Dear old Hackney Wick
The place of our abode
There is no other in the land, it beats the mile end road
It's there that we were born; it's there that we will stick
There is no other in the land like dear old hackney wick
Have a banana !

The Wick curiosity shop is a small scale archive and cultural space dedicated to the specific locality of Hackney Wick and Fish Island. It documents, hosts and promotes. It is an eclectic collection of local produce, memorabilia, oral history, songs and stories from or about Hackney Wick. The Archive exists on-line and as a series of live events in which it temporarily assembles. The display and the format the shop is continuously changing. The list of curiosities is growing, slowly collecting an extensive list of contributions made in or inspired by Hackney Wick and the surrounding area.

The Wick Curiosity Shop presents a narrative understanding of the area, A space full of stories about the Wick told in a multitude of ways. It is an archive of local cultural activities and artefacts that help to document the process of change in the area with the close involvement of its local residents.

The Wick Curiosity Shop is as much an archive as it is an event structure and platform for futher cultural activity. It allows existing histories to be collected and new memories to be formed, thus capturing the life of a community in transition through a series of close engagements. Archiving and registering what seems relevant from the viewpoint of the Wick and its residence and users.

This website brings all contributions and events together in one place. You can brows the shop either by looking for individual contributors, by searching all contributions or by events when the shop was open and on site. To find out more about the day to day running of the Wick Curiosity Shop you can visit our blog for more details. Contact us if you would like to contribute something to the shop or spotted something that needs further explanation. You can also join our mailing list to stay informed about future events.

The Wick Curiosity Shop was originally commissioned by [SPACE] for the Hackney Wick Festival in September 2008. It is a collaboration between public works and Hilary Powell from Optimistic Productions with the generous support of Pudding Mill River.