The Proud Archivist – arts and food on Regent’s Canal

Canalside bar and arts venue The Proud Archivist. Photograph Nicola Duarte

With today’s London coffee shops prioritising free wi-fi for the sole laptop-user over their standard hot drinks and pre-packaged food offerings, it’s a far cry from the social space that once was.

Hoping to revive the traditions of the 17th and 18th century coffee house is The Proud Archivist, a new cafe-restaurant-gallery-venue with a diverse cultural and community programme to set tongues wagging.

Owner, Hector Proud, 42 of De Beauvoir Town says the idea is not only to put on a broad range of events, but to reflect the passions and desires of the people.

“Hackney is an extraordinary tapestry of flavours with a broad liberal mindset and it’s about understanding who we live amongst and making events for them.

“We want to programme a broad range of events for a broad range of people, and make it inclusive.”

From literature to comedy to history to sport, Hector is working closely with organisations such as Create London and The Shoreditch Trust as well as speaking to his local councillor to make sure his events really do reflect the interests of the public.

“We’re working close with these organisations to make sure we’re not just one big stomp of gentrification.  The last thing I want to do is look back in three years and see just another big shiny gallery.”

Alongside locally roasted, specialist coffee, The Proud Archivist also has a daily-changing, seasonal British menu made with ingredients from nearby suppliers.

Mr Proud says: “The chef takes great pride in the daily delivery of ingredients.  It’s a massively reassuring message to see him use every part of a cauliflower over three or four different dishes and then serve it up for a reasonable price.  I call him a twinkly-eyed genius!”

Previously the managing director of Idea Generation gallery in Shoreditch, Mr Proud says the vision of The Proud Archivist came to him this time 25 years ago.

“The night it all started was the night of the Great Storm 1987.  We were watching Blackadder where Mrs Miggins turns her pie shop into a coffee shop.  The next morning we woke up and started reciting lines from Blackadder whilst the whole of England lay to waste.”

The Proud Archivist’s first exhibition, The Gathering Storm – The Album Art of Storm Thorgeson celebrates the work of late graphic designer, Storm Thorgeson who died in April this year.

Since his first work of album art in 1968, Thorgeson has designed covers for a variety of bands including Muse, Olivia Newton John and Pink Floyd in a career that spanned five decades.

Displaying previously unseen sketchbooks, photographs and shoot anecdotes, the exhibition reveals the process that went into the final design alongside the covers themselves.

The Proud Archivist, 2-10 Hertford Road, N1 5ET