Islington Museum
Explore Islington’s stories of the people, the places and the ideas that created our borough. The Friends of Islington Museum support the museum in all its activities!
Get involved to learn about the borough’s hidden histories, explore our collections and learn about what makes Islington such a fascinating place to live, work, and play.

Islington Museum
Visit to explore Islington’s story through free exhibitions and programming.

Current Exhibition
Our Islington: Art of the Borough
Celebrating Islington’s artists, with chances to add your own creations. 12/09/24 – 12/01/24
Learn More

Islington Archives
Visit to do hands-on exploration of our archive of 100,000+ documents related to the borough.

Islington Heritage Projects
Learn about how we are conserving Islington’s heritage and bringing art to the borough.
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The Keskidee Centre
Islington as a Place of Refuge – Tour Stop 2 Significance: first dedicated arts centre in Britain for the Afro-Carribean community The Keskidee Centre was envisioned by Oscar Abrams, a Guyanese architect and cultural activist, in the 1970’s. A centre providing educational, social and cultural activities for a disadvantaged and primarily West Indian community in the borough…
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Caledonian Park
Islington as a Place of Refuge – Tour Stop 1 Significance: Location of rally for Hungarian revolutionary Lajos Kossuth By 1848, a storm of discontent swept through European states, culminating in a series of republican revolts against monarchies. Beginning in Sicily, most of Europe tried, and failed, to implement a political revolution. The aftermath left…
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Paradise Park Children’s Centre
Islington as a Place of Refuge – Tour Stop 5 Significance: Location of Britain’s first female Somali Mayor’s Councillor Surgery Paradise Park Children’s Centre is an important stop in Islington’s refugee and migrant history for its links with a key member of Islington’s Somali Community, Councillor Rakhia Ismail. Since 2014, Councillor Ismail has held her…
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Carlo Gatti’s Ice Well Plaque
Islington as a Place of Refuge – Tour Stop 3 Significance: Location of Swiss-Italian entrepreneur Gatti’s ice well Italians have been settling in London for centuries, with a great many settling in Islington. Carlo Gatti left his Swiss-Italian home town in 1847 to go on to become a successful entrepreneur in Islington, bringing hot chocolate…
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We’ll Meet Again: VE-Day Celebrations
As the final installment of the exhibition We’ll Meet Again: Islington on the Home Front in Photographs 1939-45, we look at how the people of Islington and Finsbury celebrated Victory in Europe Day, or ‘VE-Day’ in May 1945. Monday 7 May 1945 marked a joyous occasion – the formal surrender of Nazi Germany’s armed forces in…
