With the fantastical claim of having the “highest concentration of artists in the world,” Hackney, East London still remains the advertising agencies’ main port of call to head-hunt graphic designers, illustrators, filmmakers and many other creatives to push their wares. This geographical focus of artists developed itself in the ‘80s, when cheap rent and large amounts of empty warehouse spaces made Hoxton Square, Curtain Road, and Charlotte Road in Shoreditch the adopted home of British artists.

Things rapidly changed when the White Cube opened its large, fancy doors on Hoxton Square in 2000; the area was then transformed into the condition we find it in now: ‘cool.’ But with that tag the inevitable came -- where the ad agencies first came to headhunt, they now came to home-hunt. The yuppies flooded into this quirky newly-discovered area, rents went up, and artists were forced to move to a cheaper and (back then) more unattractive area. Most of them only managed to budge less than a mile further east, and the key result of that is the rise -- and rise -- of Vyner Street.

In the same way the yuppies looted their beloved Hoxton, the artists frog-marched themselves into Vyner Street, and what had been the epicenter of London’s rag trade was quickly transformed into a hotbed of over a dozen galleries and studios.

Time Out magazine, in conjunction with the British Arts Council, has recently come up with the idea of First Thursdays, whereby every first Thursday of the month, East London opens its galleries and museums till late at night. This December 4th sees Vyner Street as the place to be: It will host what can be best described as its own mini art festival: there is free beer, a pub and loads of exhibitions. Despite this, there doesn’t usually tend to be much artistic debate and consideration going on-– it’s more hanging out, drinking and flirting. Free booze+artists+locals+street usually equals trouble -- but to make your experience as a Vyner first-timer a perfect one, and a lot less scary, stick with these below steps, and you shall surely experience Vyner Street to the max, and discover a new generation of artists along the way.

1: Get started
Get all your friends together. You’ll probably lose them all, as this just happens in festival situations like these. But the idea of going with a big family is fun, right? Make sure to get to Vyner Street in time, and start your Vyner-walk at 7pm the latest. Galleries close at 9ish, so you should get the most out of it and visit all of them.

2: The Off License (for drink)
Since we all love a bargain (and because free beers run out quickly at the galleries), buy your beers at the Off License. It’s half the price of the beer at the pub, and you will appreciate the helping hands of the local shopkeepers later on as you stagger home. Don’t feel bad about drinking on the street either; everyone on Vyner Street walks around drinking out of cans and wine bottles. It’s a hedonist feast.

3: Art
With a continuously changing program of up-and-coming as well as established artists, we advise you to not just stick to two or three galleries, but devote your entire evening to Vyner Street, and check out all the galleries from top to bottom of the street. In case you want to check in advance which exhibitions are currently on, websites such as Art Rabbit and First Thursday are very useful.

4: Drink (again)
There is a great traditional British pub on Vyner Street -- The Victory. With its free jukebox, dusty carpet, pool table, rather smelly half outside-half inside toilets and drunk regulars at the bar, it might not be the classiest place in the world, but it sure is fun. Lots of the gallery people and local artists hang out here on First Thursday evenings, so it’s a great spot for people watching, networking and general schmoozing.

5: Eat
A small glass of beer might be equal in calories to eating two whole Subways with extra cheese, but since you skipped your dinner to rush to Vyner Street, you’ll probably be starving by now. Around the corner from Vyner Street, on Mare Street, are hundreds of great cheap Vietnamese restaurants. Our own favorite is Tres Viet, which also has a Bring Your Own booze policy. (PS: go for the salt and pepper squid and dry papaya salad here; they’re both fab.)

6: The after party (drink again, again)
There are three things you can do now: go home, get even more drunk and head back to the Victory, or drink cocktails in style and dance with the avant garde at the super-cool Bistrotheque around the corner from Vyner Street. This bar/restaurant/theater happens to be run by the same people that turned the East London boozer The Bricklayers Arms into the hangout for the YBAs (Young British Artists) in the ‘90s. Launching in 2004, The Bistroteque offers arty dinners, burlesque and tranny shows, not only to the now older and more successful group of artists to whom you should cling to for free drinks; but also to the new generation of cool kids, such as Mika Doll, Ryan Styles, Jodie Harsh, Scottee, and hubby/artist/printmaker James Unsworth-- who you should cling to for, well, another after-party.

~Freddie Janssen


For more info, see:
artrabbit.com
firstthursdays.co.uk
bistrotheque.com