This meeting took place on 12 July 2016. Read the transcript here.
London’s artistic communities are under pressure from rising rents, high property prices and new development.
Gentrification can affect London’s artistic communities, such as painters, musicians and actors, as it can lead to rising property prices and rents, which they can no longer afford.
Between 2007 and 2015, London lost 35% of its grassroots music venues, a decline from 136 spaces to just 88[2], while some 3,500 artists are likely to lose their places of work by 2019 (30 per cent of the current provision)[3]
- What can the Mayor do to sustain and grow London’s artistic communities?
- Could London’s artistic spaces be expanded to outer London?
- Should culture-led regeneration be used as a tool for economic development?
- What is creative placemaking?
The London Assembly Regeneration Committee will tomorrow discuss the challenges facing arts organisations in London, the pros and cons of combining the arts and creativity with regeneration projects and what the Mayor can do to ensure London’s cultural offer continues to thrive and grow. The meeting will look at two case studies of culture-led regeneration in Barking & Dagenham and Croydon.
The following guests will be questioned:
- Justine Simons, Deputy Mayor for Culture and Creative Industries, Greater London Authority (GLA)
- Debbie Jackson, Assistant Director - Regeneration, GLA
- Miriam Nelkan, Programme Director, Creative People and Places Programme, Creative Barking and Dagenham
- Stephen Tate, Director of District Centres & Regeneration, LB Croydon
- Professor Graeme Evans, Professor in Design Cultures, Middlesex University London
The meeting will take place on Tuesday, 12 July at 10:00am in Committee Room 5 at City Hall (The Queen’s Walk, London SE1).
Media and members of the public are invited to attend. The meeting can also be viewed via webcast.
Follow us @LondonAssembly and take part in the discussion using #AssemblyRegeneration or #creativeLondon
Notes to editors
- Full agenda papers.
- GLA, 2015, London’s Grassroots Music Venues: Rescue Plan
- GLA, 2014, Artists’ Workspace Study: Report and Recommendations
- Navin Shah AM, Chair of the Regeneration Committee is available for interview. See contact details below.
- Regeneration Committee.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For media enquiries, please contact Lisa Lam on 020 7983 4067. For out of hours media enquiries, call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the London Assembly duty press officer. Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit on 020 7983 4100.