Come and join us in Woolwich to celebrate the launch of a new Culture Manifesto created by 26 young people from across the borough. Their manifesto will set out their aspirations and hopes for the future of culture and heritage across all neighbourhoods of Royal Greenwich.
The event takes place on Friday, 24 July from 4pm to 6pm in General Gordon Square and is the first of three as part of Ignite! This event was funded by the Mayor of London via the Cultural Impact Award programme, and has been further supported using public funding from Arts Council England and National Heritage Lottery Fund
The Manifesto will be designed by emerging producers, Celine Love Newkirk-Asher and Nicole Fisher, both 30, and will include a film, live music stage and other performances all curated and produced by young people aged 13-30. Alongside unveiling their manifesto, the young people are inviting residents to help co-create a new public artwork live in General Gordon Square.
This talented pool of young people (aged 13 to 30) were recruited by Tramshed, with over 120 applications received. The young residents formed two steering boards (15-18yrs and 18-30yrs). Led by Tramshed, the steering boards have received incredible once-in-a-lifetime work experience with Acosta Dance, Greenwich+Docklands International Festival, Emergency Exit Arts, Punchdrunk, University of Greenwich and We Are the Unheard, as well as training from the council’s events and communications teams. These two groups of emerging creatives have gained hands on experience from world leading culture industry experts.
The two creative groups have been working closely with the council’s heritage partner, Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust, to bring the borough’s archives to life through their own experiences and perspectives and to give a new youthful spin to what heritage means for us now and to our futures. This will inform a new digital archive and refreshed collection for the borough.
Nicole Fisher, Tramshed Emerging Producer, said: "Producing the Ignite! Manifesto launch has been a milestone in my creative career so far. I'm so happy to be one of the young people representing the Royal Borough of Greenwich for the Mayor of London's Cultural Impact Award. My goal is to inspire other young people in Royal Greenwich and spotlight its emerging talent, so we can all carry forward the torch of the great artists from our borough that came before us."
Priscilla, 27, steering board member, said: “Royal Greenwich is a borough where creativity belongs to everyone, where art is visible, accessible and celebrated. As a steering board member, we were collaborating amongst ourselves to create some ideas for events to showcase Greenwich’s arts, heritage and culture.”
Councillor Adel Khaireh, Cabinet Member for Equalities, Culture and Leisure, said: “Ignite! is giving 26 vibrant creatives aged 13 to 30 paid opportunities to dive into the world of the arts, culture and heritage.
“It’s more than an event series – we’re empowering young voices to lead the charge and opening the door for more young people to access art and culture, as both artists and audiences.
“Our young people are our future. We want to make sure our borough’s vibrant creative sector continues to reflect their wants and needs, providing real opportunities for learning, employment and creativity and proving that Greenwich really is the place to be for culture and heritage.”
Janet Denne, Chief Executive of Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust, said: “It has been fascinating to work with the young people as they engage with items in the borough's Museum Collection and Archive, seeing how heritage can influence the present and future. Through the project, we have created employment opportunities for local people by recruiting an additional team to support with cataloguing to ensure the objects and records remain accessible."
Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative Industries, said: “The Culture Manifesto is a brilliant way to put young people in the driving seat, to set out their vision for the capital’s cultural future. It’s great to see The Royal Borough of Greenwich celebrating community voices with funding from the Mayor’s Cultural Impact Award, it’s all part of us working together to build a better, fairer London for everyone.”
The Cultural Impact Award is part of a £2.3million investment into arts and culture in the Royal Borough of Greenwich as part of the council’s Getting Things Done programme.
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About the Cultural Impact Award
The Royal Borough of Greenwich has been awarded a Cultural Impact Award by the Mayor of London and Arts Council England to deliver a unique, creative collaboration between the council, our resident young people and local culture and heritage organisations. The programme is titled Ignite! and will be funded by a Cultural Impact Award, a Mayor of London initiative, with additional funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the council. They will be delivered in collaboration with Tramshed, as Creative Programme Partner and the Royal Greenwich Heritage Trust (RGHT), as Heritage Service Partner. It will bring young people and communities together, to imagine positive futures by telling the stories of real, local people, widen access to our heritage service, and provide training for young people to safeguard tomorrow’s creative industries.