Tag Archives: Borough of Culture

Taking Liberty with the arts in a way that celebrates us all

KEN TOWL takes hope, and much joy, from last week’s Liberty Festival, where deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists injected some much-needed culture into the borough. Photos by PAUL FULLER The Liberty Festival, which landed in Croydon last weekend, represented the … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, Borough of Culture 2023, Comedy, Dance, Fairfield Halls, Ken Towl, Music, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Perry is director of company handed £50,000 culture grant

EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES One of the biggest single grants handed out by Croydon Council for Borough of Culture projects has gone to a company where Mayor Jason Perry is a director. While several long-established, recognised community arts groups had … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Business, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

A town centre amble that goes from the sublime to ridiculous

KEN TOWL took a stroll down Surrey Street and Church Street and encountered two different takes on what passes for ‘culture’ in Croydon The Croydon Clocktower has an exhibition of the works of Evacustes Phipson. “Evacustes who?” you may ask … Continue reading

Posted in Activities, Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society, Ken Towl, Surrey Street | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

£1.3m in Culture grants, but not a penny for Croydon Writers

CROYDON COMMENTARY: As a herd of fibre-glass giraffes are distributed around the borough – paid for at least in part by a £50,000 grant from the Borough of Culture – ETHEL CORDUFF outlines how one of the borough’s oldest arts … Continue reading

Posted in Borough of Culture 2023, Cicely Mary Barker, Croydon Writers, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

£250 per day fees paid to lead on borough’s Heritage Trail

CROYDON IN CRISIS: One arts company in the borough appears to have won the Lottery for its role in the less-than-inspiring flagship project for the Borough of Culture. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The project lead working on the Music Heritage … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Business, Croydon Council, Education, Museum of Croydon, Music, Queens Gardens | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Purley Festival returns to Rotary Field with live music stage

The Purley Festival is set to return to Rotary Field next month, hoping to deliver “a wonderful celebration of culture, talent and community”, according to the organisers. The focal point of the weekend of September 9 and 10 will be … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Business, Charity, Music, Purley, Purley BID | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

GLA has few checks on how £1.3m Culture grant is being spent

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The cash-strapped council received £1.35m from City Hall towards the staging of the Borough of Culture, but it is subject to next-to-no external scrutiny over how that public money is being used. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Business, Community associations, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

It’s hard to find signs of the borough’s musical heritage trail

So just what do we get for the £220,000 of Lottery cash splurged on Croydon’s Music Heritage Trail? We sent LOUISA GAUTREY along to road-test the trail and its accompanying app As a teenager who listens to a wide range … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Croydon College, Croydon Council, Croydon School of Art, Fairfield Halls, Music, Queens Gardens | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

CODA’s Alice Through Wonderland, Wandle Park, Jul 26-29

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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CODA’s Alice Through Wonderland, Wandle Park, Jul 26-29

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Posted in Borough of Culture 2023, CODA, Theatre, Wandle Park | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Minster moments that brought culture from the pub to pulpit

It had little to do with Croydon, apart from providing a venue for its latest stop on a national tour, but veteran arts reviewer BELLA BARTOCK’s first encounter with an event tacked on to the Borough of Culture left her … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Croydon Minster, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Our latest podcast on giraffes, Marks & Sparks and murder

In our latest Croydon Insider podcast, our guests catch up on what’s happening in Croydon, discussing the spate of murders in and around the borough, plus what’s caught their eye on the pages of our website over the past couple … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Insider, Inside Croydon, Ken Towl, Neil Chandler, Under The Flyover | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Having a giraffe! Business group spends thousands on statues

Town centre business group Croydon BID is spending thousands of pounds on a collection of oddly-decorated, mostly eight-foot-tall fibre glass statues of giraffes, which are due to be distributed among shops and on street corners later this summer, in the … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Business, Croydon BID | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

£1.5m being spent on our Borough of not-very-much Culture

We are now well into the third month of Croydon’s year as the Borough of Culture. Waddyamean, you haven’t seen any publicity or signs of anything special being staged? Neither have we, so we sent KEN TOWL off to see … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Business, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Ken Towl, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Museum of Croydon, Music, Sadiq Khan, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Recognition at last: Coleridge-Taylor gets placed centre stage

The people behind Croydon’s Borough of Culture did not invite Inside Croydon to the press night for the prestigious new production at the Fairfield Halls. KEN TOWL got in anyway At last, we can see where some of the Mayor … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Fairfield Halls, Ken Towl, Mayor Jason Perry, Music, Talawa Theatre Company, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Podcast: The Croydon Insider discusses issues of the week

Hear about the plans to get Croydon’s biggest organ throbbing once more. Listen as our guests discuss the arrogance of local authority chief executives who have described a £6,000 per year pay rise as ‘pettiness’. Talk about Croydon’s speeding drivers. … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Fisher, Croydon Insider, Inside Croydon, Ken Towl, Under The Flyover | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Croydon is made a national laughing stock, Part 94. And Part 95

No sooner had the nation’s best-selling satirical magazine had a good laugh (again) at Croydon’s expense after featuring the latest example of the council’s bungled handling of vast amounts of public money, than the borough has popped up again in … Continue reading

Posted in Borough of Culture 2023, Comedy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Podcast: Croydon Insider – the Borough of Culture Special

Posted in Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Boxpark, Croydon Insider, Fairfield Halls, Inside Croydon, Ken Towl, Neil Chandler, Under The Flyover | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

There’s something for everyone to enjoy in our year of Culture

CROYDON COMMENTARY: The council’s cabinet member responsible for the arts, Councillor ANDY STRANACK, pictured above (he’s the one not wearing a tracksuit) outlines his plans for the Borough of Culture Last weekend saw the launch of This is Croydon, a … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Stranack, Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Fairfield Halls, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Musical open house brings crowds flocking back to Fairfield

CROYDON COMMENTARY: There’s been widespread praise for the performers and performances at the Fairfield Halls for the Borough of Culture opening event, which LEWIS WHITE thoroughly enjoyed I went to the Sunday session of the Oratorio of Hope at the … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Dance, Fairfield Halls, London Mozart Players | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Year of Culture set to begin with an Oratorio of Hopelessness

CROYDON IN CRISIS: If, like us, you have been scouring the listings pages to find what’s planned for Croydon’s year as London’s Borough of Culture, you’re likely to be disappointed. But some of the PR deals surrounding the event have … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Stranack, Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Community associations, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Music, Oliver Lewis, Sadiq Khan, Theatre, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Arts Council backs project that will flag up Borough of Culture

South Asian arts organisation Subrang Arts has been awarded £23,661 by Arts Council England to deliver creative activities that will teach Croydon school children and local community groups about the rich cultural heritage of India. The project, called Kalasetu, will … Continue reading

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Mayor Khan reveals brand identity for Borough of Culture 2023

The Mayor of London’s Borough of Culture 2023 has launched its striking look – under the banner of This is Croydon – and is inviting Croydon communities and audiences to get involved. The Borough of Culture is an initiative by … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, London Mozart Players, Mayor of London, Music, Sadiq Khan, Talawa Theatre Company, Turf Projects | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Turmoil at Fairfield Halls as operating company suffers exodus

Our culture correspondent, BELLA BARTOCK, on changing times at the council-owned arts centre, and a diamond anniversary that has been forgotten by the council There’s yet more turmoil behind the scenes at the Fairfield Halls, where the chief executive and … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Borough of Culture 2023, Business, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jon Workman, Mayor Jason Perry, Music, The Wreck, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Art projects can meet funders for culture year at Stanley Halls

Stanley Halls will be hosting a “Meet the Funders” session on November 3, to brief arts centres, arts groups and artists about how to access funding for projects when Croydon is London’s Borough of Culture in 2023. “Croydon in 2023 … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Stanley Halls | Tagged , , | Leave a comment