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The arts and community space is set to launch a new venture on the northern edge of Bartlett Park

Poplar Union is set to launch a street market in Cotall Street to support its work - image by Jon Massey — Poplar Union is set to launch a street market in Cotall Street to support its work – image by Jon Massey

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On the northern edge of Bartlett Park, running along the edge of the Limehouse Cut canal, sits a vacant stretch of land.

This length of Cotall Street is fully pedestrianised – an expanse of under-used space paved in grey stone with its own waterside benches.

For nearby arts and community space, Poplar Union, it’s also an opportunity.

The charity is in the process of setting up a new market with the aim of providing extra income for its operations and a platform for entrepreneurs and creatives on a weekly basis.

“For many people in this area it’s difficult to get to a market, so why not have our own,” said Nahimul Islam, director of commercial enterprise at Poplar Union, who is leading the project.

“This organisation is a charity, but we have to think of ourselves as a sustainable business.

“Much of what we deliver is free of charge or heavily subsidised and it’s challenging to meet our costs and maintain the building.

“So we decided to come up with creative ideas to bring in revenue.

“It’s a win-win situation, with the income generated going straight back into the community.”

The market will feature food, drink, arts, crafts and entertainment, all beside the canal - image Poplar Union — The market will feature food, drink, arts, crafts and entertainment, all beside the canal – image Poplar Union

a new market supporting Poplar Union

Cotall Street Market is expected to soft launch in June, 2025, with an official opening later in the summer.

It will take place during the day on Saturdays, with an ambition to offer food, drink, fresh produce and arts and crafts as well as entertainment to local residents.

It’s currently inviting traders who would like to participate to get in touch as it works up to opening.

“We want to make this a vibrant, community-driven market for entrepreneurs – established, brand new and aspiring,” said Nahimul.

“We’re creating a platform where people will trade for themselves while also supporting the community – a place for them to share their culture and experiences.

“I’d love to have different sections of the market – hot food, cold food, fresh produce and a massive craft section for artists to showcase their work.

“I’m a great believer in that because everyone’s work has a story and having the creator there to tell it is so important.

“We also want lots of music, for the market to be multicultural and diverse – a place where people feel at home.

“It’s a form of education really – a place to try food from different cultures and learn about what ingredients, spices and cooking methods people use.”

Poplar Union’s director of commercial enterprise, Nahimul Islam – image by Jon Massey

a business mindset

Nahimul himself has experience as an entrepreneur.

Born in Wapping, with a background in youth work, he co-founded Muscle Basin gym in Shadwell, which has since relocated to Stratford.

As such he’s clearly passionate about using his experience and skills to help others create businesses and to help other organisations.

“I realised community groups and charities were really struggling to generate income,” he said.

“Relying on grants isn’t always the best way to progress, so I reinvented myself to help them build revenues.

“I’ve been working with Poplar Union for a year now and am looking forward to growing its income.

“We want people to travel from afar to check this market out – for it to become a place that’s talked about.

“Then we want its expansion to be organic.

“The park is a great space – people will be able to get their food and then enjoy it on the grass and there aren’t many places you can do that around here.

“Tower Hamlets hasn’t always been seen as the greatest place to live in London, but I’m sure the outlook and vibe we create with this market will help to change what people think.

“In the future, we also plan to host events at Poplar Union when the market is on – we want people to come inside and enjoy what’s on offer here, to take part in the free and subsidised activities.

“We want as many people as possible to discover us and what we offer, to come and use this space.

“We’re trying to break down financial barriers, providing things that people may not be able to afford like music lessons, so we want them to be subsidised.

fostering ambition

As part of the Cotall Street Market plans, Nahimul and the team are also seeking sponsors to support pitches at the market for young entrepreneurs.

“It’s important that we look to the new generation to make their futures brighter,” said Nahimul.

“We’d love to create a section of the market for young people to come and trade for free – an entrepreneurial hub for local people.

“We’re looking for support to help establish that and would love to hear from businesses and organisations.”

key details: Cotall Street Market by Poplar Union

Poplar Union plans to host Cotall Street Market weekly on Saturdays from 10am to 4pm. Pitch prices will vary by space between £50 and £125 depending on size and service requirements.

There is some degree of flexibility on rates for new ventures.

The charity is currently welcoming expressions of interest from food vendors, artists and makers, suppliers of fresh produce and local businesses and community groups that would like to get involved.

The aim is to open the market for a soft launch on June 14, 2025, with an official opening later in the summer.

Find out more about the plans here

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Storytelling company are set to bring You, Me, The World And This Moment to Poplar Union on June 19

From left, Olly, Anna and Nick of Take Stock Exchange – image James Perrin

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BY LAURA ENFIELD

After a two-year pause, it feels like the world is suddenly surging forward.

But are we ready to face the future when we’ve barely processed the past and are scrambling to keep up with the present?

Take Stock Exchange is offering a chance to reflect on this extraordinary moment in time, which we are all experiencing but in wildly different ways.

The community storytelling company, consisting of Nick Cassenbaum, Olly Hawes and Anna Smith, has been out in Poplar talking to older LBGTQIA+ men, gardeners and young people about what they are feeling as they try to get on with their lives.

They will combine the stories with others from across London for You, Me, The World And This Moment – a free event set to be held at Poplar Union on June 19, 2022, from 12.45pm to 3pm.

“Previously our projects have really been strictly location-based,” said Olly. “But this one is focused on the experience of the pandemic and of living right now.

“We got the feeling that straight after lockdown people were going to be told: ‘Move on now. We have to get back to normal’.

“But we want to provide a space for people to reflect on this moment in time and experience what they need to.”

Anyone can get a ticket, go along to the event, share a meal, and watch a performance crafted from the stories the collective has gathered, accompanied by a live musician.

Nick said: “We believe the arts can be something everyone participates in and benefits from, one way or another.

“What that means for us is trying to talk to as many different people as we can, with as wide a range of experiences as we can.

“Then we enable those people to reflect, to develop their own ideas, share them with other people and use that to help them move through their lives but also make that community stronger. I hope we’re going to see more work like this in the future.”

Drama graduates Olly and Nick met at Exeter University and formed the company in 2013. They wanted to do something involving the arts that had a direct impact on people’s lives.

They started with a grant of £250 for their first project You, Me, The World And Wanstead and have gone on to work on 12 large projects and numerous smaller ones across east London.

Of course, it’s not as simple as rocking up somewhere, putting on the kettle and sitting down for a heart-to-heart.

Anna joined as a producer a few years ago and is the one who finds the pathway into communities, organises the meet-ups and applies for funding.

In the past, they have worked with The Yard Theatre, Stratford Circus, Rich Mix, Culture Mile, The Barbican, Barnsbury Housing Association, Poplar HARCA, Poplar Union, Artsdepot and Vision Redbridge.

Anna said: “We always have one key partner in the area we’re working in that already has some connections to local groups.

“We will start having conversations with people and perhaps get a tip-off about another group. It’s a lot of word-of-mouth and following that chain of people who know people.

“It’s about embedding yourself, even though it’s for a short period of time, in a particular area and getting to know the connections and the networks that exist.”

The group reinforces this by always travelling to meet their subjects.

Anna said: “I think that allows people to feel comfortable enough to open up more than they would do if they were invited to a random conversation in an unfamiliar location.”

Take Stock Exchange have created You, Me, The World And This Moment – image James Perrin

Olly and Nick are the ones who then go out and talk to people and begin to build a sense of what conversations need to be fostered.

“A lot of the time we’re working in quite unpredictable situations,” said Olly.

“Sometimes we’ll turn up to a place and we don’t know if there are going to be three people there or 30.

“We don’t know if they are going to be happy that we’re coming or not. So we have to have quite a clear plan in mind, but then be really, really flexible.

“One of the real strengths of the project is it allows people to have the experience they want. It reveals stories that want to be revealed.

“These conversations are already bubbling, but perhaps haven’t been connected to one another or haven’t been shown to be part of a wider whole. “

Olly said he and Nick often spent hours discussing the conversations and how they related to each other and the wider world.

“The idea is that we build a dialogue through difference,” he said.

“The end result is people get a little bit of an insight into the lives of people they share a geographic space with, but who they might not necessarily interact with in their everyday lives.

During lockdown they took their conversations to Zoom, launching a podcast to share the results.

The trio also completed a location-focused project in Poplar during the pandemic and said it felt important to return.

The event will take place at Poplar Union – image James Perrin

Olly said: “Lockdown gave some a moment of calmness and peace but we were still in the midst of this really disorientating experience.

“And we’re still not out of that. We’ve just moved to a different stage of it.

“Giving people the chance to sit and reflect is something that has almost universally been appreciated at every workshop we’ve done.

“One of the most common things that we’ve heard is people saying: ‘I still I don’t know what to make of all this.

“I feel like my world has changed massively, but I still can’t really work out how’.

“We’ve heard that from primary school kids and much older people and every age bracket in between, from people in a variety of different circumstances.

“Our job now is to take all that material and create stories that are based on these events and communicate them in a truthful, clear way. That’s the big challenge of this project.”

They began holding workshops for You, Me, the World And This Moment in the Spring after receiving funding from the Arts Council and Poplar Union.

Nick said having the pandemic as the theme has enabled people to connect more quickly.

“When we’re focusing on location, people can tend to keep it very light and not go into the personal,” he said.

“So there is learning here for us that I think will definitely filter into future projects.

Olly said: “When we first started doing this work, it was in response to the idea that despite the fact we live in a world that is seemingly more connected, people feel a sense of disconnection more and more. We were trying to remedy that.

“Now, we live in a world that has been turned upside down by the pandemic. And that uncertainty is at the heart of this project.

“The pandemic has been this unifying experience but everyone has had really diverse experiences within it that we’re trying to connect.

“So, in our own small way, we’re trying to reunite this part of London.”