Owner Landhold Development Years active 2006 - Present Phone +44 20 7241 4889 | Closed 2016 Opened 2006 Current use Music | |
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Former names Hackney Gazette Printworks Type Live music venue, community hub Address 1 Richmond Rd, London E8 4AA, UK Similar Rich Mix Cultural Foundation, The Shacklewell Arms, Notting Hill Arts Club, The Old Queens Head, 93 Feet East Profiles | ||
Free hd stock footage passing clouds cc by natureclip 2013
Passing Clouds is a community run music venue near Kingsland Road, Dalston in East London. The venue has been active since 2006 and helped to define the reputation of the area as a place for artists and nightlife. In 2016 it was announced that the venue had been sold to developers to turn into offices or flats.
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Passing Clouds is located in a building on Richmond Road off Kingsland Road in East London which used to be home to the Hackney Gazette printworks. It is a 'hub for cultural and community events including the Permaculture Picturehouse, East in East, Palestine Solidarity film screenings, healing events, self-development workshops, music lessons, and swing dance classes.' It has been noted as one of the best live music venues and community centres in London by websites like hg2, TimeOut, The Guardian, Cool Places and Guest List.
History
Passing Clouds was founded in 2006 by Eleanor Wilson. According to Events Manager Gudrun Getz, 'She was heavily involved in the African music scene and wanted to open a space that would showcase all this incredible talent, as well as being a community hub for creativity, activism and grassroots political and artistic movements. She saw this empty building one day, knew it was The One and managed to talk our landlady into the idea.'
The management of Passing Clouds attempted unsuccessfully to persuade the owner of the property to sell them the building, and in 2015 were informed that it had been sold to a firm of property developers called Landhold Development. Landhold Developments initially told Passing Clouds that they could stay, but in February 2016 changed their minds and asked Passing Clouds to leave the venue. The venue's management secured a deal to extend their contract by three months but on 16 June 2016 bailiffs arrived to change the locks. However, hundreds of community members and supporters turned up and reclaimed the building. A complaint was registered with the police regarding the actions of the development company.
On August 16, after backing out of negotiations to extend Passing Clouds' lease, Landhold Developments sent in bailiffs to board up the venue, finally evicting the organisers.
Around 2000 protesters demonstrated against the closure of Passing Clouds and other music venues in London by marching from Hoxton to Passing Clouds on September 17, 2016. Meanwhile, around 30 of London's music venues held a minute's silence to protest the closure of Passing Clouds and other cultural venues.
Along with the closure of Fabric nightclub, Passing Clouds has been held up by campaigners as an example of how cultural venues in London have been disappearing due to a lack of legal protection and the desire of property developers to buy land on which to build luxury housing.