Dispersal

V&A East Museum, Carpenters Road 107, E20 2AR, London

August 19, 2026 – October 18, 2026

To make way for the 2012 Olympic Games development in London, 284 trades and businesses from the Lea Valley between Stratford and Hackney Wick were relocated. Photographers Marion Davies and Debra Rapp systematically documented 80 of these spaces from 2005 to 2007, capturing industries including belt-making, zinc galvanising, and salmon smoking, along with their surrounding landscapes. This archive serves as a potent reminder of the industrial and working-class history of the area where V&A East now resides. The gradual erasure of spaces dedicated to rich arrays of industry and craft—a trend seen globally—prompts urgent questions about reviving industries and cultures of making while supporting new creative practices across cities and communities.