In 1889, St Margaret's House opened its doors as one of the world's first women's Settlement Houses, offering subsidised accommodation for working women in the East End. As the home of the Bethnal Green Ladies Committee, St Margaret's House embarked on pioneering social engagement work led by the women who lived there. Over 130 years later, we continue to create innovative work through our Creative Health approach - none of which would be possible without the incredible contributions made by East End women for over a century.
We are on a mission to learn more about our history, and the ways in which St Margaret's House has contributed towards the social make-up of the East End, and we are asking for your help in making this possible. To celebrate our rich history as well as the creativity of our community, we are launching a new volunteer role here at St Margaret's House: Creative Archive Champions - To help us safeguard our archive and tell its stories in imaginative ways. This workshop will be the first of a series of events where we use the archive as a source of inspiration, using methods such as printmaking, textiles, photography and collage.
Whether you are a regular participant here at St Margaret's House, a local history enthusiast or a curious creative, we invite you to explore the rich histories held within our archives, uncovering the stories of the last century and giving them new life as we look to fortify our history across the St Margaret's House site. Your explorations will help shape the retelling of our history for decades.
For this workshop, we are delighted to be joined by textile designer and researcher Gina Pierce. Gina has explored our archive and taken inspiration from photographs, motifs and architectural elements of our site to create a series of stencils. During the workshop, we will learn how to use these to print on tote bags that you can then take home.
No experience needed and all materials are supplied. We use textile dyes, so aprons are provided, but it’s best not to wear your finest clothes.
About Gina:
Dr Gina Pierce is a textile designer and researcher, with a focus on engaging new audiences for archives. Gina has a PhD from the University for the Creative Arts and MA in Textiles from Central Saint Martins. She is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Art, Architecture and Design, London Metropolitan University.
Workshop Schedule
6-6.15pm - Please arrive promptly at The Anson Room in Building 21 for a short introduction to the archive with St Margaret's House staff and a chance to have a look at some of our original archive materials.
6.15-8pm - We will then move to The Create Place for the stencil and textile printing workshop.
Contact: If you have any questions regarding this session, please email programming@stmargaretshouse.org.uk
Venue: The Anson Room at St Margaret’s House, 21 Old Ford Road — E2 9PL
Access: If you have any access needs of which we should be aware, please get in touch with us on 020 8980 2092 or email programming@stmargaretshouse.org.uk so we can arrange this for you. Entry to The Anson Room is not step-free.
Date: Monday 8th June
Time: 6-8pm
Ticket: FREE (booking is essential)