Village Underground
is a space for creativity
& culture in the heart
of East London

Workspaces

Above the main venue, four recycled Jubilee line trains and shipping containers make up the creative “platforms” of Village Underground. Up to 30 artists, playwrights, filmmakers, architects, photographers, producers and startups working side-by-side in a creative community.

The proximity and communal spirit foster collaboration and the exchange of ideas, whilst the affordable rent makes it easier for our tenants to focus on what they really want to do. By facilitating partnerships and maintaining low rent, creative practitioners can unlock their potential and develop ideas into great projects.

Previous tenants include – amongst many others: theatre company Punchdrunk, author and poet Joe Dunthorne and his Aisle 16 accomplices Tim Clare, John Osborne, Luke Wright and Ross Sutherland and the too-fabulous-to-be-true Sink The Pink family.

We have a few spaces available at the moment, for more information and to apply, click here.

Current Tenants

• Sarah Louise Renwick

  

  Sarah Louise is a garment designer and PhD student.

  Link to facebook

• Djim Masrangar

  

  Photographer, cook and all-round beautiful person, Djim is Village Underground’s longest-running tenant. As a photographer, he likes to use his vintage camera to snap handsome pictures of the artists playing at VU. As a cook, he creates Badmama Classic, the strongest and most delicious chilli sauce known to man.

  Bad Mama Classic facebook

• Amitay Leopold

  

  Leopold is a:: director// animator// designer// world traveller// ex-submarine navigator// sun seeker, based in east london.
  He works in the music industry, short films and commercials. His work ranges from quirky mesmerising 2D animations, contemporary fresh live action and a combination of the two into a living collages.
  He enjoys the most visualising thoughts, situations and secrets and new emails in his inbox. So say hey for any thoughts of projects, collaboration and saying hey.

  Website

• Nelly Ben Hayoun Studios

  

  Nelly Ben Hayoun Studios designs extreme experiences for you to become an astronaut in your living room while dark energy is being created in your kitchen sink and a volcano erupts on your couch. Interdisciplinary ‘Willy Wonka’ design studios which devise subversive events and experiences. We work with leading scientists, creatives, writers and engineers worldwide. People we have worked with include: NASA, The European Space Agency, Mattel Inc. HQ, Google HQ, The Guardian,The SETI Institute, BBC, WeTransfer, MailChimp, XL Recordings, Ed Banger Records, MOMA, Victoria and Albert Museum, National Museum of China, The Design Council, AirBnB, Autodesk, Apple and more! Nelly Ben Hayoun Studios works on large scale, multi-media, highly ambitious projects. There are no limits to our reach on earth and beyond. Facebook & Instagram

  Website

• University Of The Underground

  

  The University of the Underground was founded in February 2017 with the purpose of creating a global engagement with society as a whole, bringing generations together, to democratise access to public institutions and trigger changes and critical reflections through the use of creative, experiential and design practices. With an explicit focus on social dreaming, critical design, social actions, politics, theatrical practices, film, music and experiential practices; it aims to provide toolkits for members of the public to actively participate in revealing power structures in institutions. The University of the Underground supports unconventional research and practices that apprehend and challenge the formulation of culture, the manufacture and commodities of knowledge. The University of the Underground believes in a transnational form of education, which goes across borders and beyond nation-states. We are based in Amsterdam but we are nurturing other tuition-free global initiatives.

  Website

• The Weird And The Wonderful

  

  The Weird And Wonderful are a talent management company owned by Steven Braines, representing the likes of Maya Jane Coles, Magda, Tale of Us, Dense & Pika, Martyna Baker, Wax Wings, Chelou, Engine-Earz Experiment and Etch. Their former clients include; Tricky, Bless Beats, Nadine Shah and Doorly. They’re experienced in PR, journalism, publishing, A&R scouting, brand associations and event management. They have worked closely with a variety of companies such as Zomba Publishing, Incentive and Crown Talent Group.

  Tumblr

• Underplay

  

  underplay is a company 16 years in the making, It has one clear objective, to make sure the right people, hear the right music in the right way.  Whether that be artist, label, publisher, producer, booker, presenter, programmer or straight to fanbase.

  The music industry is changing year on year, more quickly than ever before and there have never been more ways to introduce artists and their music to tastemakers and new audiences.

  One thing has not changed, if music and artist are exceptional, people will want to listen to them and if promoted in the right way, more people will have the opportunity to find them and become fans of what they create.

  Our main focus is Radio and TV promotion and managing artists we love.  We have been doing this for many years and have a wealth of knowledge, experience and contacts we call friends.

  Chris Bellam has worked alongside critically acclaimed and chart topping artists, producers, managers and creatives since 2001, with a passion for great music and a drive to find those who are yet to be found.

  He started his career at XL Recordings and has since worked with many labels including 4ad, Matador, Rough Trade, Young Turks, Island, Polydor, Warner, Virgin, Ninja Tune, Warp, Secretly Canadian, Marathon, Lucky Number and many others and has worked directly with the below artists….

  ADELE, The xx, Daughter, Sampha, Todd Terje, Queens Of The Stone Age, Sigur Ros, Bon Iver, Rustie, Grimes, The National, Alabama Shakes, Palma Violets, Warpaint, The Strokes, The Horrors, SBTRKT, Jamie xx, Dizzee Rascal, Radiohead, Jack Penate, Laurel, Giggs, Jai Paul, Tyler The Creator, Vampire Weekend, Bobby Womack, Rationale, Loyle Carner, Savages, Mystery Jets, Friendly Fires, Lapsley, Jungle, Cat Power, David Byrne, St Vincent, Jack White, Paul Banks, Ratking, Basment Jaxx, Cymbals, Purity Ring, Tops, Scott Walker, White Stripes, MIA, FKA Twigs, Spring King, Clean Cut Kid to name a few…

  Website

• For The Record

  

  Based in London – For The Record PR specialises in global print, online, radio and club promotions. Co-founded by Abigail White (Head of Press) and Jessica Lamb (Head of Specialist Radio and Club) they have a wealth of experience in the industry, having built solid relationships with their roster and media over a number of years.

  They boast a roster of top, underground labels such as; Hot Creations, Crosstown Rebels, Firehouse, Mobilee, International Feel amongst others. As well as representing artists including; Kim Ann Foxman, Melé, Mat.Joe, Mella Dee, Marc Romboy, Kidnap and Damian Lazarus.

  Website

• Fairsplit

  

  Fairsplit Music Publishing is a 21st century boutique music publisher founded by Peter Saville & Vikram Gudi in 2014. With extensive experience in music supervision, advertising & sync, Peter & Vikram created Fairsplit to focus on owning outstanding contemporary classical, electronic & industrial music that works seamlessly with audio-visual.
  As a synchronisation focused company, Fairsplit has, in less than a year, secured placements with Adidas, Unilever, Cathay Pacific, Lexus, Unicef, Google, IBM amongst a host of other advertisements & Hollywood trailers.

  Fairsplit Music

• Elephant Music

  

  Music publishing.

  Website

• Heiko Prigge

  

  Heiko is a portrait and lifestyle photographer working for various clients such as BMW, lodown, Monocle, MINI and Agent Provocateur. Born in Hamburg, he moved to London in 1997 and worked for many years as an assistant to Terry O’Neill and other photographers. Exhibitions include V&A’s One Moment Please, Serpentine Gallery’s State of Play (a collaborative project with artist Alexandra Mir) and Tate Modern’s Global Cities (a collaborative project with US artist Fritz Haeg).

  Heiko Prigge

• Georges

  

  George(s) is a french illustrator and art director now based between London & Paris after three years living and working in Shanghai. His work is a full organised mess inspired by thousand of things going from Raymond Savignac to Monty Pythons, from Douanier Rousseau to Matt Groening.
  Find him on Facebook and Instagram.
  For commissions and enquiries, please contact
  itsmegeorges@gmail.com

  Website

• Joachim Mueller-Ruchholtz

  

  Photographer.

  Website

• Fergus Carr

  

  Fergus has been an architectural assistant in London and Brighton practices since 2006. He also creates his own private projects and occasionally contributes to open architectural competitions.

  Fergus Carr

• Omar El-Khairy

  

  Omar is a writer for stage and screen. He was part of the young writers’ programmes at both the Royal Court Theatre and Soho Theatre and a former Leverhulme Associate Playwright at the Bush Theatre. His plays include Burst, Sour Lips, The Keepers of Infinite Space and The Chaplain: or, a short tale of how we learned to love good Muslims whilst torturing bad ones. Omar is also a founding member of Paper Tiger, a collective of theatre and filmmakers, working collaboratively and autonomously. His first short film No Exit received its world premiere at last year’s Dubai International Film Festival and screened both nationally and internationally.

  Profile on Curtis Brown

• Yannick Jacob

  

  Yannick is a coach, mediator and trainer/lecturer/facilitator around the subject of Personal Development: Positive Psychology meets Existentialism.

  Coaching and Meditation

• William Williamson

  

  William is a director who works in documentary, short film, music video and commercials. His Music Nation documentary on the British Asian rave scene was called  “one of the best TV shows about music in years” by The Guardian. He has worked with musicians including a particularly close relationship with folk singer Keaton Henson.

  William Williamson

• Plush Festival

  

  Plush Festival is an independent, family run music series held in the idyllic village of Plush, Dorset. Over the summer the festival serves to bring audiences close to leading artists in a uniquely intimate and beautiful setting. The musical focus is classical and contemporary, with forays into jazz, world and folk.

  Plush Festival

• Di Mainstone

  

  Artist and researcher, Di Mainstone creates body-centric sculptures, designed to initiate movement and storytelling. Many of these wearable artefacts are inspired by technology. Some of them release sound when handled. Often, they can be modified to create new silhouettes, environments and functionalities. All of them tell a story.

  Di Mainstone

Meeting Room

Located in one of the shipping containers, our Meeting Room is available for external bookings and is ideal for both formal and informal meetings, workshops and presentations and sits up to 15 people.

For more information, please email amelie@villageunderground.co.uk or visit Vrumi.