Illuminate

Shining a light on memories of East London, Illuminate explored memories of the East End from older generations, and was exhibited at Rich Mix at the start of 2021.

After attending Rich Mix events for years, local visual artist Martin Richman noticed that he was often the eldest in the audience. In a bid to connect older communities with the power of culture and creativity, something Rich Mix pioneers in Tower Hamlets, Martin ran a series of workshops with Heritage Learning Facilitator Halima Khanom to tease out personal histories from elder generations of East London’s communities. Personal objects and memories shared within the group sparked storytelling and connections, which Martin used as basis to create Shards of Light, the feeling of remembering, a permanent light installation reflecting the history and dynamism of the area.