By Gavin Mackintosh-
Waltham Forest and Brent have been awarded the first London boroughs of culture, each receiving at least £1.35m of funding.
The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, announced the two winners on Tuesday morning. Thy two boroughs were selected from the 22 London boroughs which competed for the prestigious recognition.
Six boroughs will also share a pot of £850,000 made available for the Mayor’s Cultural Impact Awards.
City Hall has dedicated £3.5m of funding to the project, supported by a grant of £300,000 from City Bridge Trust.
The project is the offspring of the European capital of culture programmes which have been a catalyst to financial investments, and recruitment of talent in a number of cities like the UK city of culture won by Derry and Hull and, for 2021, Coventry.
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a one year period, during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension.
A spokesperson from the Mayor’s office told The Eye Of Media.Com ” It provides cities with a golden opportunity to generate cultural, social and economic benefits. In the process it improves the city’s image and raising its visibility and profile on an international scale.
Waltham Forest is scheduled to receive the title and £1.35m prize in 2019, followed by Brent in 2020.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “London Borough of Culture is a game-changer for the capital.”
He said: “It will give all Londoners, regardless of background, the opportunity to enjoy the capital’s fantastic cultural riches.”
“We should be shocked,” Khan said. “We live in the cultural capital of the world and for a variety of reasons they do not experience some of the joys we have in London, whether it’s the theatre, live gigs, museums or galleries. That is why we have to democratize culture and arts much more.
DNA
“Culture is the DNA of our city and we’ve got to make sure that all of us enjoy it.”
Khan said the borough of culture programmes would see the winners getting cash from him and also getting support from national arts bodies, whether it’s the National Theatre, whether it’s the Royal Ballet, whether it’s the O2, whether it’s public works of art being lent to that borough.” However, with respect to whether the £1.35m will be the same amount offered to future winners, a spokesperson for Khan told The Eye Of Media.Com :
” talks are still ongoing and nothing has been finalised as far as the amounts future winners will receive. Precise figures and the process of implementation is still being discussed”.
Projects in Brent will include a summer street party on London’s oldest, straightest road, the A5; a reggae music festival, No Bass Like Home; and events to capitalize on the year, coinciding with Euro 2020, when Wembley will host seven international football matches including the final.
Waltham Forest aims to target 85% of households to participate in a cultural activity during its year. Projects include a culture manifesto written by the artist Bob and Roberta Smith, and a digital installation called Molecules in the Marshes on Walthamstow Marshes, developed by the local artist Zarah Hussain and involving every school in the borough.
Khan also announced six cultural impact awards, essentially consolation prizes, to projects in Barking and Dagenham, Camden, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, and Merton.