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Waltham Forest

WE’RE READYLONDON BOROUGH OF CULTURE 2019

Waltham Forest’s Bid Submission for London Borough of Culture 2019 3

Waltham Forest WE’RE READYLONDON BOROUGH OF CULTURE 2019

INTRODUCTIONLETTER FROM THE LEADER 4

LETTER FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE 5

OUR BID TO BE THE FIRST LONDON BOROUGH OF CULTURE 2019 6

IMPACTMAKING AN IMPACT 9

A CATALYST FOR CHANGE 15

CONTENTS

CREATIVITYCELEBRATING CREATIVITY 22

HERITAGEHERITAGE 31

COMMUNITYCOMMUNITY PARTICIPATION 33

INNOVATION AND SHARED LEARNING 34

WE'RE READYWE ARE READY 37

VALUE FOR MONEY 43

LETTERS OF SUPPORTLETTER OF SUPPORT FROM SPONSORS AND FACILITATION PARTNERS 44

LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM OUR CREATIVE PARTNERS 45

LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM OUR CULTURAL STARS SUPPORTERS 46

Waltham Forest’s Bid Submission for London Borough of Culture 20194

Letter from the leader

Dear Mayor of London

Waltham Forest for London Borough of Culture 2019

I am writing to proudly pledge my support for Waltham Forest’s bid to become your first London Borough of Culture.

Waltham Forest is genuinely at a point of great opportunity – we are a borough that understands and has invested in culture but where the award can still make a real and lasting impact.

There is a buzz about culture in our borough. Over 13,000 residents and businesses have backed our bid – an unmatched level of community involvement.

We are ready to deliver. Since 2011, we have grown our own investment in culture by 300%, despite the financial hardships we have faced. This is because we understand that economic growth can only truly benefit everyone where there is investment in social and community infrastructure.

We believe that culture is the bond that holds our communities together. As a Council, this means that we have invested in our culture team. They are used to working with a range of partners to deliver a wide-ranging cultural programme and we are ready to work with your team and broader partnerships to deliver a truly fantastic year.

Despite our rich cultural heritage and history of being a borough of makers and creators, we are limited by the availability of partnerships and large cultural organisations, traditional venues and National Portfolio Organisations in the area. Winning the London Borough of Culture would provide us with the opportunity to partner with world-class organisations, help our creative industries to continue to grow, and deliver a sustainable and ambitious cultural identity for the borough.

Our bid uses culture to create great places to live and do business. Our partnerships will inspire a whole generation to see arts and culture as a viable and worthwhile career choice. Our cultural leadership programme will give 100 local young people to develop new skills through volunteering, work

placements and apprenticeships. We will help them on their way to building fulfilling careers in London’s thriving cultural economy.

We have developed our bid to be inclusive and encourage artists, residents and businesses to take charge. Together we have an opportunity to bring culture to every corner of Waltham Forest. We will help our creative industry flourish, provide life chances and skills for people in our most deprived areas, and motivate residents and visitors to seek out cultural activity all across our borough.

We have built a truly stunning, exciting and ground breaking programme that will make London proud. We are ready to deliver it for you.

We hope you will back our bid.

Yours sincerely

Cllr Clare Coghill Leader of Waltham Forest Council


Letter from the Chief Executive

Dear Mayor of London

It is with great pleasure that I write to you to pledge my unreserved support for Waltham Forest to become the first London Borough of Culture.

Throughout the bidding process, my whole organisation has worked with our community to draw up our plans, get our residents involved, and harness the efforts of our creative communities and businesses towards becoming the first Borough of Culture.

Their amazing efforts can be seen in the astonishing support we have received. Over 13,000 residents, hundreds of businesses and dozens of schools have come together to back our bid.

If we win, I promise that my whole organisation will work to deliver a fantastic year for you and for London. We will leave a lasting legacy for our great city.

We have a well-established track record of delivering cultural programmes and far reaching projects. From redeveloping our award-winning William Morris Gallery and our recently opened Walthamstow

Wetlands; to Mini-Holland and our ambitious housing programme, we are a delivery focussed borough.

Over the past six years we have backed culture, with Council spend increasing by 300% since 2011. We have done this because we truly understand the impact that culture can have on our communities and our economy. Culture is in our DNA as a Council. Our programme for the year has brought together some outstanding partnerships, but we know that with your backing we can go much further and use culture to build and support cohesive and resilient communities during a time of rapid regeneration in the area and perceived gentrification.

We haven’t just thought about the cultural programme, but also about how we can run a smooth and organised year that benefits the local economy. Our facilitation partners, corporate sponsors and creative partners are ready to activate and build on the spectacular ideas and activities we plan to deliver.

Financially, we are in strong shape with a proven record of delivering for our residents. Our core services are

strong and highly rated. We dealt with our financial challenges early and this means that we have no major savings programmes required in our year of culture. Our financial and service stability allows us to focus on delivering further economic growth to benefit our residents and businesses. We can truly concentrate on delivering a brilliant year.

Our Council has already come together to develop a bid that is aspirational, creative and financially viable. We have the infrastructure, the community and the delivery partners, and we are ready to be the first London Borough of Culture.

Yours sincerely

Martin Esom Chief Executive of Waltham Forest Council


Our bid to be the first London Borough of Culture 2019

Waltham Forest is at a point of great opportunity. Community cohesion is strong; however, our research shows early signs of uncertainty associated with Brexit and perceived gentrification as a result of accelerated growth and economic regeneration. If we act now we can address this with targeted and wide-scale cultural interventions. Given this, our preference is to win London Borough of Culture for 2019.

Our creative sector is growing thanks to our thriving cultural community and the extraordinary political support and leadership we have for culture. 2019 would be a challenge for many places - not us. We are ready to deliver.

In Waltham Forest you’ll experience culture on every corner, see culture as a career and the bond that holds us together.

You’ll walk through a waist high carpet of light molecules in the Marshes, play giant laser tuning forks in Epping Forest, see Bollywood meet Chingford in a big top and watch Hitchcock whilst hiding behind a sofa in bars in Leytonstone.

Our story will be told by our people from Page to Pavement; we’ll make tin toys for the first time in decades and once-in-a-lifetime Asian fashion.

We’ll make the largest high-rise mural in the UK and write a radical manifesto where all of London gets the chance to describe how culture makes this city great.

The £5.75m programme will be directed by our community, tackling exclusion wherever we find it. Young people will find out why culture is an economic giant and be supported to choose it as a career.

Culture will become our identity in Waltham Forest – and we’ll give skills, jobs and the best in local culture back to London.


I’m very excited to support Waltham Forest becoming the first London Borough of culture.

I was born and raised in Walthamstow… my dream was encouraged and developed through various arts clubs and shows in the borough.Fleur East - Singer, songwriter, dancer and fitness model.


IMPACT


Making an Impact

OUR STORY

Waltham Forest is at a point of great opportunity with culture at its heart. 13,000 people backed our bid - this is the time culture can make a real and lasting impact here. The borough’s hyper-diversity is its strength. In a recent survey, 82% of residents agreed the borough is “a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together”:

■ 67% of residents are from a minority ethnic background

■ 40% are born outside the UK, with the largest migrant groups from Pakistan, Poland and Romania. One in five are EU nationals

■ 9% of the population is from Central and Eastern Europe - twice as high as the London average

Change is rapid and real. We have key indicators, specific to this time and our place in London where we believe culture can make a real difference.

Culture as identity

By and large, people do not know where Waltham Forest is. Those who live in the borough identify with one of the four town centres and not with the borough as a whole. This lack of a shared sense of identity makes it hard to position the borough and to market the ‘Waltham Forest brand’ to residents, potential developers, partners and investors – and crucially to the rest of London as a place where culture thrives.

The Council and its partners have the localised infrastructure in place to build this identity. We understand the impact culture can have on communities and the economy. Over the past six years the Council has backed culture, with spend increasing by 300% since 2011 and this is reflected in planning policies, the Economic Growth Strategy and the Local Plan consultation document. We’ve had some amazing successes but we can only go so far on our own. The attention, prestige and spotlight of being Borough of Culture will help to promote a sense of identity amongst residents and to the rest of London – an identity based on culture.

Waltham Forest is at a point of greatopportunity. This is the time culturecan make a real and lasting impact here.


The Council has the backing of the community and its partners. Now it needs the support of the Mayor of London (and the GLA’s expertise) to put Waltham Forest firmly on the map to secure external investment, widen partnerships and further embed culture.

Culture on every corner

The Council’s Shaping Growth survey found only 3% of residents cited a “good cultural offer” as their reason for living here. The survey found residents were more likely to go out of the borough to access cultural activities as “provision is better elsewhere”. It found the cultural and night-time offer could be improved, particularly outside of Walthamstow. We will focus on our Great Places programme which is centered on Walthamstow to stimulate cultural activity in the three town centres of Leyton, Leytonstone and Chingford.

Over £5m will be invested in local culture in 2019, with ward-level cultural engagement indicators built in. The majority of the major programming will take place beyond Walthamstow, and the aim is for 85% of households to engage with the cultural year, building

community involvement and a lasting legacy for our people. We will unlock traditional and non-traditional venues such as libraries, faith spaces and our natural environment.

Cultural capacity

A 2015 review found the voluntary and community sector is relatively small and lacking in both infrastructure and capacity. While the rate of volunteering is 7% lower than the London average, our resident survey found an appetite for it, with 90% of respondents saying they would be “willing to work together with others on something to improve their neighbourhood”.

Although there is a thriving grass roots arts network, particularly in Walthamstow, there is just one established arts organisation (William Morris Gallery) designated as an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO), and one recently designated (Chris Goode and Company). There is currently limited capacity for delivering ambitious programmes with regionally recognised partners.


The business community is made up of small and micro businesses. There are no multi-national firms to act as benefactors or high net worth individuals or trusts. Part of the funding from this award will be used to help smaller organisations develop partnerships to win external funding, with the long-term potential of developing their capacity to achieve NPO status and sustainable funding.

Culture as a career

In 2014/15 Waltham Forest ranked 29th out of the 33 boroughs for provision of apprenticeships. However, the creative industries are expanding rapidly, with a growth of 26% from 2015 (+530 businesses). Today, they account for 16% (1,740) of all business, equating to an estimated 2,565 jobs. This bid will grow the creative community by creating a new generation of trained cultural apprentices and volunteers, and the right environment for skills to flourish.


Culture as a bond

Whilst the borough is the seventh most deprived in London, with 25% of children living in low-income households and earnings 9% below the London average, residents perceive a threat of rapid gentrification.

As more people are priced out of the wealthier parts of London, an average 4,500 new people a year are moving into the borough. Those who are leaving say they are relocating to cheaper areas. In all, the net population has increased by 20% since 2006.

In the Shaping Growth survey, residents said “diverse communities” was one of their reasons for moving to the borough. However, the same survey and a recent resident survey found those who have lived here for more than ten years feel more dissatisfied than recent arrivals. They believe change does not always benefit them. There is growing concern about rising gentrification which has blighted cohesion in some neighbouring boroughs.

In our year of culture, we will make culture the bond between recent and established communities and disparate socio-economic groups, bringing them together through shared cultural experience and connections. We will particularly involve our Eastern European communities, as our newest community, with targeted activities in our major programming. Research will evaluate these interventions.

Part of the funding from this award will be used to help smaller organisationsdevelop partnerships to win externalfunding.


A CATALYST FOR CHANGE

Our year of culture will be built around three themes developed by residents and creatives: Makers, Radicals and Fellowship. These will become our story as a borough. There are five clear step changes:Culture as identity The Borough of Culture will act as a catalyst for developing a significantly more ambitious cultural offer to strengthen Waltham Forest’s place in London, opening up new experiences for residents and visitors in a thriving day and night time economy.

Short term: Waltham Forest will deliver an incredible programme with national and international appeal shining a spotlight on lesser known areas. Residents will explore more of their borough for new cultural experiences and understand its built and natural heritage. Attracting more than 500,000 visits during 2019, more partners and sponsors will be aware of Waltham Forest’s offer.

Medium term: Londoners will know where Waltham Forest is. Visitors will seek it out as a place where they can experience a real slice of London life. More partners and sponsors will

support our cultural offer and residents will be proud to call us home.

Long term: Waltham Forest will have a recognisable identity with a sustained visitor economy, generating more income for local business, with mature relationships with sponsors and corporates.


Culture on every corner will be achieved with hyper-local activities created by, and for, communities in local neighbourhoods. We’ll experiment with non-traditional spaces as venues and identify where creative individuals and organisations can connect them to communities.

Short term: Culture is accessible to all. More spaces will be developed for cultural activities, including faith buildings. More quality cultural activities will be delivered by the community; 85% of households will participate.

Medium term: Residents will feel motivated to seek out cultural activity, get involved and feel confident visiting other parts of the borough to access a high quality cultural offer. They will be more engaged and keen to volunteer. A range of venues will be available.

Long term: Residents will feel empowered to create, deliver and share their cultural experiences in their neighbourhood. Suitable spaces will be available at the right cost.

Cultural capacity The creative sector will develop and mature and our culture-ready Council will ensure those with capacity and ambition can find the right space in the borough.

Short term: The creative sector will work together and with national and international partners. New and established creatives will have better access to affordable space through a space brokerage service. Artists and makers will feel supported in taking risks and develop ambitious projects. The creative sector will develop skills to attract more external funding.

Medium term: Waltham Forest will contribute to a more diverse creative and cultural sector for London. The culture-ready Council will enable the community to fast track ambitions with culture embedded in the Local Plan. Funders will be confident to invest with larger grants. Creatives and makers will be recognised for delivering excellence. Established artists and partners will develop new approaches with the community.

Long term: Innovation and radical thinking continues to attract creative individuals and industries to the borough with more well paid jobs. The creative sector will be diverse, thriving and growing, with long term partnerships with sponsors and investors. Artists and makers will have a national and international profile. The cultural infrastructure will be greater, with the EMD cinema and Vestry House Museum, and attract new organisations such as the Essential School of Painting.


Culture as a career Young people will be inspired to seek creative careers. As our cultural sector grows, it will be able to tap into a local workforce with the best skills in creative business.

Short term: The programme for young people will develop clear and connected pathways to enter the creative sector. With 100 young participants, the Cultural Leadership Programme will develop opportunities for fulfilling careers in cultural industries. A new Creative Education Partnership will support pathways from primary school to 25 years+, with work placements, apprenticeships and support for start-ups.

Medium term: Schools and colleges will support more culture and creative activities in their curriculums.Working across the growing creative sector, there will be a sustained pipeline of apprenticeships and learning opportunities. Young people will be able to access volunteering and work experience and more people from disadvantaged groups will be supported through culture to gain skills and employability. More people will take up careers in the cultural sector.

Long term: Culture will be embedded in the school programme. People from the borough will have leadership positions in the arts and cultural sector across London, recognised as being amongst the best the UK has to offer. This will inspire the next generation, and their parents, to see that arts and culture can be considered a viable career choice. The creative sector will have a more diverse workforce.

Culture as a bond The Council and its partners will radically change the way they work with the cultural sector and communities. We will build on the community involvement which we have created through this bid to develop a deeper and shared understanding of the cultural ecology of the borough, to enable communities to adopt a leadership role.

Short term: The community will have more opportunities to help shape decisions about how and what cultural activities take place in the area. More people from old and new communities will participate and work together through cultural activities and develop shared bonds.

The Council and its partners will radically change the way it works with the cultural sector and communities.


Medium term: People from different backgrounds will feel empowered to lead, input and make decisions about cultural activity in all neighbourhoods in the borough, creating a shared sense of fellowship and respect. More sustained cultural activity will be initiated and delivered by the diverse local community.

Long term: Residents will be actively involved in decision-making, shaping the cultural offer across the borough and feel proud to live here. Those who have lived here for several years will feel more satisfied and feel they are shaping change with those who have arrived more recently. Communities will be more resilient and able to counter any uncertainty resulting from significant change.


Growing up in Walthamstow, I have so many golden memories of discovering great movies at the wonderful Granada cinema on Hoe Street, School plays and Scout Gang shows and even forming my first dance company at a Mathews Memorial Church Hall. All experiences that have influenced me as an adult. It is astonishing to see how the creative communities and artistic institutions have grown and flourished across the borough since then; Waltham Forest is certainly deserving of the London Borough of Culture title. More importantly, there is the scope and local expertise to grow its cultural offer even further with more investment from the Mayor’s Office.

Sir Matthew Bourne OBE


Creativity


Celebrating Creativity

CELEBRATING CREATIVITY

Welcome to Waltham Forest – a borough of makers and radical thinkers, sharing stories, cultures and fellowship as we chart a collective future for the place and the people who shape it. Our Borough of Culture programme will be a celebration of our heritage and diversity and a journey of exploration and imagination. There are ambitious ‘Wow’ moments designed to capture national attention and define our identity; authentic events to showcase Waltham Forest’s talent and special places, and smaller scale all-embracing creative activity designed to engage with communities on every corner. The programme is inclusive and encourages the whole community – artists, residents and businesses – to lead.

Our themes are founded on our heritage, reflect our current vibe and describe our potential. They are woven across our year of culture:

Radicals: Building on Waltham Forest's history of radical thinkers and entrepreneurs, stemming back to William Morris, our ‘Wow’ events are designed to be amazing and ambitious. Local creatives will work in partnership, take more risks and break the mould, especially in the field of digital.

Makers: The borough was founded by its makers - food growers, reservoir builders, toy manufacturers and film makers, and continues to nurture creative people and businesses. More people will have the opportunity to explore their creativity, experience arts and culture to develop and improve their life chances and showcase their talents. Building on local success stories such as God’s Own Junkyard, culture will be seen as a viable and inspiring career choice.

Fellowship: Our community is our strength – it has put this programme together, designed to be genuine, all-embracing and socially inclusive. We’ll make better use of existing spaces and transform them into unusual venues - from faith spaces to forest, marshes to markets – culture on every corner will act as the bond that brings us together.

Wow moments

These will generate significant media coverage, put our borough firmly on the map and strengthen its identity.

We hope we’ve given evidence of our strong ambition. If we win, we want the community and the GLA's experienced cultural team to help us shape these events further, broaden our partnerships and bring wider creative talent to work together with our cultural sector:

■ Welcome to the Forest: We are formulating a very exciting launch proposition with artists including Brian Eno who will work with community choirs on a live performance to accompany a laser


light installation by Marshmallow Laser Feast (Hull2017 Finale) at the gateway to Epping Forest. This location-specific commission will bring communities together to participate and perform. Satellite ‘beacon’ events and breath-taking fireworks happening simultaneously across the borough will herald our amazing year ahead.

■ Fountain of Life: The town hall campus will be brought to life with a series of digital light installations in the iconic town hall fountain. The Lumen Prize will curate a programme with world-class artists providing a mix of ‘must have’ pieces and new commissions developed with the community and reflecting our diversity and heritage. These will blend spectacle, technology, music and art, creating memorable experiences.

■ Leytonstone Film Festival: We will close off the whole of Leytonstone for this fabulous 48-hour festival in honour of Hitchcock, born and raised here. With partners including the Barbican, BFI and Into Film, new commissions will be screened alongside established films in cafes, restaurants and pop-up venues across the town centre. 50 new one-minute films will showcase local, London and Eastern European talent. More young people will be trained to work in London’s thriving film industry.

■ Bauhaus Centenary: Year-long programme includes groundbreaking exhibition at William Morris Gallery focusing on Morris’s influence on founding principles of the Bauhaus design school and movement. Local satellite partners for education activities include Blackhorse Workshop and Walthamstow Wetlands. London and international partners include Barbican and Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, Germany.


■ London Music Festival: Reflecting our incredible music history, we will host a spectacular outdoor music festival. Headlined by a massive summer concert we will deliver a programme of pop up performances connecting the whole borough by showing the best of London’s talent throughout the year. Partnerships will bring high profile musical acts to work with local groups in unexpected venues.

■ Art Night: An amazing range of high profile contemporary artists will come together to deliver interventions linked with the renowned William Morris Gallery, opening up the area up for an all-night experience. Making connections with areas of inequality and low cultural engagement, communities will be inspired to get involved. This will bring Waltham Forest to the attention of funders and investors, showcasing the possibilities of outer London and building long term relationships.

The Lumen Prize will curate a programme with world-class artists providing a mix of ‘must have’ pieces and new commissions developed with the community and reflecting our diversity and heritage.


■ Molecules on the Marshes: Local artist Zarah Hussain in partnership with the Lumen Prize and ThisMustBeThePlace, will work with the community and those with long term health issues to create the very best in digital art. A vast installation, made up of 50,000 solar-powered lights representing water molecules will stretch across 50 square metres of Walthamstow Marshes, profiling the importance of our green spaces which act as a lung for London. Visitors will walk through the waist-high carpet of lights. These lights will be gifted to children and to those who have volunteered during the project.

■ Look to the Future: 2019 will culminate in a magnificent event, acting as a handover from Waltham Forest to the next London Borough of Culture. Co-produced by the two boroughs, residents and partners and with support from the GLA, it will be shaped by our successful year and the story of the succeeding borough.

Fellowship highlights

■ From Page to Pavement: An ambitious programme led by Artillery, renowned for creating and growing the E17 Art Trail which engages 7,000 residents, From Page to Pavement will commission artists to work in locations across the borough, creating a story with the community. A creative launch in central London will welcome all to come and experience a 16-day performance. Our community will be the programme creators, with 1 in 25 residents contributing to this spectacular arts event, creating more resilient and bonded communities.

■ Metalworks: Atomic No50: Inspired by our rich industrial heritage of making tin toys, this will be part immersive theatre/art installation, part workshop to teach new skills in metalworking to residents. Led by local co-worker space, Blackhorse Workshop and delivered in the borough’s construction and skills centre, it will include an interactive theatre experience, recreating the sounds and machinery of large metal production, working in partnership with a range of production and design specialists.

■ Paint Your London: Radical community-led mural creation and ‘legal walls’ during a 2 week London-wide street festival, with the community curating what they want to see. Working with organisations such as Central St Martins and their design against crime initiatives, Wood St Walls have the ambition to create the largest high rise mural in the UK.


■ Fashion Exchange: Over 70% of Waltham Forest’s Pakistani population can trace their roots back to the textile city of Mirpur, which is twinned with the borough. Working with the fashion trade, older members of the Pakistan community will tell their stories of migration, and the heritage of makers in the textile trade. The younger Pakistan community will be involved through contemporary fashion, working in partnership with the London College of Fashion, and the V&A, creating a legacy of fashion in Waltham Forest and links to the emerging culture and education district of the Olympic Park.

■ Bollywood Panto: Soho Theatre’s Bollywood all-singing all-dancing all-ages panto will be the biggest show in London during Christmas 2019 and have the local community at its heart. Working with acclaimed Bollywood writer Anuvab Pal, this show will engage audiences, showing off Waltham Forest’s unique creativity and culture. The UK’s biggest stars of theatre and comedy will share the stage with Indian actors, local dancers and musicians to create an unforgettable experience.

■ Fellowship Funding: A £500k grant pot will be created to invest in locally delivered community activities to strengthen hyper-local cultural activity, delivering culture on every corner. Activities, including neighbourhood artists in residence, will address specific ward issues, to link to our step change of deepening cultural engagement, fellowship and increasing capacity in our local creative sector.

■ Radical Manifesto for Culture: Working with renowned artist Bob and Roberta Smith, our communities and the rest of London will create a radical manifesto for culture. A roadshow will travel to culturally renowned spaces in London from Brixton Market to Green Street to understand what makes London’s cultural life thrive. A series of manifesto pledges will be created to embed culture as a key driver for positive change across the capital. We will deliver a cultural summit at the end of the year to share our learning and help shape the future.

OUR PLEDGE

With over 13,000 pledges of support, we have created a new network representative of our diverse residents, creative community and businesses. They are at the centre of the year as co-creators and decision makers as well as audiences and participants. Working with partners such as The London Theatre Consortium and The Princes Trust, we will develop pathways for our young people and entrepreneurs, leaving a lasting legacy of skills and capacity.

We will show how culture can help to bridge the gap between communities and deliver a shared bond. The cultural governance and involvement which was developed for this bid will also have an ongoing benefit, enabled by a culture-ready Council.

With over 13,000 pledges of support, we have created a new network representative of our diverse residents and visitors.


Heritage


Heritage

Learning about heritage: The key themes of makers, radicals and fellowship will entice people to explore the borough’s incredible history and archives to understand how the natural heritage has contributed to changing prosperity.Changing attitudes and behaviours: Events will highlight how the borough has been shaped by changing and diverse communities through capturing the memories, experiences and changing dialects of older residents and weaving them into our programme. We will reveal the traditions of our Pakistani community, highlighting their innovative textile making following the tradition of William Morris.

Developing skills: Residents will lead the extraordinary story of filmmaking, bringing it to life at the Leytonstone Film Festival and helping them develop new skills. The Atomic No 50 metalworking project will celebrate the production of tin toys, bringing a theatrical approach to excite people about our industrial heritage and leading to further development opportunities. Stories captured from the past will promote the creative

industries to young people as a valid and rewarding career choice.

Enjoying the experience: Signature events held in amazing natural environments will bring communities together for truly enjoyable experiences. The open spaces of the wetlands, marshes and Epping Forest will give people a better understanding of the borough’s heritage and develop stronger community connections.

Volunteering: An army of volunteers will help deliver the programme. A volunteer certificate scheme to record achievements will mean each receives a folder containing skills certificates, formal qualifications gained and a personal reference. Unemployed volunteers will be signposted to the Council’s employment team to capitalise on their new-found skills. The Borough of Culture programme will add value to our heritage

capital programme. It will showcase it to new audiences, creating a lasting impact and improving our RSA Heritage index rating.


Community


Community Participation

Improving access to the arts

Our programme is focussed on improving access to arts and culture, promoting enjoyment, increased attendance and participation for everyone in Waltham Forest, particularly those who are disadvantaged or who may have had less opportunity to get involved. Our audiences do not always reflect our demographics: fewer from BME communities and deprived areas get involved. We also see less cultural activity beyond Walthamstow; Chingford in the north is particularly low along with Leyton in the south.

Community participation

Cultural activity will be delivered in and by local communities and in non-traditional spaces. A community fund scheme will stimulate sharing of cultures and involvement in other programmes. ‘From Page to Pavement’ will bring local arts and voluntary organisations together to transform people’s experience of art, through different art forms. Appealing to a universal audience through storytelling, it will encourage more people to get involved and focus on

those who are less engaged. Through ongoing participation, story-makers and volunteers will establish new social connections and forge friendships and build social prosperity. This will create a model for building resilient communities where neighbours work together, able to express themselves and enjoy where they work and live. Key to this will be upskilling of local creative practitioners to develop excellence in participatory practice and engage effectively across all communities.

Young people experiencing disadvantage

Waltham Forest has a high proportion of young people, many experiencing disadvantage. Borough of Culture will be a catalyst to redefine our relationship with schools and develop a cultural education network embedding best practice. We will demonstrate the benefits of arts and culture, for students and their parents to see it as a viable future career option with the aim of diversifying the workforce.

Borough of Culture will be a catalyst to redefine our relationship with schools, develop a cultural education network embedding best practice.


Innovation and shared learning

We have five clear step changes we want our bid to achieve – so measuring our impact is a critical and well-funded part of the programme. Each event and activity will include funding for monitoring and evaluation.We have established four partnerships – the Audience Agency (with whom we already work), the Open Data Institute, Kent University and Sound Diplomacy. In addition, we will use our well-established residents’ insight programme which polls residents three times a year.

We have already embarked on an experimental project to map Waltham Forest’s ‘cultural footprint’ after successfully winning funding from the Open Data Institute. This project, with the Audience Agency, uses WiFi to engage with residents at cultural venues and to map resident journeys. This will build a borough-wide dataset which will be used to benchmark and measure the success of the programme. A pilot will be carried out in 2018 to be scaled up in 2019. We believe that this is innovative, informative and can be rolled out across London as a legacy project.

The University of Kent, national experts in the social and psychological impact of culture, will be our academic research partner. We are also partnering with Sound Diplomacy to monitor and evaluate projects throughout the year to measure impact on our ‘Culture as a Bond’ step change.

We have already embarked on an experimental project to map Waltham Forest’s ‘cultural footprint’.


We’re ready


We are ready

Good project management

We are ready to deliver. We have demonstrated exceptional management of major, complex projects through transformation of the William Morris Gallery (winning the 2013 Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year), delivery of the Walthamstow Wetlands and historic St James Street area. The Council delivers a wide-ranging cultural programme which attracts over 300,000 people each year.

The Council will create a dedicated internal team reporting directly to the Chief Executive. The Head of Culture will take an Executive Director role and the Council will recruit a Creative Director with a track record of delivering a major events programme. A team of staff with the right skills and capacity will deliver a spectacular programme of events, effective community involvement, partnership working, marketing and PR.

An effective governance framework has been developed through this bid process. The Bid Board has been chaired by the Council Leader, with representatives from the local and London cultural sector, business and

voluntary sector, alongside Council officers. It adopted a strategic overview and responsibility for the bid. The approach has been so successful, it will be adopted for the Delivery Board, overseeing all activity, driving progress and creating partnerships. Beneath this will be two working groups: an internal staff group from key Council departments and an external steering group of local and regional partners. The wider community will be involved at every stage.

A mixture of agile and project portfolio management approaches will be used. Risk will be assessed, mitigated and managed through risk logs, highlight reports and decision making at Board level as appropriate.

We are ready to deliver. We have demonstrated exceptional management of major, complex projects.


Exemplary partnership working

The borough already has experience of partnership working, so there is an existing track record of productive partnerships on which to build.

Our year of culture has been planned with a range of partners, bringing new expertise and resources to enable us to deliver a significantly more ambitious and aspirational programme. We will build on existing partnerships with organisations such as such as The Barbican and Soho Theatre and successful local arts organisations such as Artillery and Wood Street Walls.

New partnerships are being developed for this bid. Fashion Exchange will involve partners such as London College of Fashion, the V&A, Pakistan Fashion Week and the British Council. We will partner with Marshmallow Laser Feast, BFI, and Art Night for the first time. Our plans will develop a new learning partnership to enable us to work more effectively across our education sector.

We will work closely with the GLA culture team to broaden access to partners. Bringing a spotlight to the borough will help us to develop better links with funders and corporate sponsors, which can be sustained well beyond our year of culture.

We will also build on arrangements put in place for this bid to ensure our programme is a partnership with the community. The external working group already has representation from the voluntary sector, businesses and civic society partners and we will extend this further.

The long-term approach

Enhanced cultural capacity will enable us to attract more funding and develop wider partnerships to create a sustainable legacy. Culture as a career for younger residents will have long term benefits for individuals and a positive impact in strengthening creative industries.

Greater participation in cultural activities will break down barriers across groups. The Council will continue with its community grants programme to increase cultural engagement at a local level and build skills and capacity.

Enhanced and sustainable levels of new funding for arts and culture will be cultivated through S106 and Community Infrastructure Levy funding. Regeneration and planning policy interventions will ensure culture is knitted into the borough’s physical and social infrastructure.

Long term partnerships will be sustained with developers and will create new sponsorship opportunities beyond our year of culture. The governance structure will strengthen


the role of culture across the Council and align resources to best effect.

We will embed cultural capacity across the borough, reducing the reliance on the Council and transferring power to the community. We will grow skills and confidence across all sectors to build the creative industries and partnerships.

Borough of Culture’s lasting legacy will be to integrate cultural activity into all areas of borough life.

Shared learning

We are committed to share learning from our year of culture across the borough, with partners, within the Council and with a London audience. We are aiming high, to develop exemplary practice throughout the programme and also through focused monitoring and evaluation, gaining feedback from creative practitioners, community participants and partners. This innovative approach to evaluation will create an outcomes framework for local cultural interventions that can become a model for London.

We will share learning in a variety of ways:

■ Holding a cultural summit for London

■ Establishing a digital resource hub

■ Extending an open invitation for organisations to visit

■ Working with the successful 2020 Borough of Culture authority to pool learning

■ Facilitating shared learning between community organisations in Waltham Forest and wider London

■ Using the Radical Manifesto for Culture to set out the learning from our own borough and from visiting other London boroughs during our year of culture.

New partnerships formed throughout the year will give all sectors in Waltham Forest the opportunity to learn from a wide variety of cultural providers, allowing the sector to grow.

We are committed to share learningfrom our year of culture across theborough, with partners, within theCouncil and with a London audience.


Value for money

Our aim is that 85% of borough households participate in the year of culture and we attract an additional 500,000 visits – offering outstanding value for money. We have created an ambitious programme and have worked with our partners on budgets which deliver quality and use best practice to estimate the costs of the various elements. 40% of the programme budget will go to artistic interventions with a further 12% set aside for community involvement, and additional funding for evaluation ensuring that we can prove impact.

The programme has been designed to achieve a set of outcomes. All of the projects have breadth and depth, offering additional activities to enhance their impact and value, such as opportunities for people to develop skills or for local practitioners to build capacity. Many of our partners can bring in additional resources and have a track record of attracting external funding.

Where possible, we have identified further resources which can be levered in if we are awarded Borough of Culture. With the significant attention this would attract, the quality of the programming and our track record in delivery, we are confident further funders and sponsors will get involved. The programme is scalable so we can deliver according to the budget available.

Our ideas have been sourced from our communities, but with a view to a wider audience. The programme is shaped to respond to resident insight, so we know we’re delivering what residents need. The governance structures around the bid will ensure monies are spent appropriately and deliver the agreed outcomes.


Letter of support from sponsors and facilitation partners

Friday 1st December 2017

Dear Mayor of London We the undersigned support Waltham Forest’s bid to become the Mayor of

London’s first London Borough of Culture

Waltham Forest has a strong cultural-led diverse community with a history of makers

and creators whose creativity, radical thinking and shared sense of purpose has

helped drive innovation and progress across the borough.

The Council has a proven track record of hosting events that are creative and quirky,

that strengthens the proud tradition of fellowship and harnesses cohesion through

community partnerships. Events such as the Lumen Digital Arts prize and the Walthamstow Garden Party

have already put Waltham Forest on the cultural map. Residents are able to enjoy an

annual programme of major events from fireworks night to summer festivals that

celebrate the diversity of its community.

As creative partners we’ll join artistic and creative organisations from across our City

to put on a world-class programme of cultural events and activities, and deliver an

amazing show that puts Waltham Forest, and London, on the world stage.

We will help the Council to achieve its dream of ensuring culture graces every corner

of this great borough and inspires everyone living in the area and beyond. In doing

so we’ll help create economic opportunities for the people of London, boosting

international tourism, and bolstering this unrivalled local cultural community.

Yours sincerely The Trustees of the Brangwyn Gift: Rudy Capildeo, Helen Dunstan Smith, Lynn Hulse, Jan Marsh, Lea Valley Regional Park Authority, Gill Saunders c/o William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow Pump House Museum


Letter of support from our creative partners


Dear Mayor of London We the undersigned support Waltham Forest’s bid to become the Mayor of

London’s first London Borough of Culture

The London Borough of Waltham Forest is made up of makers, creators and radical

thinkers that have shaped the borough and helped bring forward positive change. It

is a borough that is not afraid to do things differently with a strong sense of

fellowship, place and identity amongst communities.

If Waltham Forest is announced first London Borough of Culture we are positive we

would not only see a world-class programme of cultural events and activities

delivered, but that every opportunity would be taken to ensure a legacy that provides

young people with new skills, creates new business prospects for local, national and

international businesses and harnesses the unique sense of community that

underpins the borough. That’s why we are proud to join the scores of councillors, residents, businesses both

large and small, schools, social enterprises, cultural venues, and the artistic and

creative community in backing Waltham Forest’s bid.

What’s more we are committed to supporting the borough’s ambitions of harnessing

culture-led growth and helping to deliver a fantastic programme of events. We’ll be

the organisations that help sponsor the events, build the event infrastructure,

signpost to events, make sure people get there without issue and have a great time.

Together we’ll make Waltham Forest, and London, the first destination for visitors

and cultural enthusiasts. Yours sincerely


Letter of support from our cultural stars supporters


Dear Mayor of LondonWaltham Forest for London Borough of Culture, 2019

The Mayor’s competition to award the first London Borough of Culture is an

impressive and worthy initiative.

It provides an opportunity to shine a light on the impact of culture across London; not

just within Zone 1 and the usual stomping grounds but across the whole of the

Capital. In the Borough of Waltham Forest in north east London, culture is thriving –

from the world beating William Morris Gallery, to street art, dance, festivals, concerts

and more, it is a borough that embraces its diversity and showcases the creativity

and artistic talent of its 271,000 residents.

Awarding Waltham Forest ‘London Borough of Culture’, would have a tremendous

impact; putting the borough on the world map and inspiring the next generation of

budding artists. At a time when Waltham Forest is changing rapidly, it will create new

opportunities and bring economic prosperity to its residents and workers.

We each have our own individual and special connections to Waltham Forest, but

are collectively proud to endorse, and wholeheartedly support, Waltham Forest’s

campaign to be the first London Borough of Culture; a Borough that is the ideal

canvas on which to showcase London and highlight our great City at its cultural best

– diverse, quirky, creative and fun.

Waltham Forest houses an ever growing number of creatives in London; we’re not

just spectators, we’re participators, innovators, instigators and creators. And to us,

no other borough would be a more deserving recipient of the title of the first London

Borough of Culture. Best wishes

Damon Albarn • David Bailey • Sir Matthew Bourne • Dreda Say Mitchell • Bob and Roberta Smith • Jeremy Deller • Fleur East • Layla Rosa • Harriet Warden • Barry Bliss • Raewyn Harrison • Carolyn Abbott • Amy Mason • Helen Bigham & all at The Mill • Max Peters • Emma Betts • Barnaby Barford • Dan Clapton •Nick Bertram • Polly Risbridger • Mark Clack • Nick Bason • Jonathan Crossley • Jo Sealy • Zarah Hussain • Fearghus O’Conchuir • Rebecca Crookshank • Sam Jones • Sba Shaikh • Stephen Francis • Ebony Vincent-Janes • Lucia Lewis-Janes • Jonathan Crossley • Oliver Bray • Roland Karthaus • Carol James • Nicola Jacques, • John Senior • Akay Zorlu • Jonty Craig • Alistair Crockett • Ruth Quealy • Aaron Down • Max Plotnek • Karen Avebury • Melanie Whittington • Catherine Skinner • Rachel Smith • Andrew Mueller • Jonathan O’Dea • Lucy Harrison • ESSENTIAL SCHOOL OF PAINTING •Walthamstow Pump House Museum •Councillor Ahsan Khan


We’re Ready: Our outcomes and outputs

STEP CHANGE OUTCOME(S) OUTPUT(S)

Step Change 1: Culture as our identity

Waltham Forest is firmly on the map as a destination of choice and is recognised for its high quality and accessible cultural activities, thriving night time economy attracting regional, national and international arts and culture partners

• Total number of visits • Number of visits from outside of the borough • £s spent in hospitality, culture and leisure sector • Number of overnight stays • Number of national paper features • Number of social media followers • Number of regional, national and international arts and culture partners

Residents value and have pride in where they live, through a better understanding of the borough, its natural and urban environment, heritage and unique cultural offer

• Residents say they are more aware of environmental issues • Residents say they know more about the history and heritage of the borough

Step Change 2: Culture on every corner

Culture is accessible and open to all and takes place across Waltham Forest - in Chingford, Leyton, Leytonstone and Walthamstow

• Number of activities taking place in E4, E10, E11, E17 • Number of residents involved • Diversity of residents involved

Residents feel empowered to create, deliver, promote and share their cultural experiences with their neighbourhood; more spaces are available for a diverse range of quality cultural activity across Waltham Forest

• Number of spaces used for cultural activity in E4, E10, E11, E17 • Residents say they feel more empowered to create, deliver, promote and share their cultural experiences

• Number of social media interactions • Number of community led cultural activities



Step Change 3: Cultural capacity

The creative sector becomes more established and sustainable in Waltham Forest in line with our Economic Growth strategy of 'keep, seed and grow' and attracts more funding from external sources

• Number of local suppliers used • Number of spaces brokered for cultural activity • £s external funding attracted • Income generated • Number of new start-up businesses in the culture and hospitality sector

• £s of business rate relief for cultural industries in Waltham Forest

There is increased capacity, skills and ambition in the local cultural sector with makers and creators from different backgrounds feeling more confident to develop their professional practice, be more radical and achieve excellence

• Creative people say that they feel more confident and have developed their professional practice

• Project is recognised as an exemplar of best practice and artistic excellence

• Creative people say they have greater ambition • Number of new or expanded partnerships

Step Change 4: Culture as a career

Young people are able to access both volunteering and work experience in the cultural sector and more people overall from disadvantaged groups are supported through culture to gain skills to improve employability

• Number of young people volunteering on accredited cultural volunteering programme

• Number of young people gaining work experience in the cultural sector

• Number of people from disadvantaged groups supported to gain skills and improve employability

• Number of schools involved

Young people are inspired to seek creative careers and hobbies through informal and formal learning opportunities

• Number of young people who say they are inspired to seek creative careers and hobbies as a result of the BoC Programme

• Cultural education partnership created • Number of young people engaged in formal learning opportunities

• Number of young people engaged in informal learning opportunities

• Number of apprentices involved



Step Change 5: Culture as a bond

People from different and diverse backgrounds feel empowered to lead, input and make decisions about cultural activity in all neighbourhoods in the borough, creating a shared sense of fellowship and respect

• Number of people involved in the curation of cultural activity

• People say they feel respected and get on well with their neighbours

• Number of volunteers engaged in the activity • Culture Steering Group established

People feel confident exploring new spaces and cultural experiences in the borough and beyond, enjoy improved wellbeing and have a better quality of life

• Number of residents engaged from hard to reach groups • Residents say they feel more confident exploring new spaces and cultural experiences in different areas of the borough

• People say being involved makes them feel better


Project activity Outputs Baseline (where available)

2019/2020 2020/2021 Total

Programme Overview

Increase in resident satisfaction 72% 75% 77% 77%

% residents citing a good cultural offer as their reason for living here

3% 30% 35% 35%

Number of young people involved in the Cultural Leadership Programme

- 100 Ongoing 100

Total audience numbers / visits - 500,000 250,000 750,000

Number of overnight stays - 5000 2500 7500

Number of awards won - 3 3 6

Number of new commissions - 100 50 150

Number of positive media features - 150 50 200

Number of young people achieving Arts Award

600 1000 1250 2250

% of total spend with local suppliers (hospitality, culture and leisure sector)

50% (current stretch target)

40% 45% 45%


Project activity Outcomes

Programme Overview

The creative sector becomes more established and sustainable in Waltham Forest in line with our Economic Growth strategy of 'keep, seed and grow' and attracts more funding from external sources

There is increased capacity, skills and ambition in the local cultural sector with makers and creators from different backgrounds feeling more confident to develop their professional practice, be more radical and achieve excellence

Young people are able to access both volunteering and work experience in the cultural sector and more people overall from disadvantaged groups are supported through culture to gain skills to improve employability

Young people are inspired to seek creative careers and hobbies through informal and formal learning opportunities

People from different and diverse backgrounds feel empowered to lead, input and make decisions about cultural activity in all neighbourhoods in the borough, creating a shared sense of fellowship and respect

People feel confident exploring new spaces and cultural experiences in the borough and beyond, enjoy improved wellbeing and have a better quality of life

Culture is accessible and open to all and takes place across Waltham Forest - in Chingford, Leyton, Leytonstone and Walthamstow.

Residents feel empowered to create, deliver, promote and share their cultural experiences with their neighbourhood; more spaces are available for a diverse range of quality cultural activity across Waltham Forest

Waltham Forest is firmly on the map as a destination of choice and is recognised for its high quality and accessible cultural activities, thriving night time economy attracting regional, national and international arts and culture partners

Residents value and have pride in where they live, through a better understanding of the borough, its natural and urban environment, heritage and unique cultural offer

Further information

You can find out more about the London Borough of Culture, including application guidance information here: http://bit.ly/2Bf6qmn

Visit wfculture19.co.uk to find out more about our bid to be London’s first Borough of Culture.

Twitter: @wfculture19

Facebook: @WFCulture19

WALTHAM FORESTWE’RE READY. LONDON BOROUGH OF CULTURE 2019

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