Estate Talks: Bringing community together through intergenerational conversation and creative workshops
Between September and December 2026, The People Speak is collaborating with the Haggerston and Kingsland Estate Residents Collective to reflect on the last 10 years, following the premiere of an award-winning film Estate: the Reverie (2015).
Estate Talks is a project close to our hearts. It brings together residents old and new, young and old, for a series of free events designed to do one simple thing: get people talking to each other again.
Where it all began
Our connection to this community goes back further than most people realise. Filmmaker Andrea Luka Zimmerman lived on the estate for years, and it was there that she made Estate: A Reverie – a remarkable portrait of a community living through the long, slow process of regeneration. Rather than a story about buildings being knocked down, the film focused on the people still living behind the hoardings: their routines, memories and small acts of care for one another as the world around them changed. It’s a film about what gets lost, and what somehow survives, when a place is transformed.
Haggerston Estate Funeral shoot
In 2018, Talkaoke – our talk show accompanied the local premiere of the film at Haggerston Community Centre, where residents who appeared in the film sat down to reflect on their shared history and imagined the future in the new redeveloped estate.
What’s happening this time
Estate Talks picks up where that evening left off, reuniting residents with the film and with each other, and opening up a new chapter of creative work on the estate. Over the coming months we’ll be running free events on and near the estate: a launch celebration, intergenerational creative workshops and further Talkaoke sessions building towards a final showcase. We will also screen Estate: The Reverie as an anchor for the project and an opportunity for the new residents to learn about the local history.
Launch Event: Saturday 12 September, St Mary’s Secret Garden
We’re kicking things off with a community celebration around a live Talkaoke session co-hosted by our Haggerston-based hosts. With the estate residents and other Haggerston locals in attendance it will be an opportunity to say hello to get excited about the events and workshops coming up. Nested in the beautiful St. Mary’s Secret Garden, Talkaoke opens the floor for conversations led by the participants: how has the estate changed, what do you want it to be, and what shall we make together? Whatever comes up on the day will directly shape the workshops that follow.
From there, we’ll run intergenerational creative workshops bringing together older residents and young people to build skills in public speaking, storytelling, active listening and navigating disagreement, using Talkaoke and visual storytelling. Young people will come away with confidence and communication tools that are useful for employment; older residents will find new ways to share their stories and connect across the generational divide. The workshops will be tailored to what residents tell us they want at the launch event.
We’ll close with the screening of Estate: The Reverie accompanied by Talkaoke sessions, where workshop participants showcase what they’ve made, whether that’s audio, video or photography, and residents who’ve built hosting skills through the workshops are invited to take the mic and run parts of the session themselves, if they wish.
Further event and workshop dates will be announced in due course, with sessions planned for October half term and November 2026, so keep an eye on our website and social channels, and ask around your local community groups and noticeboards.
Why we’re doing this
The Haggerston and Kingsland Estate has undergone significant regeneration over the past decade. The transformation has brought real benefits, but it has also fractured community bonds: the new layout means neighbours rarely cross paths, and the estate’s north and south sections are physically separated. Long-standing residents, particularly older people, often say what they miss most is simply seeing each other. For many, that invisibility translates directly into loneliness and isolation.
The community centre, once a neighbourhood hub, is now underused. Younger people who’ve outgrown the children’s play areas and lack dedicated social spaces have moved into stairwells and car parks, sometimes generating tension with adult residents. Newer, wealthier residents live alongside longer-standing, lower-income households with few chances to find common ground. What’s missing is the simple, regular opportunity for people to be in a room together.
All events are free and open to everyone. Estate Talks is delivered by The People Speak CIC, a community interest company with 29 years’ experience using participatory arts and conversation to bring communities together, with support from the Haggerston Estate Community Fund.
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