Aya Haidar

A Lovesong for Whitechapel is my new public commission which launched last night @whitechapelgallery.

I feel extremely proud to share this work that will live in the public realm for the coming year!

Over the course of a year, I engaged the local community, namely a local sixth form and members of a cockney heritage elders group, to tell their story about what roots them to this little piece of East London. Through our conversations, many topics around identity, heritage, belonging, nostalgia and memory surfaced.
I collaborated with musician @tomcarradine to write a song, in the traditional cockney music hall style, that tells those stories.
The chorus of that song will be projected above Whitechapel station between dusk till dawn until October 2027 🙏🏼

The Whitechapel Gallery will also be hosting a listening station in their gallery for anyone who wishes to listen to the piece in full.

Thank you to everyone who attended our ‘in conversation’ last night and supported this project from its inception! To collectively gather, sing, share and celebrate felt extremely powerful.

A Lovesong for Whitechapel was commissioned by @upprojects and @towerhamletsnow

#publicart #eastlondon #music