‘Meet the Makers’ – Maker Anna van der Poorten! Back to previous

‘Meet the Makers’ – Maker Anna van der Poorten!

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We are pleased to be a part of the Bunting Collective project and we love showcasing the amazing makers involved! Our first maker is – Anna van der Poorten!

The Bunting Collective is a community project aimed at bringing vibrancy and colour to the Petticoat Lane Market by hanging community made bunting, using the materials and fabrics from the local fabric shops in the market.

The Aldgate Connect BID, City of London Corporation, and the Borough of Tower Hamlets are proud to present a ‘Meet the Maker’ series. The series is showcasing the makers of the bunting, who are all members of the community with a passion and love for the area!

Meet our first maker of this series, Anna van der Poorten!
See what Anna had to say about the project below:

My name is Anna van der Poorten and I live in East London. I’ve worked in Aldgate on many community events, doing workshops in local schools and community centres, namely for the Aldgate in Winter Lantern Parade and the launch of the new green space (Aldgate Square) near St. Botolph’s Church.

I am a community artist whose love of art was sparked by a community art workshop I attended as a child. I went on to train as a technical artist and studied theatrical costume and I’ve been working in the Community Arts for the last 16 years. An interesting fact about me is that I once worked with an artist making giant poos!

I loved getting involved in the bunting making. I especially enjoyed the amazing fabrics and talking to Adam in one of the shops in the Petticoat Lane Market, who had great knowledge of the prints and their meanings.

The pandemic has had a significant impact on my work in Aldgate, as we are working remotely a lot more. In particular, I miss meeting people at the  workshops and being able to talk to them about what we are making and all the interesting chats that come about through making and talking. I miss the excitement!

I knew a small bit about the history of the area, but I have learnt loads more whilst being involved in the Bunting Collective project. It’s a really interesting community with a rich history and it needs to be celebrated more, this project is a good start!

Three words I would use to describe Aldgate would be vibrant, lively and exciting!

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