We, the OffMarket collective, take disused buildings and turn them into open resources. OffMarket has just moved location – now at 121 Lower Clapton Road E5 0NP. People have been busy making the building useable and it’s now up and running, packed with events and regular activities! If you want to help out / get involved pop by when you can or give us a call on 077 0627 9299.
OFFMARKET
Offmarket is a collective that squats empty building (only shop fronts until now) in Hackney.
The aims of the collective are to promote and defend squatting and try and link with local and broader struggles.
In practice, the squatted spaces are used for a freeshop where people can bring what they don’t need anymore and take what they like/need, a library/reading space, info and skillsharing about squatting, lots of free regular activities and workshops, space available for meetings/discussion groups, infonights and film nights, establishing links between the collective/space and struggles like the anti-cuts movement or gentrification.
An ex-Christian bookshop was occupied since January on 111 Lower Clapton road, but we were evicted on April fool’s day! so we moved few doors up to 121 Lower Clapton rd, E5 0NP, an even better and bigger space. This used to be an estate agency but has been empty for more than 5 years!
We welcome any contribution, this is a collective project that always needs more people ; whether it’s sorting the freeshop, occupying the building or building shelves, come get involved! If you are able to give a helping hand at all please pop by when you can or call us on 077 0627 9299. You can also come to our open meeting every monday at 7pm, to meet us and check out the space.
FreeShop / Library Opening Hours: Mondays 12 – 6pm, Tuesdays 12 – 8pm and Sundays 12 – 6pm.
For the rest of the activities, see below
The collective started organising into different action groups, if you are interested in joining any of them, here are when they meet:
Gardening : Mondays 2-4pm
Bike workshop : Tuesdays 3-6pm
Practical Squatters : 1st and 3rd Tuesday in the month 4-6pm
Freezone : Wednesdays midday-2pm
Library : Thursdays 2pm
Zine : Thursday 28th April 7pm
There is a weekly newsletter that includes all our activities and special events, that you can subscribe to by going there: https://lists.aktivix.org/mailman/listinfo/offmarket
ACCESSIBILITY: We will shortly be putting up full information about the new building. Events will generally be taking place on the ground floor (except the bicycle workshop) and we are trying to make the freeshop accessible. The toilet is in a large room but down a narrow hallway so probably not wheelchair accessible. If you have any comments, advice or queries please contact us!
We have a wish list that includes
– a hoover
– a washing machine
– soap / cleaning products
– soya milk
– toilet roll
– food
– selotape / gaffa tape / blue tac / glue
– ink cartridges for printer
– towels
– seeds
– bike stuff
This is our contact details:
offmarket [at] riseup.net
121 Lower Clapton rd E5 0NP
077 0627 9299
http://london.indymedia.org/groups/offmarket
/////// FUTURE EVENTS ////////
## OCCUPATION HAS NO FUTURE / Thursday 28th April, 7pm ##
A new documentary from Upheaval Productions that studies Israeli militarism, examines the occupation of the West Bank and explores the work of Israelis and Palestinians organising against militarism and occupation. Featuring Interviews with: IDF soldiers, Israeli conscientious objectors and Palestinian grassroots organisers.
https://london.indymedia.org/events/8739
## OFFMARKET CAFE!! / Friday 6th May 6-11pm ##
Our first cafe, hopefully it will be a fortnightly event. We’ll have yummy vegan food on donation and we will watch an episode of “Survivors”, an awesome BBC TV series from the 70s, about life in the UK after a major virus plague killed most of the humans on earth!! It’s a program about people trying to (re)build collectives and communities from scratch, and we only look at it as an interesting starting point for a discussion on these issues.
## EGYPTIAN DANCE / Saturday 7th May 7-10pm ##
Egyptian dance (often refered to as Belly dance) uses a combination of hip, torso, spine and arm movements to express the intricate and exhilerating beat of Egyptian music. We will start with a warm-up which will include some hands-on partner work and overall stretches. What to wear: loose clothing and a simple scarf to wrap around your hips. Open to all genders. A fun class in a supportive atmosphere!re!
## NELSN SOCIAL / Saturday 7th May 7-10pm ##
Squatters from North East London getting together, socialising, supporting each other and sharing food.
## THE FLIP SIDE: WHEN SEX IS NOT OK / Saturday 7th May, 3-5pm ##
This group is for people who?ve had not-okay sexual experiences. That means people who?ve felt unsafe, unable to say no, threatened, misled, or pressured into something, and also anyone who?s been sexually abused or assaulted at any point in their life, regardless of who it was or how much they remember. It also includes people who?ve experienced distressing emotions or states of mind during sex ? which might mean feeling dirty, guilty or ashamed; having flashbacks; or disassociating. The group will meet once a week for six weeks, and we ask participants for [near] full attendance at all the sessions, in order to foster trust and build a safer space. The purpose of the group is to use our personal experiences to brainstorm strategies for navigating these situations and emotions, in order to devise safer and more sustainable ways to manage them. If you are interested in participating, please email us back at: whensexisnotokay@gmail.com
## QUEER FILM NIGHT / Friday 13th May 7pm ##
More details later
/////// REGULAR ACTIVITIES /////////
All our activities are free
++ MONDAY, 10-12noon ++
Self Defense Skillshare:
Have some tips for self defence or want to learn? Come along to this weekly skill share! Open to all ages, genders and abilities
++ MONDAY, 2-4pm ++
Gardening and Herbalism Skillshare:
Each week we will be focusing on a different plant!
25th April:
– collecting compost
– looking at relevant zines / books to plan a monthly discussion group
– planting things in hanging baskets
PLANT FOCUS: Nettles
Future plant focus sessions; 2nd May: Sage / 9th May: Dandelion / 16th May: Skullcap / 23rd May: Elderflower / 30th May: Willow Bark
++ MONDAY, 7pm ++
Open Meeting : see the space, propose an event, get involved.
++ TUESDAY, 3-6pm ++
Bike fixing workshop
++ FIRST AND THIRD TUESDAY of the month, 7-8pm ++
Practical Squatting Evening:
Meet other people to squat with, get practical advice on squatting, and much more!
++ WEDNESDAY, 8-10.30pm ++
Clowning workshop
++ THURSDAY, 10:30-13:30 ++
Alternative therapies:
Indian Head Massage, Reflexology, Reiki, Auricular Acupuncture, Nutritional Advice, Relaxation/Visualization Techniques. If you are coming for the first time please try to be there by 10.30am, after that you can make an appointment. If you have any questions you can call Francesca on 07763529772.
++ THURSDAY, 2pm-5.30pm ++
Free Writing and Spoken English Assistance:
Free proofreading drop-in session and assistance with spelling, grammar, and punctuation; for any document, including essays, articles and applications up to post-graduate level. Time will be evenly distributed between those who require assistance. NB. Please come with prepared material to edit. You are also welcome to attend if you wish to learn or improve on your spoken English. Please get in touch if you could help with the above.
++ FIRST THURSDAY of the month, 7-9pm ++
Hackney and East London Creative Writing Circle:
We are a group of people who meet regularly to share our creative writing – all forms, all flavours, all levels – for comment, critique, motivation and inspiration. The group is open to anyone who wants to write, from beginners to advanced writers. Contact: iris: nerosiri@yahoo.co.uk
++ EVERY OTHER FRIDAY, 6-11pm ++
Offmarket Cafe:
First will be Friday 6th May. Fortnightly cafe, yummy vegan food on donation and we will watch an episode of “Survivors”, an awesome BBC TV series from the 70s, about life in the UK after a major virus plague killed most of the humans on earth!
++ FIRST SATURDAY of the month, 7-10pm ++
NELSN social:
Squatters from North East London getting together, socialising, supporting each other and sharing food!
++ SUNDAY, 6-7pm ++
French conversation sessions.
//We would like to expand this to include other languages, especially english for beginners, so please get in touch if you could help//
++ SUNDAY, 7.30-9pm ++
Life drawing sessions.
Contact email: 
Autonomous London 