UNITY ARTS FESTIVAL

Unity ARts festival - History

Unity Arts Festival ran for 4 consecutive years in September 2018, 2019, 2021 & 2022. Its purpose and its name was created with the intention of unifying the new housing developments at London City Island & Goodluck Hope, with their established neighbour; the arts and creative hub at Trinity Buoy Wharf.

Leamouth Peninsula

Imagine this scenario; Late in the 20th century a small piece of land known as Leamouth Peninsula lays derelict and abandoned. A relic of the old dockland’s Industrial Age. It is surrounded by the river Thames & the mouth of the river Lea. At the southern part there is a lighthouse, the only one in London, on a site known as Trinity Buoy Wharf.

TWO VISIONARIES

At the turn of the century the peninsula had drawn the attention of 2 visionary men from very different backgrounds. Firstly there was Eric Reynolds, a man who had already transformed and regenerated areas in London such as Camden Lock & Spitalfields Market, creating affordable platforms & spaces within which artists, designers and creative producers could thrive. Then there was Sean Mulryan, a self made, independent property developer who had gradually been transforming pockets of London’s skyline with his large, primarily residential developments.

Trinity Buoy Wharf, London City Island & Goodluck Hope

Eric took governance of Trinity Buoy Wharf at the southern end of the peninsula, forming a long term partnership with Tower Hamlets council to secure the site for 125 years. He began transforming the site into affordable workspaces for the arts & creative industries with a healthy proportion of all profit being driven back into supporting the arts.

Meanwhile Sean bought up swathes of land surrounding Trinity Buoy wharf in the southern part of the peninsula as well as the entire northern part. His vision was to create 2,500 new homes as well as a vibrant arts & cultural hub to compliment Trinity Buoy Wharf.

The scene was therefore set for both these pioneers to fulfil their independent visions upon the peninsula.

Breaking ground

The northern part of the peninsula was the first to be developed by Sean Mulryan and his company ‘Ballymore’. Re-named ‘London City Island’ with 1700 apartments as well as a significant arts initiatives including a new bespoke building for English National Ballet. Meanwhile Eric continued developing and fine tuning Trinity Buoy Wharf to be a standout landmark in regeneration and provision to the arts. So far so good, but then tensions steadily arose when Ballymore began their site construction on the southern part right next to Trinity Buoy Wharf that they named ‘Goodluck Hope’.

One road in, one road out

Other than arriving by boat, there is only one way into Trinity Buoy Wharf; Orchard Place. This small road also travels through the centre of Goodluck Hope. During the construction phase of this new housing development, Orchard Place became an extension of the building site, causing much disruption to Trinity Buoy Wharf. Tensions between the two areas rose.

Without going into too many details and side stories (of which there are many) it soon became apparent that relations between the site managers of Trinity Buoy Wharf versus London City Island & Goodluck Hope, were to fall at times into periods of mistrust & even raw hostility. Yet interestingly both pioneers of the two projects, Eric & Sean, had not yet met.

The need for Unity

At this stage of the story I should introduce myself. My name is Ian Robert Felton. I came to Trinity Buoy Wharf in December 2005 where, with a fellow artist, we set up a small new art studio by the river, calling it ‘Trinity Art Studios’

By 2017 I had expanded the studios and invited a collective of artists to join me in making art. We regularly transformed the studio into a gallery and held public exhibitions. During our summer show in July 2017 I met a visitor named John Mulryan (son of Sean) who told me he worked for Ballymore and asked if I was interested in selling him some art to adorn their new development ‘London City Island’. Of course I accepted. Little did I know, but in my acceptance I had also placed myself in the position of being a conduit between Trinity Buoy Wharf & London City Island during a period of their fractured relationship.

Artists unite

London City Island and Ballymore excited me. It was an adventurous project with an ambitious vision. Along with John I met many of his team members. Their excitement with the project was infectious and it soon lead to me agreeing to set up a new art gallery at London City Island. As a natural extension I named it ‘Trinity Art Gallery’. We opened on 1st February 2018 with a group show that included a mix of 35 artists from Trinity Buoy Wharf & London City Island. It was this show that planted the seed for ‘Unity Arts Festival’ whereby the artists and creatives of both areas would collaborate and form unity where otherwise there was division.

Unity Arts Festival

The original Unity Arts Festival invite read;

We the Artists

designers, makers, producers & performers

who have joined in Unity

invite you to visit and explore our world

From the cultural heritage preserved at

Trinity Buoy Wharf to the evolving landscapes of

London City Island and Goodluck Hope  Diverse locations where we live, work and create

Over the weekend of 22nd & 23rd September

we shall open our doors to you and share what we do

To encourage you to both observe and to participate  Exhibitions, performance and workshops

A weekend to gather, to venture and enjoy the arts of UNITY

We linked it with the annual Open House London that celebrates architecture and urban landscape of London and we ran tours throughout the whole peninsula.

to be continued…

We’re excited to share that our current festival programme is live. Please note that we require bookings and can’t guarantee walk-in entry for activities taking place indoors.

In advance of your visit, please read our list of, updated transport information to ensure your experience is both safe and enjoyable.
Should you have any questions, you can speak to a member of staff: info@unity.london

We look forward to seeing you soon!