Events

For other exhibitions and events taking place at Bow Arts’ Nunnery Gallery see Bow Arts’ What’s On.

17 May - 25 August 2019

Raw Materials: Plastics

In Hackney Wick, 1865, Victorian inventor Alexander Parkes created Parkesine – a precursor to celluloid – looking to mimic rare and endangered natural materials such as ivory and tortoiseshell. Parkesine led to the development of the Ivoride Works in Homerton in the late 1860s and eventually to the establishment of the industrially successful British Xylonite Company, which included the eponymous Halex brand in Hale End, Walthamstow.

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Key dates

  1. Saturday 25 May 2019, 11am

    Family Workshop with Colour of Water

    Kids and parents will enjoy decorating their masks with a mixture of repurposed plastic and sustainable materials while learning about the history of plastics in...

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  2. Saturday 1 Jun 2019, 12-3pm

    Community Celebration Day

    We will be celebrating the achievements of the Raw Materials: Plastics community Steering Group, whose hard work made the project’s research, findings and exhibition possible....

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  3. Thursday 6 June 2019, 7-8pm

    First Thursday: Alexander Parkes and Parkesine

    Alexander Parkes developed Parkesine, the first semi-synthetic plastic. He exhibited items made of this new material at the International Exhibition in London in 1862 and...

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  4. Thursday 13 June 2019, 7-8pm

    Sustainable innovations in plastics today

    In her roles, Beken is in touch with many of today’s plastics innovators and concerned with the reduction of plastic waste. A lively introduction to...

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  5. Thursday 20 June 2019, 7-8pm

    Parkesine to Perspex: the history of plastics with Carolyn Clark

    Carolyn will discuss the history of plastics with a special east London focus, surrounded by the historic plastic objects in the Raw Materials exhibition. Her illustrated...

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  6. Saturday 22 June 2019, 11am-1.30pm

    MaterialDriven Bioplastics Workshop

    This workshop will introduce two interesting concepts: bio-plastic and food waste as an ingredient for material making. Using banana peels and a few more grocery-store...

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  7. Sunday 30 June, 12.30-3.30pm

    Gallery Tour & River Lea Boat Cruise

    After a short exhibition tour of Raw Materials: Plastics, we will travel the waterway that inspired Raw Materials – the River Lea – seeing and...

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  8. Thursday 4 July, 7-8.15pm

    First Thursday: Talks from Raw Materials: Plastics resident artist/makers Frances Scott and Peter Marigold

    Marigold and Scott have worked alongside the Raw Materials project throughout, looking into the history of plastics in east London and using their findings to...

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  9. Sunday 7 July, 12-3.30pm

    River Lea Boat Cruise & House Mill Exhibition Visit

    Beginning at the Nunnery Gallery to see Raw Materials: Plastics, we will then visit The House Mill to see site-specific exhibition ‘Until you became me’,...

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  10. Saturday 13 July, 11am-1pm

    Drawing on Film

    Once you start to touch and become engaged in the surface of film, its material and projected images come alive, creating a direct relationship between...

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  11. Thursday 18 July, 7-8.30pm

    Perspectives on a better future for plastics

    We will be joined by Professor Mark Miodownik, a materials engineer and Professor of Materials and Society at UCL, who will cover topics including molecular recycling, bio-derived...

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  12. Saturday 27 July, 11am-1.30pm

    MaterialDriven Plastics Recycling Workshop

    This workshop is an introduction into the process of converting household plastic waste, specifically recycled Polypropylene (PP), into a valuable material resource. Designer Tom Meades...

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  13. Thursday 1 August, 6-9pm

    First Thursday Late Opening

    Find out how the very first man-made plastic was invented in Hackney Wick in the 1860s and trace the history of plastics’ development and manufacture...

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  14. Saturday 3 August, 2-3pm

    FORMcard Workshop with Peter Marigold

    Led by FORMcard inventor and Raw Materials resident designer maker Peter Marigold, this hands-on workshop will use FORMcard to mimic natural materials, a sentiment which...

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  15. Sunday 11 August, 12.30-3.30pm

    Gallery Tour & River Lea Boat Cruise

    After a short exhibition tour of Raw Materials: Plastics, we will travel the waterway that inspired Raw Materials – the River Lea – seeing and...

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  16. Saturday 17 August, 12-4pm

    Visit from UCL’s Mobile Heritage Lab

    The UCL Mobile Heritage Lab has on-board equipment to analyse plastics for their different material make-up. Different materials indicate different age, so we can tell...

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  17. Sunday 25 August 2019, 3-4pm

    Final Exhibition Tour with Steering Group Member

    Come along for a guided tour of the Raw Materials exhibition, exploring the forgotten industrial history of plastics in east London. Find out how the...

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