted six pages of signatures from people in the area.

Peter Vlachos has lived in Silvertown for 13 years and is voluntary director of the St Edward’s Estate, where he lives in Newland Street.

He believes that residents support the Crafory project because “there’s really a dearth of social spaces.”

Zoah Hedges-Stocks Zoah Hedges-Stocks

“I have to walk 10 or 15 minutes to buy a pint of milk,” he said.

“This is very much a commuter community – there’s nothing to do.”

The University of Greenwich academic added: “Anything to provide a focal point is not just welcome but incredibly needed.

“The ball is now firmly in the council’s court.

“Will they work with this positive force in the community, or will they barricade the building and leave it empty, another eyesore in what used to be a vibrant community in Silvertown?”

EFFORTS TO SAVE INSTITUE APPLAUDED BY ACADEMIC

Dr Toby Butler, a history lecturer at the University of East London, visited the Tate Institute, which used to be “a very important place for people to get together”.

Like many people in the area, Dr Butler said he is dismayed to see pubs and social clubs close one after another.

“I have long been concerned about the fate of the Tate Institute building, which has played a huge role in the social history of Silvertown for more than a century,” he said.

“It has been sad to see a distinctive building like this left to rot for so many years.”

Dr Butler was “astonished” to see the work that Craftory have put in to restore the building.

“They have patched leaks and repaired gutters and who knows, might have saved the building as result,” he said.

“It would be lovely to have it as a community space. Every older resident in Silvertown will have memories of it.”

Of the people who make up the Craftory, he said: “They seem to be very open to suggestions and ideas and meeting community needs.

“It could be incredibly exciting for Silvertown, which has lost a lot of community spaces. We are running out of nice atmospheric places.”

Dr Butler said the eviction notice was “deeply regrettable” and suggests that the council should consider the Craftory’s presence as “an opportunity to grasp, rather than a problem to sort out”.