Manal Massalha - The Art of Listening: Everyday Trust, Everyday Hope, Opening & Talk

Photographer, visual storyteller, urban ethnographer,  Manal Massalha,  joins Hackney Art Week with The Art of Listening: Everyday Trust, Everyday Hope, a body of work exploring hope, trust, democratic public and green spaces, and the everyday connections that shape life in Hackney.

Drawing on her background in sociology and ethnography, Massalha uses photography to tell stories that are often overlooked.

Central to her practice is the idea of "everyday conviviality" — our capacity to live together not despite difference, but because of it.

The photograph featured here was taken in Hackney in July 2018. It captures a quiet moment of care, trust and connection.

Through a selection of images she's taken between 2018 and 2024, Massalha invites us to reflect on the shared spaces, relationships and encounters that make up the social fabric of the borough.

It feels especially fitting that this work will be shown at Dalston Curve Garden — one of Hackney's most cherished community spaces.

Long before exhibiting there, Manal visited the garden with her children when they were young, drawn to its openness, generosity and sense of belonging. A place where people from different walks of life come together, the garden reflects many of the values at the heart of her practice.

For the opening evening, Manal will be joined by journalist and author Daniel Trilling for a conversation on photography, storytelling and the role of art in fostering connection. Trilling's latest book, If We Tolerate This: How the British Establishment Made the Far Right Respectable (2026), examines the political and cultural conditions that have shaped contemporary Britain. 

We're also using this opportunity to  raise money for the Hanoon Foundation: In support of Medical Training in Palestine.

The Hanoon Foundation, for nearly 30 years, has been at the forefront of building an independent, sustainable healthcare system in Palestine, including the training of medical doctors. In 1995, they helped set up the first medical school in Jerusalem.

Every penny we raise will go to supporting talented medical students, in Gaza and the West Bank, whose families are no longer able to cover their tuition fees.

To donate: https://tinyurl.com/ms446k99