Shoreditch and Hoxton,
06
September
2021
|
14:41
Europe/London

Third round of Shoreditch and Hoxton Art Fund launched as aims for a fair recovery take shape

Hackney Council has launched the third and final round of the Shoreditch and Hoxton Art Fund, which since 2019 has seen more than £175,000 invested into arts and cultural-led projects which aim to build positive and open relationships in the area’s diverse communities.

Projects to date have included a festival exploring working class identity, cross-cultural orchestras, poetry and dance, community murals and a live soap opera.

The investment is raised from "Section 106" contributions, which are levies placed on new developments in and around Shoreditch and Hoxton. The fund is enabling and supporting community projects that bring residents, businesses and visitors together through art and culture, building a better understanding between communities and helping them to share experiences.

The £300,000 fund delivers on a commitment in the Council’s Inclusive Economy Strategy and Arts & Cultural Strategy to promote and support activities in town centres and neighbourhoods that help to keep people connected to opportunities in a rapidly changing borough. More than £80,000 is available as part of the third round of funding.

Over the last 15 years, Shoreditch and Hoxton have seen huge changes, with a significant rise in the number of businesses and residents in one of the UK’s most successful local economies. The area has become home to a thriving small and large business community that includes some of the world’s leading creative tech and digital media companies. To ensure this exceptional economic growth benefits residents, Hackney Council has committed to supporting participatory creative and cultural-led initiatives.

Cllr Guy Nicholson, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Housing Supply, Planning, Culture and Inclusive Economy
The Shoreditch and Hoxton Art Fund has provided the wherewithal for artists and creative practitioners to become the bridge between residents and the changing neighbourhood brought about by a successful and rapidly growing local economy. 

The Art Fund has helped us all to embrace change and sets out to ensure that this change in our local neighbourhoods works for and with us, not against us. Led by local arts and culture organisations the response has helped build a bridge between the creative and creative tech business community clustered in and around Shoreditch and Hoxton and the community of local residents.

 
Cllr Guy Nicholson, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Housing Supply, Planning, Culture and Inclusive Economy

Some of the projects to win funding in rounds one and two 

For application eligibility, criteria and key information - and to apply - please visit hackney.gov.uk/culture