About The_White_House
A new public space for art and communal activity on the Becontree Estate in Dagenham.
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The_White_House Description
“Tenants shall be as free as possible to order their lives in their own way, so that they may pursue their originality…”
LCC Becontree Estate Tenants’ Handbook, 1921
The White House is situated on the Becontree Estate in Dagenham once the largest council estate in the world. In the summer of 2016 The White House re-opened as a new public space for art and communal activity inspired by the history of housing in east London.
Create worked with architects Nicholas Lobo Brennan and Astrid Smitham to restore the building. In the first year we will make steps to establish a bold space to support all kinds of cultural and social activity including exhibitions, workshops and performances. To begin, four artists are invited to live at the White House, to make new art and join people living locally to build a vision for this new public building.
The White House is a project commissioned by Create. It is supported by London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, Arts Council England, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Heritage Lottery Fund, Genesis Foundation and the Foyle Foundation.