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.
Newham Visual Artists Network (NVAN) was initiated by Rosetta Arts to address a gap in the opportunities made available for visual artists in the borough; the network was developed to enable access to information and provisions, as well as to offer a forum for peer networking. To fully understand the scale and intricacy of the needs of visual artists working and living in Newham,in March 2012 we hosted a consultation event at Rosetta Rathbone Art Studios (RRAS). The attendance exceeded expectation with a packed room of creatives contributing to various strands of discussions around their needs. The feedback from this consultation event was then reviewed and published on the previous Rosetta Arts website.
The short film posted here was also produced at the event which was a resounding success; the network went on to hold similar events at Stratford Picturehouse and Stratford Circus, with input from institutions including Artquest, The ART.e of Change, Birkbeck University, The Whitechapel Gallery, University of East London and the Victoria & Albert Museum.
