Today February 15, 2024 new town culturea pioneering curatorial program based within Barking and Dagenham Council, has set its ambitions for 2024, including the opening of a new Women’s Museum with its first exhibition on International Women’s Day on Friday 8 March 2024. Announcing a new artistic program.
Built on a radical vision to embed contemporary art practice at the heart of local government services, the New Town Cultural Program has transformed the way social work is done in Barking and Dagenham.
After five years of a Critical Arts in Social Care program that began with a Cultural Impact Award as part of the Mayor of London’s London Borough of Culture, New Town Culture will now focus on youth justice services. It turns out.
Dynamic new programs include women’s museum, A new public cultural space at the heart of Barking Town Center, built on a deep network across art, community and service. The museum will be an inclusive space that will platform ideas, issues, and histories about women, girls, transgender and non-binary communities through arts and culture in the region and beyond. Funding for this program is made possible by the Mayor of London, the National Heritage Lottery Fund, Arts Council England, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the Community Infrastructure Levy Fund.
The museum opens with an exhibition life ideascarefully selected Written by Nefertiti Oboshie Shandorff Opening on International Women’s Day, Friday 8th March 2024. life ideas Explore the day-to-day history of a female-led community run by nuns and nuns who lived in nearby Barking Abbey from around 666 AD to early 16 AD.th century. New works by artists will appear during the exhibition. meera shakti osborne, Leslie Asare and Sarina Mantle andArchaeological remains unearthed from the surrounding area highlight the connections between this important historical site and modern women, femme and ethnic stories.
Other new programs organized by New Town Culture and launching during 2024 include:
- national conference Hopeful Destruction: Art and Social Work It will be held on 13th and 14th March in collaboration with South London Gallery. I look back on my five years of work in the field of social work with artists. Helen Cammock, Andrea Franke, Gail Chongwang academic Siddesh Mukherji and curator rachel anderson from lazy woman Among other things.
- Led by Newtown Culture and operated from the Women’s Museum, there will be corresponding public programs including an Ark Theater residency. raise your voice and city council management Go girls!bothSupporting vulnerable women and girls with a poetry night Belinda Zawi spinning the night Yemi Awosil and the celebration of the vernal equinox Leslie Asare.
- Our ongoing partnership with Goldsmiths, University of London will deliver a radical training program for social workers through the Master of Creative Social Work. The following artists are featured here: india harvey Taught alongside prominent social work scholars such as. Professor Claudia Barnard.
Cllr Saima Ashraf, deputy leader of Barking and Dagenham Council, said:
“Our borough has led on major initiatives including enacting equal pay legislation through the Dagenham Ford strike and the 2021 Barking and Dagenham Domestic Violence Commission report. Culture continues to be valued as a platform for artists to develop their social art practices.”
“I’m delighted to see this movement go from strength to strength as we continue to provide fantastic opportunities to engage and empower the people of Barking and Dagenham through the arts.
“And with the opening of the Women’s Museum on the horizon, this is a fantastic addition to the arts and culture on offer here in the borough.
Justin Symonds, Deputy Mayor for Culture and Creative Industries, said:
“New Town Culture is a great example of the transformative power of arts and culture. With funding from City Hall, we have transformed the lives of many people in social care. I am delighted that we are launching the Women’s Museum with a focus on service. By supporting young people with their creativity, we are helping to build a better London for everyone.”
To date, New Town Culture has led major new art commissions with artists. Including Rory Pilgrim (Turner Prize nominee), Sonia Boyce, Gail Chung Kwan, Amy Leung, etc. Through collaborations with the Serpentine Gallery, South London Gallery, Tate, Wigmore Hall and many community-based organizations including Greenshoe Arts and Ark Theater in Barking and Dagenham. For more information, please visit the New Town Culture website.