As part of Fellowship Funding, five local venues have been awarded grants of up to £10,000 to help to develop their space for culture either through accessibility, modifications or new facilities. One of the selected venues is Hoe Street Central Bank (HSCB).
HSCB is run by film maker Dan Edelstyn and artist Hilary Powell who together run the Optimistic Foundation - a multidisciplinary creative organisation. The team are behind a new feature film and art project, Bank Job. In 2018 HSCB created their own currency, printing money which was sold to raise money for four local causes and to buy back £1.2million of local predatory debt. Bank Job follows the journey of the community coming together to make their own currency and open a new type of bank.
Buying up debt and sending letters to say those debts have been cancelled is a quiet act. The Make It Work grant was used to help bring the project into light; increasing the ceiling space to facilitate the install of the Exploded Dept, a ford transit which has literally been exploded as part of the documentary.
You can visit the Exploded Dept Big Bang 2 as part of the bank job between 11 May and 14 July 2019.
For further information on the other four Make It Work grants, keep an eye on Waltham Forest London Borough of Culture 2019's new section and follow us @wfculture19