ABOUT

Project Altar took place in the magnificent Victorian woodland of Abney Cemetery, Hackney. A publically created illuminated art trail of 13 interactive memorial shrines, it ran for five days. Supported by Arts Council England, the rest was self funded and with a pre-production team of one - it took almost three years to develop.

As a production designer for film and commericals I am forever interested in story telling, in particular giving a voice to the unheard. We wanted to create a space for London’s diverse communities to come together and honour their lost loved ones and share their story. With so many people experiencing grief and isolation during lockdown and with so much conflict and ‘othering’ in the world we wanted to bring people together to demonstrate, whatever your beliefs, we have more in common than divides us.

We sold out to 2500 visitors, each given the opportunity to craft photos of their loved ones onto the shrines, light thousands of candles, add flowers, write messages and raise a glass - all adding to the installations which grew throughout the exhibition. You’d think it was sad. It wasn’t. It was incredibly beautiful and the comments book is full of joy.

Some of the shrines were themed, others more general. We also ran pre-event workshops for young people affected by violent crime, school children and parents affected by baby loss. Young people were given the opportunity to write letters to their loved one - these were exploded using gun powder - the ashes featuring in a golden arch in the exhibition - surrounded by photos of young people lost to violent crime and written memories. To hear more about this and the other incredible contributions please watch our short event film.

- Awarded Arts Council England funding but self funded the rest
- 21 creatives were involved in the making the exhibits
- We ran grief workshops for 350 children and 30 young people affected by gun and knife crime.
- 700+ lives were honoured 1700 unique memories - representing the full diversity of London
- We sold out to 2500 visitors including 1900 free entries.
- Unique experience to explore this magnificent Victorian cemetery at night. The first event of its kind and the first large public event ever held in the park.

We are so proud of the creativity and connection it generated and I really believe this event represents an important experience missing from Western culture. It was incredibly well received and is set to become an annual event - but we need your help. We are now taking applications from artists, sponsors and fund raising to run it again in 2025.

This year we will also be supporting Cancer Research UK and families who wish to create memory boxes of loved ones with advanced Alzheimer’s. If you have someone you would like to honour, a story to tell, a legacy to share or would like to get involved in another way, please do get in touch.

We are also seeking corporate sponsors in different categories to sit along side the Arts Council England.