Synopsis

A black-and-white video shows one of The Tower Hamlets Arts Project (THAP) art worker Eamon Duggan’s project with a local youth concert performance, filmed by Basement Project. A black-and-white handheld recording of musical performances by the local youth in Tower Hamlets. We see three performances in a large theatre – a marching band, a horn band and a fuzzy solo wind-instrument performance.

The Tower Hamlets Arts Project (THAP) was formed in 1976 out of protest to the Thames Television ‘Eyesights’ scheme which commissioned professional artists to create posters for display in the borough, rather than investing in local arts projects. A crowded public meeting in February 1975 called for an alternative, bolder plan, bringing together existing and fledgling arts activities under a coordinating body to be called the Tower Hamlets Arts Project (THAP). The purpose was to create opportunities for everyone to participate in community art. THAP celebrated their achievements with a month-long ‘Big Show’ at the Whitechapel Art Gallery.