Please join us for the opening night of this exhibition of sunrise gatherings, with refreshments, good company and an immersive sound installation by Steve Boardman.

We Don’t Know What This Is began with a Covid fever dream of people gathering at dawn on Hackney Marshes to watch the sunrise together. Three years later, five people have become hundreds, with more than a thousand connected through the WhatsApp group and thousands more following on Instagram. It remains free, open and gently self-organising: people bring music, movement, food, art, silence or simply themselves.

This exhibition brings together posters designed for each gathering by David Johnston and photographs by Tom Price, who has documented their people, weather, strangeness and beauty. The posters include two evolving visual systems which translate the precise conditions of each gathering; its date, location, sunrise, astronomical twilight and changing length of day, into form.

But really, this is an exhibition about spaces open to all. The Marshes and the library are two of the few places where anyone can arrive without buying anything, being invited or needing to explain why they are there. Bringing the gatherings into Homerton Library is an invitation to meet more of Hackney, and for more of Hackney to help shape whatever this becomes next.

Please join us for the opening night, with drinks, good company and an immersive sound installation by Steve Boardman. Created entirely from spatial audio recordings made at the gatherings, the installation weaves their many sounds into a rich tapestry that attempts to capture the atmosphere and essence of being there. It’s open to all and everyone is very welcome.

And then join us on the Marshes for the next one:
Autumn Equinox Sunrise Gathering
Wednesday 23 September, 6:47am
Hackney Marshes

Age group: All ages welcome

Ticket price: Free

Access information: Wheelchair accessible

Instagram: @wedontknowwhatthisis23