Beirut – gig review: 'meeting up with an old friend'
A trip to St John at Hackney to see the Balkan folk maestros stirs old passions
Russell Parton
Album review: Ultimate Painting – Green Lanes
New album by East London duo Ultimate Painting is enjoyable DIY fare, though limited in scope
Ai Weiwei and Anish Kapoor break bread in Spitalfields for refugees
Museum of immigration and diversity makes ‘symbolic gesture’ during the artists’ march through London
Beside the Leaside
Passionate canal lover Sam Napper captures life on the Lee Navigation in a series of dream-like photographs
Asif Kapadia – ‘Something happened with Amy'
Camden, not Hackney, is the place with which the singer Amy Winehouse, who died in 2011 of alcohol poisoning, will always be associated. But for Hackney-born director Asif Kapadia, whose acclaimed documentary Amy tells the story of the singer’s precarious life and untimely death, Winehouse could hav
A Land Without People: founding of Israel is the focus of new play
Playwright Brian Rotman wrote play as an angry response to events in Gaza, basing it on historical archives
Mayor of Tower Hamlets John Biggs gives hope to Rich Mix
Arts organisation hopes election of John Biggs will prove decisive in financial feud with council
Born to RUN: street artist becomes a political animal
Street artist RUN is showing how the recent election result can serve as artistic inspiration
Field Day 2015 – review: festival fun under East London skies
Stellar performances from the likes of Patti Smith and Ride ensured the Victoria Park festival set the benchmark for the summer festival season
All the world’s a stage: Immediate Theatre is out to change young people’s lives
Hackney charity uses drama to make a difference with bold productions and estate-based workshops
Mind your tongue: teachers slam exam boards as Turkish and Polish scrapped
Senior lecturer from Univeristy of East London warns against removal of ‘community languages’ from GCSE and A-Level syllabuses
Senior moments: a photographer's brush with old age
Kyoko Hamada spent two years as an older woman, complete with grey wig, latex makeup and clothes, in an attempt to come to terms with ageing
Save Rich Mix campaign beams messages of support on building
Financial dispute with Tower Hamlet Council that could close down Rich Mix reaches new heights
Historian looks into the 'tamed wildness' of Victoria Park
Travis Elborough is exploring Victoria Park’s links with sport, colonialism and protest as research for a book on the history of public parks
Artist's alter-egos and 'Tinder men' go on display at Save Changes exhibition
Stour Space group exhibition focuses on how social media platforms impact on identity
Hackney WickED art festival is cancelled
Organisers to re-think the festival due to rising costs and the changing nature of Hackney Wick