The Living Archive by Ioana Simion
The Living Archive is a socially engaged art project by Ioana Simion (Artizine), part of the East London Creative Communities project Commission in collaboration with ReInstate and commissioned by Culture Within Newham. It focuses on the regeneration of the Tate Institute in North Woolwich, reframing it as a living site of memory and imagination rather than a traditional archive.
The project uses zine-making to explore themes of memory, belonging, and community heritage. Instead of categorising history in official archives, it encourages creative participation, storytelling, and collective memory-making.
Key outputs for Ioana’s project include:
Workshops on zine-making and creative exercises.
A limited-edition risograph zine combining storytelling, philosophy, and prompts, distributed across Newham libraries, community hubs, and digitally.
There will also be a final gathering to share the toolkit and selected zines, positioning the Tate Institute as a hub for cultural memory-making.
About East London Creative Communities
East London Creative Communities is a partnership between the four Creative People and Places programmes based in East London. Colours of Redbridge, Culture Within Newham, Havering Changing, and Creative Barking and Dagenham will each support a group of artists to create new public work for our communities.
Each artist participated in a bespoke training programme designed and delivered by Art School Plus in February 2025. The week-long programme facilitated by artist and Glasgow Women’s Library founder Adele Patrick was specifically tailored to artists working in East London, and focus on the skills and knowledge they’ll need to deliver community-led and co-creation projects in public settings.
Ioana Simion is an artist, educator and facilitator based in Forest Gate. She runs community workshops under the artistic identity of Artizine. Her socially-engaged practice explores the use of zine-making as a vehicle for encouraging individuals to share their stories, develop imaginative skills and practice well-being in a social setting. Ioana’s practice centres the intuitive quality of play and participation to amplify community spaces where individuals receive support to expand on their lived-experience and document it through a creative, radical outlet.
Learn more about Ioana on her website or follow Ioana on Instagram.
About the project partners
East London Creative Communities
Colours of Redbridge, Creative Barking and Dagenham, Culture Within Newham and Havering Changing are part of Creative People and Places (CPP), a national programme from Arts Council England, where local people decide what culture happens in their area. This collaboration in East London champions community-led arts and culture to provide better visibility and creative opportunity across the region.
About Art School Plus
Art School Plus is a training provider and innovator of unique art projects. They are the bridge between artists and projects, supporting the cultural sector and artists with the skills and knowledge to develop mutually beneficial relationships and exciting work. The artists will be supported by Dr Adele Patrick, co-founder of Glasgow Women’s Library, who has been developing innovative cultural projects rooted in equalities and community learning for over 30 years. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Other projects you might be interested in
