About

Everyday on Canalside is a portrait of a place by its people.

A portrait of individual and collective memories, different histories and ways of being at ‘home’ on the Canalside estate in Hoxton, London. Telling life stories and other perspectives – from the young, the older and in-between. How Canalside residents choose to interconnect and take pride in creating gardens, allotments and other routine spaces. About the little and big things that matter day-to-day – what works well, what doesn’t and why.

A recent history of urban regeneration shapes this portrait, revealing how residents were actively involved in the process and vividly remember decade-long upheaval and reconstruction into what Canalside estate is today. The photographs and documents chronicling regeneration tell a story of an estate undergoing dramatic change with family homes being renovated or demolished and built anew.

Balancing the old with the new, this is a portrait about the present and what Canalside residents imagine the estate and locality might look like in the years to come. The many surprising and ordinary journeys that people took before settling in Canalside sit alongside other stories about change and transitions, in addition to details about what residents value, and what they wish to preserve and protect.

The four activities across this project – Humans of Canalside, Open Spaces, Simple Acts and Moving Worlds reflect the many layers of this portrait. Creative storytelling through photography and film paint a picture of a rich and diverse place, mixing everyday actions with skills mentoring and garden design.

The ‘Learning‘ section holds resources and links to other like-minded projects.  The ‘Living Archive‘ section is a storehouse of  documents and chronicles on estate histories and memories.

Some of the production team on Everyday on Canalside live or work locally in Hoxton. The project is led by Counterpoints Arts in partnership with Shoreditch Trust, photographer Marcia Chandra, and Charushila, and in close collaboration with the Canalside Residents’ Association.

With support from the Migration Foundation within the Metropolitan Housing Trust. Additional support from the ‘Community First Neighbourhood Matched Fund programme administered by CDF for the Office for Civil Society’.