V&A East: back2back – Rendezvous Projects

back2back: Up Ya Archives x Rendezvous Projects

A one-day takeover at V&A East exploring jungle, archives and East London music histories

16 May 2026
V&A East Storehouse and V&A East Museum
Part of The Music is Black Festival from East Bank

Rendezvous Projects curated back2back: Up Ya Archives x Rendezvous Projects with Nia Archives’ platform Up Ya Archives and V&A East. Taking the Amen break as a connective thread, the programme explored jungle as a living archive: a music culture shaped through migration, sound systems, pirate radio, record shops, studios, clubs, visual culture and community-led documentation.

The event brought together DJs, artists, filmmakers, archivists, researchers, producers and community historians across V&A East Museum and V&A East Storehouse. Through talks, screenings, workshops, installations and music, the programme traced the hyper-local East London infrastructures that helped shape jungle and its wider cultural ecosystem.

Developed in dialogue with The Music is Black: A British Story, the takeover looked at how music travels across time and geography, and how histories are constructed, circulated, contested and preserved.

Programme

V&A East Storehouse

Amen Brother: King of the Beats — Preview & Q&A
11:00–12:00
Creative Studios GF06
An exclusive preview of Amen Brother followed by a Q&A with director DJ Proto J. The film traces the cultural journey of the Amen break and its lasting impact across global music.

Cassette Covers & Zines
11:00–14:00
Creative Studios GF02
A drop-in workshop led by Cassia Clarke exploring DIY music culture through cassette artwork and zine-making.

Jungle: DIY Lineage — Precursors to Future Forms
12:00–13:45
Creative Studios GF05
A presentation by DJ Warlock tracing jungle’s roots from sound system culture to rave, followed by a panel with Wayne George, Chris Hansen, Kenny ‘Sting’ King, Selecta Cee and NAINA.

Naz Hamdi: Archiving the Everyday
14:00–15:00
David Bowie Archive
Naz Hamdi, also known as Naz from Newham, reflected on physical media, representation, storytelling and contemporary archival practice.

OctaMED: Building Jungle from the Amiga
14:00–15:45
Creative Studios GF04
A live demonstration led by Bizzy B, Dlux and Equinox exploring how early jungle was produced using Commodore Amiga systems and OctaMED software.

Bowie Archive Video Programme
10:00–21:00
David Bowie Centre, Level 1
A curated video programme connecting David Bowie’s work with jungle-era culture, including NIA ARCHIVES with DJ RON.

V&A East Museum

Jungle Film Programme
10:00–21:00
Why We Make Gallery, Level UG
A continuous screening programme of short documentaries exploring jungle culture, pirate radio, record labels and club spaces. Films included All Junglists: A London Somet’ing Dis, Music Nation: Jungle Fever, Brain Records & Dungeons and What Makes Something Jungle?

Build the Sound: E1T1 Sound System Sessions
10:00–21:00
Entrance to Why We Make Gallery, Level UG
Each One Teach One brought together youth-led sound system collectives developed by Felt Sound System, with a live activation from 16:00.

Deja Vu FM
10:00–21:00
Entrance to Why We Make Gallery, Level 1
An installation showcasing the original infrastructure behind Deja Vu FM, founded in 1995 and continuously broadcasting for decades.

Local Frequencies
10:00–21:00
Museum circulation spaces
Curated by Rendezvous Projects, this distributed installation presented archival footage, radio recordings and printed material tracing the hyper-local infrastructures that shaped rave and jungle in East London. Design by Inés Miño Izquierdo and Mon Cano.

Crate Digging
16:00–21:00
Why We Make Gallery, Level 1
A 360° immersive film recreating Forest Gate’s De Underground Records, a key site in the development of jungle and drum and bass. Directed by Peter Collis and produced by Hyperactive Developments with Rendezvous Projects.

Inclusive Histories with Julia Thee Junglist Historian
16:15–18:15
Creative Studio, Level UG
Chaired by Julia Toppin, this discussion explored the erasure of marginalised voices within jungle history, with Nia Archives, Dejuan Desiree, Dr Cheraine Donalea Scott, DJ Flight and Dizzy from Rave Archive UK.

HYPER: The Stevie Hyper D Story
16:15–18:15
Event Space, Level 3
A screening of Jamie Ross-Hulme and Darrell Austin’s film about one of jungle’s most influential MCs.

back2back
19:00–21:00
Event Space, Level 3
The closing music session transformed the space into a club environment, headlined by Nia Archives with DJ Flight, NAINA and Selecta Cee, with sound by Felt Sound System.