THE STORY OF DALSTON CLAY
by its founder, Barnaby Hosking
Dalston Clay was born from a response to the lack of affordable art studios in London, a desire to combine together the practices of art and wellbeing and a vision to make both more inclusive, social and available to everyone.
Having provided affordable artist studios on Ridley Road Market in Dalston, East London for 15 years, myself, along with 85 other creatives, were evicted from our studio block in the spring of 2022. Faced with the prospect of paying double the price for a wholly unsuitable desk space, many of us have not found another studio in London.
Dalston had been my home and place of work for 20 years and I was adamant not to allow gentrification to push me out after our eviction, so I teamed up with long-time friend and psychologist Josh Dickson to find a premises that we could both use for our respective interests: I with my vision to combine art and wellbeing activities and Josh with his company Resurface that offers retreats combining surfing with therapy. During winter 2022 I renovated our 1000 sq.ft space into a ceramic studio that swiftly transforms into a space for yoga and meditation. We officially opened as Dalston Clay in April 2023. I now feel that I am on a journey at once forced upon me through circumstance but one that continues to follow a natural path towards community and wellbeing.
WHY CLAY?
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Clay is the dominant medium in my art practice. Clay embodies the aspects that I value most about art and being an artist; A pre-occupation with form and materiality; our essential shared connection to the earth; the cultural connection to each other through art and utility; the fun that is had in bringing people together; the sharing of studio space and equipment, and the myriad techniques afforded by ceramics practice. Dalston Clay builds and strengthens our community through offering a place to explore these social and healing benefits of working with clay.