Arts Organisations

Shobana Jeyasingh at Somerset House

Photography: Richard Haughton

In 2010-11, Westminster City Council has commissioned several local cultural organisations to deliver community and education programmes in arts and creative activities that local residents can participate in.

The organisations currently commissioned can be found below. 

Check this page in September 2010 for details of future funding opportunities or contact the Voluntary Sector Unit at vsu@westminster.gov.uk / 020 7641 5921.                   

• If your community group would like to work with the following organisations please contact us at arts@westminster.gov.uk
  
  
• Click here to add your organisation to the Arts Service database
  
  
• For Other sources of funding, please scroll to the end of this page.
  
  

Cultural Cooperation

Music Village festival weekend themed World City in Hyde Park in July 2010.

Contact: Prakash Daswani

Telephone: 020 7264 0000

Email: info@culturalco-operation.org

Website: www.culturalco-operation.org

DreamArts

Participative performing arts programme for 8-12 year olds in Church Street. Programme offers the opportunity to develop personal skills and explore creativity.

Contact: Graham Whitlock

Telephone: 020 7266 8260

Email: graham@dreamarts.org.uk

Website: www.dreamarts.org.uk

English National Ballet

ENB offers dance activities for Westminster residents of a range of ages at the company premises and in residential homes: Dance for Health (for older people), The Word is Dance (libraries partnership), and a Youth Dance Company.

Contact: Fleur Derbyshire-Fox

Telephone: 020 7581 1245

Email: Fleur.Derbyshire-Fox@ballet.org.uk

Website: www.ballet.org.uk

English National Opera

Based at the Coliseum, St Martin's Lane, ENO promotes an annual season of opera sung in English that runs from October to June. Education and outreach work in schools, libraries, and community centres is provided through the ENO Baylis programme.

Contact: Hannah Griffiths

Telephone: 020 7632 8484

Email: baylis@eno.org

Website: www.eno.org

Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA)

The ICA supports young people and unemployed young adults with learning disabilities to develop their own creative projects. It also runs ‘Chit Chat’, a careers forum for young people in partnership with the University of the Arts.  Westminster children and young people are eligible for its free holiday cinema screenings and its weekend family workshops.

Contact: Vicky Carmichael

Telephone: 020 7766 1423

Email: vicky.carmichael@ica.org.uk

Website: www.ica.org.uk

London Print Studio

Based on Harrow Road, the studio has resources available to learn or use traditional print techniques and computer graphics. It also houses regular exhibitions of print work in its gallery.

Contact:  John Philips

Telephone: 020 8969 3247

Email: john@londonprintstudio.org.uk

Website: www.londonprintstudio.org.uk

Paddington Arts

A youth arts service in its own arts centre encouraging young people to use the arts for self-expression and career development. Paddington Arts offers termly workshops in drama, dance, singing and media for 6-26 year olds.

Contact: Steve Shaw

Telephone: 020 7286 2722

Email: steve@paddingtonarts.org.uk

Website: www.paddingtonarts.org.uk

Paddington Festival

Development of an annual summer North Paddington Festival building on existing four community festivals and offers by cultural providers in the local wards to showcase, develop and unify cultural talent.

Contact: Fabian Sharp

Telephone: 07940 4160 69

Email: fabian@pdt.prg.uk

Website: www.pdt.org.uk

Serpentine Gallery

Presents exhibitions of British and international artists in gallery in Hyde Park. The Gallery’s Skills Exchange project works with older people and housing developers, and the Edgware Road project invites artists from their countries to come and work in the area. Regular ‘family days’ take place throughout the year with a chance to make visual art works inspired by the current exhibition.

Contact: Polly Brennan

Telephone: 020 7298 1514

Email: PollyB@serpentinegallery.org

Website: www.serpentinegallery.org

Soho Theatre & Writers' Centre

Soho Theatre is commissioned to run participatory projects mainly based on creative writing for theatre but also including theatre production for a range of ages. The theatre works with Westminster youth groups to produce ‘Script Slam’ events.

Contact: Suzanne Gorman

Telephone: 020 7478 0142

Email: suzanne@sohotheatre.com

Website: www.sohotheatre.com

SouthWestFest

This is a week-long community festival in South Westminster with gala 'Festival Saturday', a carnival parade and collaborations with a wide range of cultural partners. The festival in 2010 has a circus theme.

Contact: Graham Whitlock

Telephone: 020 7266 8260

Email: graham@dreamarts.org.uk

Website: www.southwestfest.org.uk

Streetwise Opera

Streetwise Opera aims to empower homeless people through collaboration in staging professional opera productions and workshops, giving a platform for ideas and helping people to re-build feelings of self-worth and confidence. Streetwise Opera produces work of the highest artistic standard, raising awareness of homelessness by attracting a wide audience, proving opera is for everyone.

Contact: Matthew Peacock

Telephone: 020 7924 3131

Email: info@streetwiseopera.org

Website: www.streetwiseopera.org

Union Dance

Westminster City Council supports Union Dance's dance education projects including choreography and multi-media with its youth dance group, Union Too.

Contact: Corrine Bougaard

Telephone: 020 7836 7837

Email: corrine.bougaard@uniondance.co.uk

Website: www.uniondance.co.uk

Vital Regeneration / FreqOUT!

FreOUT’s technology and digital arts workshops with young people explore the artistic applications of wireless technology as well as equipping participants with presentation and design skills.

Contact: Natasha Armstrong

Telephone: 020 7641 4584

Email: narmstrong@cwh.org.uk

Website: www.vitalregeneration.org/

Westminster Arts

Based at Council House, Marylebone Road, Westminster Arts is a charity providing funding and support to a range of local community and voluntary arts groups and individual artists. It also provides training, advice and information.

Contact: Beth Cinamon

Telephone: 020 7641 1018

Email: beth@westminsterarts.org.uk

Website: www.westminsterarts.org.uk

Wigmore Hall

A world-class venue promoting chamber music and song, plus short seasons of jazz. Wigmore's education and outreach programme works with older people with dementia and under 5s to further their understanding and appreciation of chamber music.

Contact: Elizabeth McCall

Telephone: 020 7258 8249

Email: emccall@wigmore-hall.org.uk

Website: www.wigmore-hall.org.uk

Yaa Asantewaa Arts & Community Centre

Yaa provides a programme of activities which includes performing arts, carnival arts, dance, community development initiatives and holiday projects for young people.  Yaa's usual home, the Yaa Centre, at 1 Chippenham Mews is currently being refurbished until December 2010 and it is temporarily based at Church Hall,

Other sources of funding:

Arts Council England

This is the national development agency for the arts. It runs an ongoing funding programme called Grants for the Arts. The website also contains a great deal of useful information.

www.artscouncil.org.uk

Film London

The agency for the film and media sector in London.

www.filmlondon.org.uk

UK Film Council

The UK Film Council is the Government backed lead agency for film in the UK. Visit their website to find out what they fund.

www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/fund

Westminster Arts

Formerly known as City of Westminster Arts Council (CWAC).

Independent charity funded by Westminster City Council which offers project funding up to £3,000 for small-scale community based arts projects run by voluntary arts groups in Westminster. The Westminster Arts website also provides a funding directory and other resources.

www.westminsterarts.org.uk

Grassroots Grants

Grassroots Grants aim to help build thriving local communities, bring people from different backgrounds together and empower them to achieve change in their communities. If you are a local voluntary or community group with a good idea, this grant fund may be able to help. You can apply for up to £5,000.  There are 4 funding deadlines in 2010.  

www.capitalcf.org.uk