Hackney artists flock to Well Street

Well Street artist Karin Janssen in front of self-portrait

Is Well Street about to become the new Vyner Street? Artists are a nomadic lot, frequently relocating in search of cheap rents and suitable space. The latest artistic hot-spot is a tucked-away street in south Hackney. Situated in between popular London Fields and artistic mecca, Hackney Wick, Well Street is changing.

The Well Street Market Traders’ and Residents’ Association (WESTRA) has been struggling for the past year to revive the local street market, but with limited success. The association has high hopes for the Christmas Fair they are to hold on 3 December, but it is unclear that a permanent market is viable here.

The recent closure of several shops in the street following rent hikes by the owner of the buildings has generated much ire; it has also led to vacancies, and Hackney Council is in discussion with the landlord about making this space available for pop-up studios and galleries as part of its Art in Empty Spaces programme.

And where poor artists come, more affluent settlers tend to follow. Not surprisingly, there are concerns in some quarters that the area is set to experience the gentrification that has affected nearby neighbourhoods in recent years.

WESTRA Secretary Ian Rathbone was cautious in his reaction to the possibility of the street instead becoming a hive of artistic creativity: ‘Two galleries are OK, but five or six start to make [the street] something different. A lot of people think that it’s being taken over”.

Artist Karin Janssen is one of the newcomers. Janssen opened her Project Space gallery on Well Street in April, and she is charmed by the intimacy of the area: “You can find everything in here and everybody knows each other”. She has been an active part of the street, organising artist networking events as well as preparing for exhibitions.

Her neighbour, W. Wells Butcher, has been a family business for 80 years. When asked about the recent changes, owner Alan Wells notes laconically: “We sell much more mutton and beef on the bone than ever before”.
It may be surprising to see a beef leg exhibited next to a painting, but on the face of it, the artists seem to be blending in well with the traders.

Another newly-installed artist, Adam Towner, says: “I know all the shop owners and they know me”. Towner had a workshop on Well Street for several years (Towner & Hoxton next to Percy Ingle bakers). He has now moved to a larger space and his new project, Dead Dolls Club, home to a gallery, studios and café, sits opposite Sir John Class Hall.

Slowly but steadily, Well Street is beginning to blend in with the surrounding areas where traditional shops sit side by side with new ventures.

Artists have also been coming up with stylish new looks for the street. One of the proposals is for the ‘visual integration’ of all the shop facades, which could be done by a local artist who did a magnificent façade for Towner’s old workshop. The changes betoken gentrification for some, whilst for others they mark a symbiosis of old and new. But there is no doubt that Well Street is in transition.

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