Hoxton Square

This carries over into the evening, particularly on warm nights. The square is surrounded by bars and restaurants, whose customers spill out onto the grass with bottles of wine or cans of beer. There are live houses and clubs too, making this a hub for the music and arts world.

The south side is occupied by White Cube, an influential art gallery. It's well known for its role in supporting young British artists. Its shows helped bring world-famous artists like Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin to public attention.

White Cube
Photo Tarquin Binary

White Cube began in the West End as one of London's smallest galleries, but it proved to be so successful that it's now something of an art empire. The move to Hackney happened in 2000. They transformed a former publishing house and piano factory into a large, white, two-tier space. Two years later another two stories were added, almost literally by just dropping them on top.

Since then they've opened a much larger London gallery, in Bermondsey, south of the Thames. There's also a smaller outpost back in its original West End location, and even a brand new overseas branch, in Hong Kong.

In Hoxton, sometimes the art breaks out of the confines of its building, and appears on the square itself. This keeps a strong connection between the gallery, and the Hackney public lounging on the grass - which makes sense, because they may well be the exhibitors of tomorrow.

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