Community mosaic group ‘faces eviction after more than a decade’ from Hackney Downs Pavilion
One group member said the pavilion is ‘where our heart is’. Photograph: Hackney Mosaic Project
A community arts group could face eviction from Hackney Downs Pavilion after more than 10 years if council plans to turn the space into a cafe are approved.
Hackney Mosaic Project has been operating out of the pavilion since 2013, but could lose its access to the space under the current proposals.
The group’s founder, Tessa Hunkin, opposes the plans and has already rejected a proposal to move the group to Springfield Park, a 32-minute walk away.
She told the Citizen: “I have an established group in the Hackney Downs area. A lot of them have physical problems and so moving too far away from this area would make it very difficult for them to continue to attend. It wouldn’t be the same to up sticks and start again with a new space.
The group has met multiple times a week for more than 10 years. Photograph: Hackney Mosaic Project
“The project is about these people, the people that I have been working with for years, and I don’t want to lose that. This is where our heart is.”
Hackney Mosaic Project currently meets at the pavilion every Wednesday and Friday, and every other Saturday. Group member Ken Edwards, 61, said the group is deeply rooted in Hackney Downs.
“We need to be in Hackney Downs because not only do we have our family here, but we have the community as well,” he said. “Being kicked out after 10 years is, to put it mildly, disgraceful.”
Under the current plans the cafe – which would seat up 40 people – would take over the space currently used by the mosaic group. However, earlier plans suggested a layout which could have accommodated both.
“One of these plans shows the small cafe and two lettable spaces,” Hunkin added. “So one of those could be the space for children’s parties, and the other one could be for us.”
The group has created a number of mosaics which are now on display around the borough. Photograph: Hackney Mosaic Project
Councillors Alastair Binnie-Lubbock (Green) and Michael Desmond (Labour) told the Citizen the council should give the community group greater consideration when assessing the plans.
Binnie-Lubbock said the mosaic project is “a cornerstone of the park community”.
“They’ve been keeping the pavilion alive and in use for years, and that needs to be properly recognised and valued,” he told the Citizen. “The council should co-design plans with Hackney Mosaic [Project] and, if at all possible, ensure that a space is made available for them to remain in the park, whether that’s in the pavilion with the new cafe, in the huts on the bowling green or elsewhere.”
Desmond said he supports adding “a decent café,” but hopes the council will take into account the needs of the group.
“I support the gist of the proposals to make better use of the pavilion with a decent cafe, which the community needs,” he said. “But I hope the council will develop the community space within the current designs, for use by the Mosaic Group.”
The group meets twice a week and every other Saturday. Photograph: Hackney Mosaic Project
A council spokesperson said the entire building would be revamped, with the plans set to “address long-standing views shared by local people that the pavilion’s existing changing rooms are infrequently used.”
“We value the support the Hackney Mosaic Group has provided to some of the most vulnerable members of our community for many years,” they said.
“However, the pavilion the group hires for six to nine hours a week is currently underused and we are proposing to transform it into a cafe and community space.”
Hunkin acknowledged the changing rooms in the pavilion – which are not used by the group – are “redundant” but said the group would make better use of the space if given the chance.
“I am aware that we’ve been unbelievably lucky for the last few years,” she said. “But if we had a lease or something, I can guarantee we would use [the building] more.”
The council said it is continuing to look for a new home for the group after a move to Springfield Park was rejected.
A consultation on the pavilion plans is open until 17 December. You can read more about it here.
I’m not surprised that place is far too currupt to be a part of society after all the ones where run the group are greedy and selfish they use people to better their own needs. everyone is against each other and the aduse behind the scenes is hidden away never to be spoken about in fear of reconstructions if it closes down such whould be a fine thing it’s not needed especially if destroys someone’s mentel health.
Its not a community arts project its a business
It was a community arts project but Hackney Mosaic lost their funding in 2015.
What hackney Mosaic do now is they create fish ponds, ornamented pathways , dog portraits and various other things for the wealthy in London.
The people who do the work dont get paid and that is exploitative because it’s a private business.
Tessa Hunkin gets paid for those projects but the workers dont.
Another problem is that it when they lost their funding in 2015 they had to break ties with groups who work with vulnerable people in Hackney.
The vast majority of people who attend now are in no way vulnerable they are affluent pensioners who in reality could afford to do anything they wanted to so why should they get the pavilion?
As Hayley mentioned there are safeguarding issues that are serious and that have been going on for a long time.
This year alone two women have had to leave mosaic due to sexual harassment from some of the men who go there and in both cases it was the women who were banished from mosaic and blamed by Tessa Hunkin.
Both of the women this happened to suffered severe mental trauma not just from the sexual harassment but by being blamed by Tessa Hunkin who freely admits that it happens but does not care.
Hackney Mosaic is a business and if some of the people who do a lot of the work harass women then its either ignored or the women are blamed as its the easiest option for Tessa Hunkin because if she were to take action over the sexual harassment of women she would lose workers ie ….( money)
There is no safeguarding for the vulnerable and why would there be if it’s a business ?however Tessa Hunkin is stating in this article that Hackney mosaic helps vulnerable people however its a business which does not help the vulnerable.
Vulnerable people need a place that is clam and free from sexual harassment and violence.
A place that cares about vulnerable people cares about the safety of women and over the years there’s been incident after incident of sexual harassment all of which has been ignored or the victim has been blamed.
It does not help the vulnerable it destroys their lives and also there are literally 1 or 2 people who go there who could be considered vulnerable the rest of the attendees are affluent.
I enjoy my time at the Hackney Mosaic Project and have never felt threatened or harassed. Instead I find it a soothing, relaxing, friendly atmosphere. With the right architectural plan, there’s room to accommodate both a café and art project space which is handicap accessible.
I have been a regular user of the Hackney Mosaic Project for the last 12 years and always enjoyed my time there, never experienced any harassment, never felt exploited and will be absolutely lost if this group would no longer exist or be to far away for me to take part. I am severely mobility disabled and need to use a mobility scooter to get there. The rather small amounts of money that we (as the group) charge for the intricate work we do is not making Tessa rich. It actually all flows back into the group as money we need to by materials, which are by no means cheap, a yearly outing by the group that Tessa pays for all of us often including travel costs to Suffolk or Brighton etc or entry costs for plays or ballet and most of all the rent to use the pavillion that the council charges us.
I am absolutely appalled by the slander of the 2 comments above by Hayley and Alice who I have never met besides that I belong to the group like a piece of furniture. I am ALWAYS there unless my lift is out of order. Sad to hear that there are people who hate us this much that they make up these lies. Shame on you.
i have been a volunteer at Hackney Mosaic Project for 21 months and i have never been harrassed or witnessed any sexual harrassment. in fact, i have always felt welcomed. It is a friendly and happy environment to work in. Yes, the project does get paid for some commissions and this money goes toward the cost of hiring the pavillion from the council and all material costs. It does not go into Tessa’s pocket. Tessa Hunkin is a very caring person and it is a privilege to work with her. The public are always welcome to visit the pavillion, so maybe they should and see for themselves what a friendly, happy place it is. There will be a lot of unhappy people if the Project closes.
1) I suggest Hayley and Alice invest in a dictionary.
2) I’ve been going to the Project for 12 years and never experienced nor seen sexual harrasment in any form.
3) Again, as a member for 12 years try as I might I can’t remember either Haley or Alice ever coming to the group.
I think the lesson here might be ‘haters will always hate’.
The reason a lot of the older women feel safe at mosaic is because they are older and because they are older they are not harassed by men the way younger women are.
Studies support the fact that men harass younger women more.
Im not trying to be rude Im just being honest
sharon you dont know either of the women this happened to or what happened why are you insulting these women who were victims of sexual harassment like an online troll ?
Has tessa hunkin who runs thew workshop asked you all to do this?
There were no comments for weeks then suddenly in the space of 2 days all these comments slagging these women off who were victims of sexual harassment.
It looks to me like you were asked you all to get on this page and do some damage limitation by slagging off women who were victims of sexual harassment and I think thats a disgusting and an utterly vile thing to do
By coming into the comments section and calling women who are victims of male harassment liars this shows what an awful gang mentality bullying place mosaic has become.
The same thing with Alice who left a comment saying she feels safe.
Alice is 80 at least shes not very likely to be a victim of sexual harassment lets just be real for a minute
Gabi you were sitting out in the hallway when the harassment happened with both women you saw nothing
You saw none of the things that happened you were not even in the room but your willing to call these women liars but you were not there in the room to see what happened?
You always sit out in the hall so it would have been impossible for you to see any of the things that happened.
You havent even spoken to either of the women this happened to so you only know the perpetrators stories not the victims
Does the person who harassed one of the women involved bring in unwanted gifts for you? or alice? or sharon? No of course they dont
Have you got any proof that none of this harassment happened?
By evidence I dont mean some creep saying ” I didnt do it” but actual evidence?
Ive got lots of proof it did and the other woman who this happened to its going through the courts right now.
2 women leave in the space of 3 months due to sexual harassment and its just a coincidence? Hmmmm ?????
Gabi your in your 70s and use a mobility scooter I dont imagine you get much harassment from men.
Again not trying to be mean but from what I have witnessed in life and studies in every country in the world shows younger women and girls are harassed more by men than elderly ladies
And you know both women well who were harassed which shows just what a liar you are.
You didnt see anything that happened as you sit out in the hall but you still willing to call these women liars even though you were not in the room and dont know what happened.
Younger women deserve the same amount of respect and to be free from sexual harassment as older women and men
Do you honsetly think the police and courts would waste their time with this stuff if there wasnt serious evidence that it happened?
Also sharon its not about ” haters hating” what an utterly childish thing to say about women who are victims of sexual harassment
You have all shown the general public reading this how nasty mosaic is and how women will attack other women who are victims of sexual harassment and cyber stalking just to keep their place at mosaic.
Knowing that because their old they are not going to be victims of the same treatment its just disgusting and shows a hatred and jealousy of younger women and its misogyny.
I think its disgusting that youve all gone online calling women of sexual harassment liars just so you can keep your places at mosaic.
This whole thread is proof that when a woman is sexually harassed at the mosaic workshop in hackney downs and she mentions the things that have been happening she is blamed and everyone turns on her.
These comments and this thread are like literal proof
I agree with Katy there is a very toxic attitude going on I have seen this with women I know when the stress got too much and they ended destroying themselves so for her to point this out this is very inspiring especially since most women whould say silent as not to draw attention to certain companies also the treat of not being believed or being pushed out of the picture so the adusers have nobody to answer for the ones in charge know whats going on yet they think that’s normal? if anyone is lying it’s hackney mosaic project for denying the sin and allowing sexual prevents to do what they like and have the group go against womankind. if something is seriously wrong it must be addressed not hidden away and just to save face its nothing to do with hate that poison has been always there