Nick Cheshire tells us about the Little Free Libraries...coming soon

Could you tell us about the work you will be showing during this year's E17 Art Trail?

We've built 12 Little Free Libraries which will be installed across Walthamstow in gardens, cafés, pubs and community spaces. Some of them look like tiny house-shaped boxes, while others have been up-cycled from bookcases and cabinets. We've been very lucky to be able to work with several local and nationally recognized artists who have added their unique brand of art to each Little Free Library.

When installed on 31 May this will be London's largest neighbourhood network of LFLs. We hope the local community will enjoy the art and the books. People can take a book, return a book or donate a book and we hope they will be especially appealing to kids of all ages.

How have you been preparing for this year's trail?

We've been very busy!! Building 12 Little Free Libraries is a lot of work and the artists we've been working with have been very busy too. Many of them have their own Trail events as well as helping us transform our LFLs.

Could you tell us about an an artist/ artwork that  particularly inspires you? 

I went to University in the 90's and am more influenced by music as an art form. I'm a big vinyl collector and particularly love the amazing cover art that many vinyl record sleeves come with. The Stone Roses for example with their Jackson Pollock influence and classic album art like Sergeant Pepper and Yellow Submarine.

How does inhabiting a community like Walthamstow help your practice?

I lived in Walthamstow for several years, but as my wife is American, we recently spent some time in the USA. We lived near her tiny hometown in South Alabama for a while, then moved to Athens, Georgia. It was in Athens that I first saw a Little Free Library. I loved the simplicity of the concept and it goes without saying that it inspired me to build Little Free Libraries here in Walthamstow. Why? It's very much a community of like-minded people with diverse backgrounds, but all are keen to work with one another to make Walthamstow a better place for everyone. It seemed like the right place for Little Free Libraries.  

What are you most looking forward to during the E17 Art Trail this year ? 

Most looking forward to everything. Genuinely, there's so much happening this year, I'm looking forward to seeing as much as possible!

Listing no.47 in the guide: Click here for more information.