“This signifies a real step change in how we both help drive investment, engagement and participation, and ensure our home grown creativity can thrive and flourish.” Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz
We are delighted to confirm that Creative Land Trust has been awarded funds to support activities at Alice Billing House from the Mayor of London’s High Streets for All Challenge.
A total of £170,000 of revenue funds will be used to help kick start activities in parallel with the opening of Creative Land Trust’s new studios at Alice Billing House. The grant is an extension of funds provided in the summer of 2021, which resulted in the creation of an Open Call for local artists to put forward proposals for an art commission for Stratford High Street.
The One I Admire art commission launched in July 2022. Produced by Paint the Change a rotating gallery will exhibit portraits of notable people from Newham, by Newham artists across the borough and along the high Street over the next two years.
In this next stage, a programme of engagement will be devised using the funds. This may include shadowing and mentoring for young people, as well as workshops and events for the public at Alice Billing House when it opens later this year, and for opportunities to partner with organisations to consider the potential of creative production and explore innovative new uses for space along Stratford’s high street. The funds will be used to provide support for outreach activities in the community to ensure that the spaces at Alice Billings House are relevant and reflective of what local artists and people in the community require of it.
The High Streets for All Challenge was set up by the Mayor of London and supported by the the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP),to bring forward and co-design innovative high street recovery strategies in particular following the impacting effects of the pandemic. It looks to address common and local challenges and underpin the public re-imagining of high streets and town centres across London.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:
“London’s vibrant community of diverse artists is part of what makes our capital so special. Thanks to this new funding, their work honouring local heroes will be amplified and form part of our newly reimagined high-streets as they recover from the pandemic.”
The Mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz, said:
“This signifies a real step change in how we both help drive investment, engagement and participation, and ensure our home grown creativity can thrive and flourish. I have no doubt that Newham is to become a home for the very best cultural and creative organisations and Alice Billing House will play an important part in this.”
Yves Blais, Operations Manager, Creative Land Trust, said:
“Being awarded this second instalment of funds will help Creative Land Trust further its work in ensuring that the new art studios and public spaces at Alice Billing House are serving its locality effectively, and continue to help establish genuine ties in Newham that build on the vast array of creativity already taking place in the borough.”