Protecting London’s Cultural Fabric: A Deep Dive into the Culture at Risk Program

What happens when high rents, planning changes, and business rate increases put spaces for culture at risk? Take a tour of London with us to discover how the Mayor of London’s Culture and Community Spaces at Risk team helps protect creative spaces and the capital’s rich and diverse cultures.

Facilitated through the World Cities Culture Forum’s Leadership Exchange Programme, and supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, delegates from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs were recently shown some of London’s vibrant cultural and community spaces by the Mayor of London’s Culture and Community Spaces at Risk team. 

Set up in 2016, Culture and Community Spaces at Risk is the only Greater London Authority (GLA) scheme that helps to protect against threats to London’s cultural and community-led spaces, and directly supports businesses and building owners to mitigate commercial risks. 

The programme helps projects through the Mayor’s regeneration funding streams and supports listing applications to protect heritage buildings. It has mitigated commercial threats to iconic live music venues and launched an LGBTQ+ Venues Charter to stem the loss of LGBTQ+ venues and encourage growth. 

In its first year, the Culture at Risk Office helped over 200 cultural spaces. Since then, the Culture and Community Spaces at Risk has evolved, using data, research and mapping to lobby and benchmark with stakeholders and inform policy interventions. The leadership exchange was an opportunity for mutual learning and for the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs to consider opening their own ‘culture at risk’ office. Here’s some of the cultural spaces that have benefited from support from the Culture and Community Spaces at Risk team. 

Creating space for diverse community stories

In partnership with Lambeth Council, we went on a walking tour of Brixton, one of the most diverse neighbourhoods in London. Delegates were shown iconic local landmarks such as the Black Cultural Archives, a heritage centre and exhibition space created to “collect, preserve and celebrate the histories of people of African and Caribbean descent in the UK and to inspire and give strength to individuals, communities, and society.” It was founded in 1981, following a community response to a fire in New Cross at a house party where 13 black teenagers were killed in a suspected racist attack. It moved into its current building on Windrush Square in 2014. 

We also explored Brixton House, a new theatre and community space. Managing Director of Brixton House, Deliah Barker, gave us insight into the programming approach, which showcases the diverse, intersectional life stories and cultural traditions of local residents through plays, events and workshops. 

And later we visited 575 Wandsworth Road, a Grade II-listed Georgian terrace and former home of Kenyan born novelist and civil servant, Khadambi Asalache, which is managed by the National Trust. We’re working with the National Trust to support Historic England in progressing its thinking about cultural heritage and its curation and storytelling, particularly for spaces that hold cultural value for diverse communities. 

Collaborating with local authorities

In the afternoon, we attended a workshop with Camden Council and Camden cultural leaders on the financial resilience of cultural and the role of the public sector in supporting this. The Culture and Community Spaces at Risk team works with local authorities across London to share information on at-risk cases and how to map existing social and cultural infrastructure. We have a new partnership with Policy Lab to ensure our data is accessible to communities and all partners working to save spaces, in line with the GLA’s broader data transformation work. 

Creating space for artists to experiment

To kick off day two, we were given a tour of Somerset House Studios, which opened in 2016 in the repurposed Inland Revenue offices. The Studios offer space and support to artists pushing bold ideas, engaging with urgent issues and pioneering new technologies. It is also a platform for the development of new creative projects and collaborations. Up to 70 artists are resident at any one time and are supported to develop their practice for a defined period. 

Integrating culture into public spaces

We then presented our collaboration with Art on the Underground with curator Louise Shelley and Somerset House resident artist Shenece Oretha. Using audio installations on London Underground stations, we’re platforming grassroots culture and community spaces. 

Creating creative enterprise zones

On Saturday morning, we took the New York delegation to Hackney Wick and Fish Island, one of the Mayor of London’s first designated Creative Enterprise Zones in 2018. The zone focuses on protecting and enhancing one of the world’s most recognisable ‘at risk’ communities of creators, including artists, makers, designers and performers working across the cultural, creative, digital and tech industries. 

“Creative Enterprise Zones are a bold new initiative for London to secure our future as cultural capital and ensure artists and creatives continue to call this place their home.”

Mayor of London 

“Creative Enterprise Zones are a bold new initiative for London to secure our future as cultural capital and ensure artists and creatives continue to call this place their home.” Mayor of London 

There we met with Creative Enterprise Zone Manager, Patrick Scally, and colleagues from Creative Land Trust, an organisation that secures commercial property in inner London to provide affordable workspace for the creative industries. They explained the history of Hackney Wick and Fish Island, which is surrounded by wharves and warehouses overlooking formerly industrial waterways. Today, the Olympic Legacy buildings form the backdrop; the former Broadcast and Press Centers have been repurposed to house a campus for innovation, with 3,800 people working on-site across sectors including technology, education and the arts. Nearby, Yard Theatre spoke to the delegation on how they’ve navigated the changes in Hackney Wick while retaining a presence in the area. 

Funding to support culture at risk

Later that day, we met the artistic director of Hackney Empire, Yamin Choudry, and trustee, Jasmyn Fischer Rider, who spoke movingly about what “culture at risk” means to them – as artistic leaders from ethnic minority backgrounds they still feel the sharp edge of discrimination through their work and across the communities they support. They were recipients of the Mayor of London’s Community Spaces at Risk Fund, and they explained how the funding allowed them to work with food banks and provide creative opportunities for Hackney’s most marginalised young people during the pandemic; and how against the odds, they continue to showcase the stunning talent of Hackney youth. 

This tour of London and subsequent discussions helped our New York colleagues to consider how they might prioritise casework in their future programming, and focus on safeguarding spaces that offer social, cultural and economic value to their communities. Ultimately, the exchange demonstrated the need for cultural workers to get out from behind our desks and spend time understanding the people we are designing policy for.