Arts Council England Helps Us to ‘GROW AT HOME’
We’re very grateful to have received funding from the Arts Council’s Emergency Response Package to help counter the threat of immediate closure so we can continue to navigate 2020 and to reimagine the space as a digital presence by hosting a series of free online events. See full ‘Grow at Home’ programme to watch the footage.
Prior to Covid-19, Grow was hosting 5-6 events per week, providing income to our artistic partners and sound engineers as well as a local employer. Our commitment to London Living Wage has provided income supporting those (i) in higher education (ii) forming art/music collectives and (iii) working on personal creative projects. Harder to value, is the skill sharing, mentoring, training and development.
Grow’s music and art programme is as exciting as it is diverse. Bringing together local, emerging and international talent and providing a space for collective collaboration which gives everyone who comes through the doors a good time. We facilitate at a grassroots level, giving space to those who may not always have a platform. We cooperate and share profits made from events and financials are transparent, creating an innovative sharing economic model. This all comes hand-in-hand with our commitment to environmental sustainability.
The Arts Council’s Emergency Response Package has provided a lifeline for Grow and has helped towards covering some of our fixed costs until October. However, funding and ongoing support is going to be vital if we are going to navigate these uncertain times. We thank you in advance for your support.
GROW AT HOME
This online series will help our existing communities stay connected, continue to collaborate and learn, as well as reach new audiences.
More than ever, we want to continue as a grassroots facilitator and bring people together to share resources, learn and create, which in turn will boost wellbeing. And best of all, you can participate from home! Starting Wednesday 12 August 2020, this online programme of live streamed events and virtual gatherings celebrates its partners and reflects the broad range and diversity of events we have presented since 2014.
It includes a host of local and internationally acclaimed artists and musicians and features: discussions on inclusivity in the grass-roots music industry; live jazz, reggae and punk; an interactive cypher; a wild night of comedy cabaret; a whistlestop walking tour of Hackney Wick; an Afro-Latin conga drum masterclass, conscious audio visual; live painting and Q&A with graffiti artist RUN and a radio show featuring blues and LGBTQ+ Hip Hop.
Hackney Tours in the Wick - Wednesday 12 August
Champions of Hackney’s culture and goldmine of local knowledge begin a whistlestop tour at Grow, packed with fun facts and insights into one of Europe’s most creative areas
Hot Dog Grrrl and The Sesame Buns Live - Tuesday 18 August
Riotous grrrl power garage punk heroes launch their latest album live
Drumming Masterclass with Williams Cumberbache - Wednesday 19 August
An interactive session to hone your skills with a master conga player
Fear Of Fluffing Live- Tuesday 25 August
The inimitable experimental psychoactive jam band, play live, loose and socially distanced
RUN - live painting with interactive Q&A - Wednesday 26 August
Current Grow artist in residence, the world acclaimed graffiti writer and muralist RUN paints a 3 metre wall and answers your questions
BIG WOWIE! - Tuesday 1 September
Bringing you a wild night of comedy, with an outrageous line up of the UK’s most colourful comedians - untamed by their virtual stage!
Black Lives Matter – Wednesday 2 September
Hackney music legend and DJ Dominic Benjamin chairs a panel discussion around inclusivity in the grass-roots music industry, followed by a conscious DJ set
‘Sense’ - Tuesday 8 September
Musical collaborators and composers collective present a live audio-visual stream of electronic consciousness
Dubhouse Reggae Session - Wednesday 9 September
Good vibes all night with Dubhouse selectors and special guest MCs
And What? LDN - Freestyle Alchemy - Wednesday 16 September
Our favourite creative collective hosts an interactive show where they improvise songs out of beats sent in by the Grow community.
Wild Dial Live - Wednesday 23 September
Long standing and gloriously eclectic Hackney radio show hosts a mini festival with special guests, from punk blues to LGBTQ+ Hip Hop
The Rio Quartet Live - Thursday 24 September
A live stream of our weekly jazz jam hosted by Boris Latinov and Mercury Prize nominated double bass player, Rio Kai with special guests
See full ‘Grow at Home’ programme to watch the footage.
This support was only made possible thanks to public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
About Arts Council England
Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. By 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish, and where every one of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help deliver this vision.
Following the Covid-19 crisis, the Arts Council has developed a £160 million Emergency Response Package, with nearly 90% coming from the National Lottery, for organisations and individuals needing support. Find out more at www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19