Foundations Programme

The Foundations Programme was the first phase of work co-funded via a four-year partnership with City of London. The programme supports the Foundation for Future London’s local collaborative cultural programming around creative education, lifelong learning and employment opportunities.  Our aim is to develop longer term shared learnings between the two new cultural districts of East Bank and Culture Mile.

Recognising the significant impact grassroots cultural organisations make in their communities, economies and well-being, the programme aimed to support the Foundation’s re-engagement with local audiences and demonstrate our commitment to funding local cultural infrastructure.

Our people and place-led programme has sought to listen and test new collaborative approaches to amplify local individual, organisation and community ambitions and ideas.

Across the year in 2019 and 2020, we have also tried to lay the foundations to support diverse local creative talent and develop potential collaborative projects with our East Bank partners.

Our 2019/2020 work strands included:

• Action-based research and engagement approach
• Connecting People & Places Fund
• Creative Schools
• Fusion Prize
• STEP employability programme for young Londoners
• East Summer School
• Step into the Smithsonian
• Creative Partnership Development (V&A Late’s, UCL’s New Curators, Great Get Together, Fusion Young Advisors, Scrap Events)

Our 2019 action-based research and engagement approach resulted in 10 inaugural place-based commissioned projects facilitated by an independent creative producer.

In 2020, we awarded 22 grants and 10 small development grants in response to C-19 through our Connecting People and Places Fund.

Grants of up to £5,000 were awarded to enable individuals and organisations across the four boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest to deliver arts and cultural activities. This could be a scaling-out of existing cultural activity idea or the development of a new project or partnership.

The grants’ aim is to connect East London communities with East Bank, impact social change and create the conditions to enable a greater level of collaboration between both local organisations and our East Bank and Culture Mile partner organisations.

Read our Connecting People and Places Evaluation Report.

2020 Grantees