Changing Faces

For many years, Stoke Newington has been a place where people have settled, gathered, lived and shared ideas that have made a real difference to the lives of others. It has become a hub attracting many people from diverse cultures. We are all part of that history. 

Everyone who comes to the area brings something with them: a food, a language, a memory, a dream, a story. This project recognises these contributions and invites people to consider how we continue to enrich this diverse area. It shares and celebrates the many stories, cultures and people that make up the layers of our community. 

Output Arts has been working on an inter-generational oral-history project as part of the Stoke Newington Literary Festival’s outreach programme, training pupils at Stoke Newington School to interview long-standing members of the community, in order to build up a picture of what ‘community’ means and whether it’s changing for the good – or not.  

A short video features some of the participants picking out words that they think represent the community of Stoke Newington. An installation of moving boxes features audio recorded during this project. The piece considers what it is to join a community, seen from the perspective of those who have moved here and, in turn, seen others move in.