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:
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.
| Applicant/Lead | Project Name |
| Art Clubbers | S.Y.N.C Your Skills |
| Artillery CIC | Creative Climate Ideas Spark Sessions |
| Arts Clubbers & Spotlight Youth Centre | Poplar Works Fashion Mural |
| Asma Begum | Make and Mend |
| Ben Wakeling | Hackney Wick Life Drawing 2021 |
| Blackhorse Lane | Studio and Workshop Residency Launch |
| Catalyst in Communities | Changing Minds in Challenging Times |
| Chisenhale Dance Space | Enhancing Encounter Bow Festival 2021 |
| Civic Ltd | Freemasons Road |
| Dash Arts | Dash Arts Podcast |
| Eleanor Pearce | Painting the Gate |
| Enni-Kukka Tuomala | Empathy HQ |
| Gascoyne Over 50s Club & Wick Award | Gascoyne Community Lunch |
| Grand Union | Music That Unites |
| Hackney Wick and Fish Island CIC / Creative Wick | The Wick Magazine Launch |
| HyperActive Developments | Groundbreakers – Augmented Reality Heritage Trail |
| Idea Space | Phone to Film |
| Kay Rufai | SMILE-ing Boys Project |
| Leaders in the Community | Be Inspired: Young Women |
| Loop Labs | Green Forest Gate |
| Magic Me | Generation Rebellion |
| Mbilla Arts | Saturday School Programme |
| Newham Poetry Group | Newham Poetry House |
| Paula David | Windrush and Beyond: Stories of Migration |
| Rob Fawcett | Men’s Shed – Programme Development |
| Roman Road Trust | Transform The Common Room: Developing the Programme |
| Rosetta Arts | Cultural Engagement Accelerator |
| Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation | You Can’t Handle The Booth Summer Challenge Pilot |
| Sahera Khan Artist | The Cockerel and the Fox |
| Sara Kärpänen | Poetic Place |
| Selina Thompson Ltd | Immersion |
| Split Banana | Festival of Us |
| Spotlight | Youth Public Art Project |
| The People Speak | Hear East Talkaoke |
| Trapped in Zone One | Black History Month – Tower Hamlets Mural |
| Trashion Factory CIC / JOA Local | Upskill For Zero Waste Futures |
| Trowbridge Gardens & Rob Fawcett | Hackney Wick Men’s Shed |
| Trowbridge Residents | Silver Surfers 2021 |
| UnAge | Food Startup Accelerator Pilot |
| UNDR LNDN | Living for the City |
| We Are Parable | Momentum Programme Pilot |
If you are a grantee, we have a marketing and press guidance web page, which has further information and links to logos and other resources.
For further advice, please contact Communications Manager Amy Zamarripa Solis on amysolis@future.london.
Do you have an exciting creative idea you want to make a reality? Foundation for Future London's Connecting People & Places Fund was set up to support local East London partners to deliver arts, education and employment programming and creative placemaking, part of the Foundations Programme co-funded by City of London. This fund is now closed.
Create opportunities for people of East London
