A time capsule celebrating the past, present and future of the Gascoigne neighbourhood in Barking has been buried by Gascoigne Primary School and members of the local community following an art project led by Wates Residential, alongside Boathouse Studios and Art Collective, with over 120 pupils contributing.

More than 40 people including Jennie Coombs, Head of Affordable Housing at Be First, and Councillors Dominic Twomey and Saima Ashraf, Deputy Leaders of Barking and Dagenham Council, joined students, teachers and Wates at an event to mark the burial and showcase the items chosen to go into the capsule.

A total of 27 pupils from Gascoigne Primary School helped to bury the time capsule, and the location has been shared with the local library. Submissions included artwork, objects, photographs, letters, poems and audio recordings, with pupils and residents from the neighbouring area speaking about the items they had chosen, reflecting on why they were special to them and why they would be important for future generations. Jean, a local resident who has lived on the estate for 74 years and previously acted as Chair of the Tenants Association, said to the children as she placed her letter into the capsule: “Remember how lucky you are, this is all for you. But also remember, community is not about one person, it’s about all of us.”

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The school has been working with the Boathouse Studios and Art Collective to create the submissions which were centred around the theme ‘My Dream Barking’. Some children wrote about their dreams for a fair, welcoming society in the borough, while others drew pictures of their dream homes surrounded green spaces and wildlife, with one pupil Maryam saying she hoped to live in one of the new homes on the estate in future. The artworks not included in the capsule will decorate the hoardings near Hardwicke Street, so that the local community can continue to appreciate the work.