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.
Sixty children and young people between the ages of 9 and 14 years old from Grange Primary School, St Lukes, Star Lane Primary and Rokeby School, learnt about the history of Canning Town and the changes that are happening there, by way of sharing and exchanging ideas about their local environment. Inspired by the stories and ideas, the children created their own exciting and bold slice of Canning Town through making fun and experimental mixed media models.
The learning and art sessions were delivered at schools by two of the artists-in-residence at Rosetta Rathbone Art Studios Julie Dug And Lilliane Fontaine.
A part of the project also included students from Rokeby school visiting the Vermillion development. The visit was hosted by Rosetta Arts and John SISK & Sons giving students an opportunity to view the live construction, share and exchange ideas, learn about the construction industry career progression routes as well as links between utilising creative skills in a variety of industries.
The theme of the sessions was Re-Imaginings, and asked the children how they would you reimagine Canning Town. By participating in after school workshops, drawing designs for all the models and learning how to hand build objects, the project culminated as a large-scale installation of all models to create a cityscape vision presented at Rokeby School.
