THE SPACE
THE STORY SO FAR
Since their inception in 2014, Wood Street Walls have been championing the need for affordable artist workspace in London and especially Waltham Forest.
Regeneration in Hackney Wick was pushing Tom Jackson and Craig Evans, collective known as Static, out of their studio. Wanting to work where they live, it quickly became clear that there was an acute lack of affordable creative space in Waltham Forest.
Street art was the focal point to raise awareness of the growing need for artistic space in London and to demonstrate the positive impact the creative community has on an area.
Working with renowned artists like Conor Harrington, Phlegm and Invader and supporting well known but also local artists HATCH, Mark McClure and Lillylou the team have worked on over 45 collaborations in just over two years.
In 2015, acrowdfunding campaign was launched to repurpose an abandoned building near Wood Street into a creative hub. In October 2016 the team successfully raised £38,000 to make their plan a reality, including securing an £18,000 grant from the Mayor of London.
In January 2017 the lease was signed on the former Manual Instruction Centre, previously known as the Dragon Building, and work began to repurpose the building in to a creative hub with shared workspace.
You can view a selection of the pictures of the progress in our gallery.