Economy Projects

The more I go to studio spaces in Hackney, the more they remind me of this time I spent in Friedrichshain in Berlin. For those that have not been there before, studio spaces in the area are nearly imperceptible from the outside and are usually within buildings that you think have been left derelict for months until you open the door and notice a huge hive of creative activity.
I was immediately reminded of that experience when I was told about Economy Projects the place that used to be called now and then. It’s in a studio on Martello Street and surprisingly easy to miss. I did — several times and there’s no sign, just a white battered door that I imagine could have been a wholesale storage space a few decades ago.
If you see a big, battered white door with the number 10 by the wall you’re in the right place. Especially if it’s daubed with red graffiti. The margin for error is small, as I don’t believe they have many neighbours.
I went to see a really funny show by Sofia Buchardi in the summer. Reading the beginning of the press release on entering the space (it said Binary is the language of successive contradictions) I assumed I would be awash with pretentious guff, but her work was actually a very zeitgeisty bit of critique about how our information society is taking over our lives to a ridiculous extent. A truer word could not have been said.
They also offer studio space if you’re an artist looking to create work. With the price of rents going down you might be able to score yourself a deal.
I’d advise popping down here during first Thursdays only: I have found their opening times to be intermittent and the last thing you want to be doing is hanging around. The contact numbers on their site don’t work either! Typical! But on the plus side it’s near London fields, so you can easily head down to the market if it turns out to be closed.