Next Forum Meeting – Thursday 24 October
6-45 for 7 pm at the Vida Walsh Centre, 2b Saltoun Road, SW2 1EP
(facing Windrush Square and just across the road from the Black Cultural Archives)
So far, the agenda includes:
– Repowering London, including energy-saving hints and the borough-wide energy co-op and share offer;
– Brixton Recreation Centre update;
– Windrush Square proposals.
We always try to give member groups a chance to report progress or announce upcoming events, but to avoid running out of time on the night, it helps if you can tell us in advance if you want something added to the agenda – contact the Secretary, Alan Piper at apiperbrix@aol.com
News, Events and Activities
198 Gallery is Growing
198 Contemporary Arts and Learning is expanding its building on Railton Road, to add two floors above for studio space and offices. In the meantime, they have relocated to temporary offices on the 6th floor of International House, Canterbury Crescent, SW9 7QD. The phone number is unchanged as 020 7978 8309, e-mail info@198.org.uk
Performing Arts
Back to the Future – two free performances telling the story of Brixton’s trail-blazing Dark and Light Theatre, the country’s first black-led theatre company, active in the 1970s:
Friday 25 October, 7 pm at Longfield Hall, Knatchbull Road, SE5 9QY (opposite Minet Library).
Thursday 31 October, 7 pm at Brixton Tate Library, Windrush Square SW2.Thursday 31 October, .Brixton th
Junior Open Mic Sessions
Following last month’s festival event in Brockwell Park, Andy Gray has told us of two upcoming events for young performers:
Brixton Youth Open Mic will be on Saturday 9 November, 1 pm to 3 pm at the Mezzanine, Brixton Ritzy Cinema, organised by Reuben. Just turn up to take part.
JOM Session 18 will be on Sunday 10 November, 2 pm to 4-30 at Off the Cuff Music Bar, Railton Road (Herne Hill end). If your child is interested in performing, please arrive at 1-45 pm to register – ideally e-mail Andy beforehand to help him organise the session: andyg.coms@gmail.com
The previous session on 6 October attracted 26 performers (13 acts) and an audience of 70-80, as part of the Herne Hill Music Festival.
Building an Edit Box on Wheels
We Rise has partnered with Clapham Film Unit to improve the delivery of its media output by building a dedicated Edit Box. Together they obtained funding from Locality to build a self-contained editing suite on wheels. This allows We Rise to edit its film projects without relying on external editors or equipment, while teaching young people editing skills and helping them create content. The result is a 3m x 3m box on wheels, that can be partially opened for film screenings, situated on the 6th floor of International House.
Enquiries to Abigail at Abigail@werise.org.uk
Focus on Mental Health
Every Mind Matters is the first mental health campaign to be launched by the NHS. The campaign encourages adults to be more aware of their mental health and helps them to discover simple steps to look after their wellbeing.
A dedicated website provides practical self-care tips, on-line tools and links to resources and advice – see https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/
Mosaic Clubhouse is inviting members and friends to join them for their Annual General Meeting on Thursday 14 November, when they mark their 25th anniversary and showcase their work over the last year. It’s at 65 Effra Road, SW2 1BZ from 6-30 pm.
More information on their website at www.mosaic-clubhouse.org
Art4Space is hosting a 2-day Mental Health First Aid Course next month, on 6 & 7 November, in partnership with Studio Moross and It’s a Playground. The course provides an in-depth understanding of mental health issues, and practical skills to offer help to a person in distress and to support their recovery. If this is short notice, there will be a repeat course on 3 & 4 February, again at Art4Space, 31 Jeffreys Road SW4 6QU (5 minutes walk from Stockwell Tube Station). Enquiries to jewels@art4space.co.uk
Looking Ahead to 2021
Discussions are continuing on developing an arts-led programme of events inspired by the 40th anniversary of the original Brixton Riots or Uprising of April 1981, under the banner of 81 Acts of Exuberant Defiance. Current thinking is that it may run through April to October 2021. Meanwhile, funding is being explored and there is likely to be a pilot programme of research and activity during 2020. For more details, see the website https://www.81actsofexuberantdefiance.com
If you are interested in getting involved, please contact Tony Cealy or Chloe Osbourne at 81radicalactsofdefiance@gmail.com
Funding, Training and Networking
Support for Small Charities
We have flagged up training events run by the FSI in earlier bulletins, and another batch of training modules is returning to London for 12-14 November, 9-45 am to 4-30 pm each day (registration from 9-15 am). Courses will be at Amnesty International, 25 New Inn Yard, EC2A 3EA, and cost £10 to £20 each. More details on their website, www.thefsi.org – and remember to book before the end of this month.
The Charity Commission puts out regular news bulletins advising of good practice, and flagging up problems that charities need to guard against. See www.gov.uk/government/publications/charity-commission-news-issue-64
Working with Children or Young People?
The Integrate Agency have partnered with the Early Intervention Foundation to offer a one-day workshop on Evaluation, so you can explain to funders not only what you do, but how you measure success. It will be on Wednesday 27 November, 10 am to 3 pm at Roots and Shoots, Walnut Tree Walk, Kennington SE11 6DN. Free, but book with laura.bassett@integrateagency.co.uk
In Business?
For small and start-up businesses, trade shows and exhibitions can be useful to pick up on new technology, emerging products and an overview of market trends. Here’s a few upcoming events – contact Alan Piper for links to get tickets to the most relevant one for you: apiperbrix@aol.com
Caffe Culture, 28-29 October, Business Design Centre, Islington, for the coffee and café bar industry.
Food Matters Live, 19-20 November, at Excel, for food and drink products generally.
The Business Show, 27-28 November, at Excel, for small business generally, see www.gbbs.co.uk
Festival of Construction/ London Build, 27-28 November, Olympia.
Community Business Trade-up Programme
Run by the School for Social Entrepreneurs and Power to Change, this programme offers a Match Trading grant of up to £10,000 and a learning programme to help you grow. The deadline to apply is 27 November – register now for more info (and a deadline reminder) at http://bit.ly/2klzGysf
Our thanks to Impact Brixton for sharing this.
Coping with Brexit
The situation seems to change from day to day, but there are some sources of advice out there. If you are in business in Brixton and facing Brexit-related issues, contact the Brixton BID at admin@brixtonbid.co.uk
If you are involved with a community group or local charity, LOCALITY has produced an information pack, pulling together key information about the implications. There are a couple of webinars next week too. For the links, e-mail Alan Piper at apiperbrix@aol.com
Keep in Touch
Spreading the Word
A reminder that we welcome news from local groups to include in these bulletins. We occasionally add extra bulletins to share urgent information, but for the routine November bulletin, we need your news by 5th November, though a week earlier would be helpful – send to apiperbrix@aol.com
Thanks to all of you who sent in material for this issue – we started out thinking this would be another short edition, but it grew as we discovered more reports, a good sign of how much is going on around Brixton these days.
Mailing List updates
To make sure that you are kept in the picture, please report any changes to your contact details to admin@brixtonneighbourhoodforum.org
– if you want to add a colleague or another organisation to the mailing list;
– if you need to update your e-mail address, so information is not sent to an old in-box;
– if you have moved away or are no longer interested.
Keep up the good work – and keep networking!