We are part of this year’s Creative Spaces Symposium by Creative Newham

This October, one of our grantees Creative Newham is hosting its first symposium focused on Creative Spaces. This one-day symposium will explore what makes creative spaces truly inclusive and sustainable, addressing the shortage of such spaces in East London.

We are excited to be part of this fantastic day, exploring the subject of Newham’s creative and community spaces, with a particular interest in safer inclusive spaces across East London, and looking at how we can all work together to make positive changes in the lives of the people who need these spaces the most.

Our CEO Sarah Nelson and our Director of Fundraising and Development Alice Devitt will be joining an extensive line up of speakers and panellists representing East London’s policy makers, planners and developers, creative industries sector, artists, public sector bodies, higher education institutions, funders and other organisations from various Newham-based groupings and networks (see below).

From 12.15 to 1.15pm, Sarah will be leading a panel discussion on the following subject: “what new models of partnership can secure inclusive spaces for creativity in Newham?” The panel includes:

• Jack Fortescue, Property Development, Acme Artists’ Studios Ltd
• Tia Hassan, Creative Director & CEO, East London Dance
• Simon Myers, CEO, Gasworks Dock Partnership
• Yasmin Jones-Henry, Co-founder & Curator, The Lab E20
• Matt Davies, Head of Economic Development, Royal Docks
• Tamsin Ace, Director, East Bank

From 3 to 3.40pm, Alice will be facilitating a breakout discussion on the following subject: “defining safe creative spaces: whose safety, and by what measures?”

At the Foundation for Future London, we believe that true sustainability in the creative economy depends on deep, equitable partnerships that put communities at the centre of change. These conversations will explore how we can build those models together, ensuring creativity remains a driving force for inclusion, opportunity and creates new futures for East Londoners.

Creative Newham aims to bring together a wide range of stakeholders and audiences to discuss safer spaces, the potential of heritage buildings and how creative places can support local communities by drawing on local culture, skills and resources.

The programme will also explore the key ingredients for success such as adequate infrastructure, strong partnerships, accessible resources, and strategies that ensure long-term, fair opportunities for all.

The Creative Newham Creative Spaces symposium will be held on Thursday 16th October 2025 9.30am–5pm at The Lab E20, Stratford (E20 1JB). For more information, please see: https://www.creativenewham.com/cs2025

More information

The theme for the Symposium, ‘Creative Spaces’ was developed in response to consultation over the last 18 months, which identified various areas of interest and need, such as where more ‘joining of the dots’ and strategic partnership working might be beneficial in relation to space.

Creative Newham will be pulling out the findings from the Symposium to help inform their future work around supporting networks, programming, collaborative funding and more.

Topics to be integrated within the Symposium programme include (but are not limited to):

• Sustainable creative workspaces for artists, designers and makers – what does ‘sustainable’
• spaces look like – financial, social, cultural, and environmental.
• How can cross-sector partners, cultural and community leaders and planners come together to support inclusive spaces that nurture creativity and connectivity, create community benefit and help shape a sustainable social and creative economy (case studies
• etc).
• Lack of spaces available to the local creative community – especially the grassroots – looking at how multi-partner/ cross-sector, community-led groupings emerging increasingly and leading the way in supporting the development of inclusive, co-designed viable spaces.
• How heritage buildings/assets can offer creative space but how often these ventures rely on a range of skills, resources and knowledge, including understanding of the challenges and needs of maintaining and running a heritage building and the level of resource and partnerships needed to support this.
• Not all spaces are physical, and we also hope to explore what safe, creative virtual spaces might look like and how we initiate structures of care in our spaces (real and virtual) that support the people who access those spaces to feel welcome, safe, and included.
• How creative and community spaces resonate and support local community and their locale-specific heritage and history – so linking in also intangible cultural heritage to places and spaces (ie traditions, preserving cultural practices, knowledge and skills passed down through generations).

Speakers and contributors

Jo Townshend (She/Her)
Chair and Director, CVAN London

Hugh McEwen
Director, Office S&M Architects

Yves Blais (He/Him)
Operations Director, Creative Land Trust

James Kaguima
Founder, Skate Cabal

Sanaz Amidi
Chair, Creative Newham

Yasmin Jones-Henry
Co-founder & Curator, The Lab E20

Sarah Nelson (She/Her)
CEO, Foundation for Future London

Jack Fortescue
Property Development, Acme Artists’ Studios Ltd

Tia Hassan
Creative Director & CEO, East London Dance

Gee Sinha
Founder, Project Manager & Director ReSpace

Judith Garfield MBE Executive Director
Executive Director at Eastside Community Heritage

Rupesh Varsani
Development Director Berkeley Group plc

Rose Sinclair MBE
Project Advisory Board member, curator, artists and academic

Professor Matthew Bellgard
Pro Vice-Chancellor, Impact & Innovation, UEL

Sam Ikhuoria
Cultural Producer, and Alumni of NPP Cultural Producers programme

Shazia Hussain
CEO, London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC)

Alice Devitt
Director of Fundraising and Development, Foundation for Future London

Esther Baker
Head of Youth Empowerment Services, Newham Council

Juma Harding -Dimmock
Head of Engagement, The Line, and member of Creative Newham’s Project Advisory Board for the Newham Place Partnership Programme

Alison Lowe MBE
Creative Entrepreneur in Residence and Director of Careers and Enterprise – The School of Arts and Creative Industries & Creative Futures lead

Jessie Brennan
Research-led Artist exploring inter-relations between people and places

Richard Parish
Historic Places Adviser Historic England

Joyce Ogunde
Interim Head of Inclusive Economy Strategy and Programmes at the London Borough of Newham

Stevan Tennant
Developments Director, Ballymore

Jordan Williams
Founder of Adversatile Artists and member of Creative Newham’s Project Advisory Board for the Newham Place Partnership Programme

Emma Wilcox
EW Associates and Chair for Creative Newham’s Project Advisory Board for the Newham Place Partnership Programme

Tamsin Ace
Director, East Bank