Residents, traders and those who spend time in East London walk around their local surroundings with Video Specs; capturing what they see, and narrating their experiences as they go.
(BROWSE is not responsible for the views expressed)
Akeine donned BROWSE Video Specs and wandered around Tottenham Court Road as part of the 'Designing OurSpace' programme run by ArtAgainstKnives.
BROWSE Video Specs works with young people, enabling them to comment on the state and safety of their local area, and on how to improve the living environment. In this video, we follow Akeine on his search for a corner shop or chicken shop amongst the big name brands.
Look out for an post on the Creative City blog for more information about the workshops that BROWSE delivered in as part of ArtAgainstKnives' Designing OurSpace programme.
Cappucino? Flat white? Americano? Latte? Every coffee lover has their tried & true favourite. But sometimes it's fun to mix things up a little bit, and try something new...
Up until now, BROWSEast has focused on the perspective of individual people who dwell - whether permanently or temporarily - in the East London area. We thought we'd try a different approach by looking at various crafts within the area. After all, there is a rich history of craftsmanship here. For example, nearby Weaver's Fields is so named because of Victorian silk weavers who lived in the area.
In AllPress, a local coffee shop, the craft of roasting coffee can be observed by customers as there is no wall (only a counter) dividing the roasting area & cafe area. We wanted to get a little closer to the magic, so Richard donned a pair of Video Specs to give us all an idea of the roasting process from the other side! It's fascinating understanding how coffee is roasted.
Roasting:
The coffee beans are not but are green in colour before roasting. They go into the drum roaster, which has been warmed up by small burner to 210ºC . Exact measurements are integral to the art of roasting, so a temperature probe is used to measure the temperature.
Every coffee is roasted differently, depending on the inherent characteristics of the beans.
Cooling: The coffee beans are now dark brown. They fall into the cooling tray - the metal container with holes that whisk the beans to cool them quickly enough to stop the roasting process.
Resting:
The beans must rest a minimum of 24 hours for the flavour to develop. It takes a minimum of 4 days to make an espresso. You'll be glad to know that roasted beans remain fresh for at least 2 weeks. Drink up!
Grinding:
The coarseness of the grind needs to be adapted to the coffee drinking method, depending on the length of contact with hot water, i.e.:
fine for espresso.
medium for filter.
coarse for cafetiere.
& there's your caffeine fix!
Thank you to Allpress Espresso coffee roasters for giving BROWSE to have a peek at the process. Now we know why good coffee tastes so good - it is all about measuring roasting temperature and exact timing not to burn the beans.
Sarah was a volunteer at St Hilda's East in the past, and now back from university, she is working there in an internship in marketing and fundraising.
She has an interesting view as she was here 8 years ago, and the changes to the area are very noticeable. Find out what she thinks about the changing face of the local people and architecture by watching this video.
Sarah has also posted her comment on wearing Video Specs on the Creative City blog
When Sienna was working with BROWSE, she went to speak to a local tailor called Carole. Carole has been a resident of the area for 12 years and has seen the changes to Spittafield Market. Here, she takes BROWSE Video Specs to discover a special event, which to her represents the cultural vibrancy of the area.
See what she sees by watching the video.
Tags: tailor, Spittafield, market, dance
We are looking to ask a lot of members of the community to wear Video Specs and show us what in their eyes and opinion gives this area its character.
On 17th July, Browse took 3 pairs of Video Specs to the Friends of Arnold Circus 'Swap & Share Picnic' as we'd been invited by the curator Alice Herrick. We asked people who came to the picnic but also participants to wear the Video Specs for a bit and record their experience. The idea was to make a little video to show how wonderful the event was but also how great a community there is in & around Arnold Circus, thanks to the great effort of the Friends.
The music was curated by End of the Road festival and Rough Trade Shops and the whole day was wonderful! Spit cherries to make tunes, eat pani puris with St Hilda's, have your portrait taken and also painted... Lots lots going on. The video will tell you more, just watch it!
Filmed and narrated by:
Alex Djao, Asma, Beatrice, Daniele Di Pede, Gillian Burton, H, Ho Ruin, Imyaz, Jaida, Joh, K, Karen Janody, Livvy, Mahmuda, Marine Shah, Martha, Megan Charnley, Oona, Pam, Q, Rebecca Collings, Richard, Rohima, Sonia, and Steve la Jolie.
To find out what next's year OlymPicnic has on offer, follow them here and read about it on the FOACwebsite
Tags: Friends of Arnold Circus, swap, share, London, picnic, family, community, music.
As Teresa works ( atIniva - Institute of International Visual Arts), and lives locally, she is very well placed to talk about the area.
She focus on Shoreditch High St, for she spends a lot of time there, and the local economy is so diverse and interesting that there is too much to say already. She says it all better, so why not watch the video.
Tags: Shoreditch, economy, value, history, slums, locals, business, City
We're really interested in Iniva's current project'Social Archive One'where participants become citizen journalist during workshops, and more.
Basically, we agree that people should be empowered more, and have more of a direct say.
Social Archive One project info. Currently.
Remember, you can follow us on Facebook now, and we are looking for support via WeDidThis. Any spare £10 is much appreciated! 12 days to go.
This is very exciting. Browse is now looking to grow, and we're starting a fundraising/crowdsourcing campaign with WeDidThis. WeDidThis is a platform that supports a selection of cultural projects for a period of one month.
This is the type of videos that come from it. But wait a minute, this is not just it.
What is interesting is the collective portraits that all the videos form when played together. What is also very interesting is working with communities and understanding their views.
Lucy started YH World, a media company specialised in communication for / with young people in Hackney. She knows the area inside out, and browses from Hackney Road to Shoreditch High St, via Arnold Circus.
Tommy shares an office at Village Underground. Involved in visual arts, he takes Browse on a tour around Brick Lane to his favourite street artworks, and record shop.
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Tags: Shoreditch, graffiti, tags, Brick Lane, Vibe Bar, Hip Hop, Rough Trade, vibrant, Monkey
Ernie - resident of Stepney - spends most of the week in St Hilda's on Club Row.
When I told him about the rope sculpture (dedicated to traders) that Pickles had highlighted in her video (see below), he told me a joke.
Listen to the man who likes a laugh and a joke tell the story.
Sami has lived in the area for almost 10 years. Here, she takes us to the heart of the estate, Arnold Circus and the importance of the local features for the community.
Yasin is a talented young guy, a rapper amongst other creative hats. We met on Arnold Circus - the 'home' of Shoreditch. Play this video as loud as you can as it was windy and noisy.
Miro lives and works in Shoreditch. A sound artist, he takes us to his favorite place in Arnold Circus, where he finds amazing acoustics and the rare and precious silence.
