26B Rathbone Market was a shop unit earmarked for demolition to make way for a new housing development During an interim period designated by contractors John SISK & Son, the unit was transformed into a temporary creative community hub which became known as Rosetta Rathbone Art Studios or RRAS. Consisting of an old public facing shop space, a kitchen area, two toilets, and back room storage spaces, it was a hive of lively activities with a range of programmes and initiatives from artists-in-residence, workshops, a gallery for exhibitions and venue for hosting special events for artists, families and school visits. This artistic intervention spanned almost two years providing rich cultural experiences and opportunities for thousands of local people, schools and groups of all ages.
Rosetta Rathbone Art Studios (RRAS) was selected as an ideal location for one of the Artlympics events. These were a series of five specially designed programmes across the Spring and Summer of 2012 where people from local communities could participate in fun, creative activities and mini-events such as a 60-second drawing sprint and painting relay.
Themed around the values of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Artlympics were part of a wider project we ran titled East End Art Trail, which collaborated with the local communities of West Ham and Canning Town across the past two years. The Artlympics at RRAS coincided with the traditional Good Friday Rathbone Market and it was estimated 500-600 people attended across the course of the whole day.
