He founded The Yard in 2011 with just £9,000 and no idea how long he could keep it going. But additional money from the government and private donors allowed Mr. Miller to turn it into something permanent at a time when Hackney Wick was changing drastically.

The area’s revival began with construction for the 2012 Olympics, which were largely held in East London. Today, there are plenty of trendy bars, restaurants and clubs, as well as luxury apartment developments. Mr. Miller said the changes made him uneasy. “Artists go to places that are free, and then they’re not free for other people,” he said.

Ben Bishop, The Yard’s music and events coordinator, was hired in 2017, having run off-grid warehouse parties for years. He said that he had always liked to collaborate with performance artist friends, and that working at an arts venue like The Yard seemed like a good way to blend both worlds.

Mr. Bishop said he saw The Yard as playing an important role in supporting London’s subcultures, through nights such as Pride of Arabia, which defines itself as being for “queers from the Arab world,” or Murder on Zidane’s Floor, an event run by Goal Diggers, an East London soccer club for women and people who identify as nonbinary.

Image Ben Bishop, The Yard’s music and events coordinator, said the venue played an important role in supporting London’s subcultures. Credit... Andrew Testa for The New York Times

The recent narrative around London’s night life has been a largely pessimistic one, with many venues closing for good, and others facing soaring costs or the denial of licenses because of concerns about noise. Mr. Bishop said that if the city’s late-night culture is to thrive, rather than just survive, artists and late-night venues needed to collaborate. “We should be seeing more types of art and expression in clubs,” he said.