A free exhibition exploring the personal histories of the area being redeveloped in the run-up to 2012 is being launched by East Thames. Called Before London 2012, it combines artist Allan Williams’ visual and auditory portraits of local people with photographs of the current Athletes Village site. The exhibition is in East Gallery at the head office of East Thames, West Ham Lane, Stratford.

Allan Williams has created a unique record of the area as it was before redevelopment began, through visual and auditory portraits of older people who have lived and worked in the area for many years. His distinctive paintings show real people set against different places and things, representing their lives and memories. Visitors to the exhibition can listen to interviews with these people, capturing a host of memories: childhood adventures; the smog of the 1950s; the history of the Two Puddings public house; working on the allotments during the Second World War; settling in Stratford after moving to the UK.

These works are shown alongside photographs of part of the site as it currently is, providing us with a glimpse of the massive scale of development currently underway. Seen in these photographs is the site of the Athletes Village, which will accommodate athletes during the Olympic and Paralympic games. Work began on the site in June 2008 and a huge amount of progress has been made in just one year.

Before London 2012 is the latest in a series of shows at East Gallery, which is part of the community space at East Thames’ headquarters. East Thames set up East Gallery as an open and attractive exhibition area for local artists and an inspirational space to engage young people, families and other members of the community.

The exhibition is free and open to the public from 1 June 2009, Monday to Friday, 8.30am-6pm and Saturday, 9am to 2pm. It runs until 27 June 2009 and can be seen at East Thames Head Office, 29-35 West Ham Lane, Stratford, E15 4PH.

Francesca Okosi-Arimah, Director of Support Operations at East Thames, said: ‘This is a great opportunity to admire Newham’s local artistic talent, and to understand some of the fascinating personal histories of our local residents, many of whom have settled in Stratford from other countries. It is particularly interesting to connect past experiences of Stratford with the exciting changes taking place in the area, and to think about what memories may be formed here in future.’