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
There is no eviction as the lease of the mosaic project for the use of the pavilion is ending soon anyways. The park needs to be more inclusive through activities embrassed by a wider shared of the population, and this is not through a member based activity and mosaic making meeting a few hours twice a week. The mosaic project should be grateful for having had access to the pavilion for so long already and not block a project embraced by many more people. A cafe would be a great place for more people to enjoy the pavilion and the park, and it would be fitting close to the children park.
yes I agree the place is too negative and dangerous people think it’s all about recovery but it makes you worse they prey on vulnerable people who had issues in the past and lay down their bitterness to please themselves there’s no compassion just the pleasure of seeing your misery and emotional breakdown turning that building into a cafe is more convenient that’s what the council wanted for years so let it be the park needs a upgrade anyway
On Wednesday the 3rd of December I went into mosaic and I was sitting out in the hallway to avoid a man who has been sexually harassing me.
I was walking through the main room when a woman who was very drunk went to hit me.
She was swinging for me and I was backed into a corner and I held up my hand to defend myself .
I simply took hold of this woman’s hand that was swinging to hit me.
I grabbed her hand and said” you may not hit me” and she backed off but I was very shaken up though.
The woman who went to hit me has hit several other people at mosaic including Tessa herself and she is always drunk and always stinks of alcohol.
Tessa hunkin got every single person in that room to lie for her and said I hit this woman.
This is important and Im going to say why.
For an upper class woman like Tessa hunkin to use both her wealth and social privilege to lie about someone is something I find morally abhorrent.
Her husband is a filmmaker for the BBC they are very well connected and affluent.
I mean is who is going to be honest and lose their place at mosaic in order to tell the truth about what they saw?
Tessa knew this and used it to her advantage but what she did was very dishonest.
She has used her influence not to just ignore both sexual harassment and sexual assaults but also to lie about a physical assault and that is just wrong.
Another problem is the open homophobia that is present constantly
Ive seen people from the gay and trans community being told to leave by the person who sits by the door
This is another thing that I find both upsetting and wrong and I have mentioned it to tesssa but she has ignored it.
If you are a member of a homophobic church that believes that homosexuality is a sin then should not bring those opinions to Mosaic.
Mosaic should be a place where anyone can go yet Ive seen example after example of behaviours at mosaic that are both dangerous and unsafe both physically and mentally.
This is yet another example of the things Tessa has let happen at mosaic.
So far we’ve had the following… Stalking, Stalking members online and putting their photos through apps like grok, sexual assaults, drinking and drunkeness, violence, homophobia and transphobia and misogyny.
I joined mosaic when it started in 2012.
When I rejoined in 2023 after being gone 10 years I could not believe the difference in the way people were allowed to behave.
I think a lot of the problem is that Tessa Hunkin wants all the benefits of running hackney mosaic but not the responsibility of curbing bad behaviour.
I have heard her say it so many times that she does not want to in her words “come down on anyone” but that’s not realistic and in doing this people have been hurt by other people and that’s not right.
If you are going to run something like Hackney Mosaic you can’t just take all the good bits and ignore anything bad that happens because its interrupts your cozy little world
Its a very middle class attitude and one I find quite nasty TBH
this is what I mean about this organization it’s true discrimination behind the brickwork sexist and very disruptive also against everything I believe in i know about this too well living with people and being in groups who are very prejudice towards others who are difference because who they love or where they come from and what accent they speak not forgetting if you have a disability the powers that be who run the place tend pretend you don’t exist and rather spit on you then cather for your needs. Katy done the right thing and got out nobody should put up with that aduse the ones who stay are puppets slaves to the system been brainwashed into believing that place will look out for them it benefit it own self the best way to sum it up is simply. power corruption and lies
I agree with Katie 100 per cent I have this toxicity behavior towards me where I had sexist remarks and a pervert hounding me like how it she mentions it in her comments and instead of supporting me they decided to blame my partner by spreading lies about him to save themselves which caused a lot of stress and anger at the moment this matter has been reported to the CPS it is ongoing we have all the proof of the cover up from mosaic about the abuse of animals as well as people. this kind of thing shouldn’t be allowed to happen but it has so you should all be ashamed of yourselves.
Tessa Hunkin has managed to convince this woman who works for Hackney Council her name is Georgie Brown and Tessa has managed to convince this woman that the mounting evidence that proves that there has been sexual harassment and sexual assaults at Hackney Mosaic are all lies.
I dont know why this woman who works for hackney council has done this.
I told her what happened and she suggested that she get the safeguarding team to look into this matter
One word later from Tessa hunkin and it was kicked into the long grass.
This attitude of favouritism , misogyny and alienation of Anyone who speaks about this stuff.
I told Georgie Brown and sent her all the evidence where Tessa Hunkin admits that this man put all my Facebook pictures through an app like grok.
I have that in writing that he admitted that he had those manipulated photos on his phone.
This alone is proof of a crime and now Tessa Hunkin and this other middle class woman who do not believe the victims even though there are a lot of victims at this point.
Jackie and Paul
I could see the way mosaic was getting worse and when Jackie had those things done to her I was astounded when I walked into mosaic and Tessa hunkin was crying like a baby . she was not the victim in the situation but that’s what she does, this is how she manipulates people.
Both her actions and attitude regarding the situation to me convey “ dont talk about sexual abuse, following, unwanted touthing or your going to ruin things for ME.”
“If you speak about the things that happened to you at mosaic your not thinking about ME or taking MY feelings into the situation.
She emotionally manipulates situations by bursting into tears and having a tantrum when she does not get what she wants
It’s sad that a woman of 70 could both be so emotionally immature and also be placed somewhere and be in charge of vulnerable people.
This is why Hackney mosaic is filled with affluent middle class women just like her.
Spoiled , upper class snobs who lie to get their own way.
Hackney mosaic is filled with upper class women who live in hackney and own huge houses
The only 3 people who do not fit into this category are placed there to stop anyone else being part of Hackney Mosaic.
The reason for this is if new people came along who were part of an vulnerable group some of tessas posh ladies would have to leave to make room for them and Tessa does not want that because she is a snob who dislikes working class people I have known her since 2012 Ive seen her treat working class people badly so many times along with her gang of upper class snobs.
Hackney Mosaic is a mosaic group for middle class elderly women
The 2 people who have addiction problems who go there one of them is not safe around women and the other one is not safe around anyone as she has hit so many people.
The place needs to be closed down now theres too many women coming forward.
I saw what they did to Jackie and Paul it was ridiculous to blame Jackies boyfriend because she was sexually harassed by another man.
Ive never heard of this happening anywhere else.
And of course just like the man who harassed and assaulted me the man who did all that stuff to Jackie is ……………………………………..RIGHT BACK AT MOSAIC but NOT his female victims.
Go to your local MPs about this stuff I am going to.
We can’t make society better if we dont try
hackney mosaic project have a lot to answer for the way the organization uses people is disgusting to you dare place the blame of sexual harassment on me to save the perverts who float around the building like it’s a normal thing? are you really scared of losing profit? are you trying your best to look good for the community by denying the damage you have caused to female members of the group especially my partner Jackie and friend Katie over the years. if this kind of thing happened to people close to you there whould be outrage even voience maybe because you knew that we had our issues that gave you a good excuse to exploit the situation to please yourself having a hold on the vulnerable by silencing them with fear and barriers of discrimination
Tessa you think you’re above the law in reality you are living in fantasy we know your evil deeds and the backing from your co workers the proof is all there and justice will be done sooner this monster of a place is closed down the better for all womenkind. as a last note I whould like to thank Katie for addressing this matter for the disruptive force that it really is a bit like the BBC in a way