Through interviews with original self‑builders, historians, architects and economists, Tomorrow is Built Today explores how 1990s co-operative Nubia Way emerged as a response to housing discrimination faced by Black British communities
A special film screening and discussion examining how communities imagine and build alternative futures in response to the housing crisis will take place at William Morris Gallery on Wednesday 28th October at 7.30pm.
Tomorrow is Built Today, a documentary from the Architecture Foundation, tells the story of Nubia Way, the pioneering self‑build housing project created in the 1990s by Fusions Jameen, London’s first Black‑led housing co‑operative.
Located in Lewisham, the homes were constructed using Walter Segal’s timber‑frame building principles, with residents offered long‑term discounted rents in exchange for building their own properties.
Through interviews with original self‑builders, historians, architects and economists, the film explores how Nubia Way emerged as a response to housing discrimination faced by Black British communities, and how self‑building became a form of resistance, autonomy and collective care.
Following the screening, Tim Oshodi, one of the original Nubia Way self‑builders, will join East London artist Abel Holsborough for a conversation drawing connections between the project and House for Artists – the Barking‑based residential complex where Holsborough lives and which forms the focus of their commission for Earthly Paradise. The pair will discuss how housing models can support creativity, shared living and community‑led cultural activity.
House for Artists provides resident artists with studio space and shared responsibility for a public programme of events, alongside communal gardens and flexible spaces designed to encourage collaboration and everyday acts of hosting and care.
The event also includes a private view of Earthly Paradise: Radical Living in the UK, the major exhibition at William Morris Gallery exploring how artists and communities have challenged conventional ways of living over the past two centuries.
Oshodi, a former director of the National Communities Resource Centre, has long worked on community self‑build schemes and campaigns for social justice.
Holsborough’s practice spans photography, performance and writing, often drawing on obscure local histories; they have recently worked with organisations including Museum of the Home, Grizedale Arts, Create London, Waltham Forest Council and William Morris Gallery.
Secure your ticket here
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