Borough of Culture

Coinciding with the first full year of our CUA partnership, this offered a wonderful opportunity to harness the creative power of Goldsmiths in support of a year of ‘cultural activism’ in Lewisham. 

In Living Memory: a people’s history of postwar Lewisham 

Goldsmiths’ primary contribution as Borough of Culture Heritage Partner was the In Living Memory programme. Supported by the Mayor of London and Heritage Lottery Fund, this ambitious programme of co-produced heritage and cultural activities supported diverse communities in Lewisham to tell their own stories by exploring hidden histories, preserving memories, and creating lasting cultural legacies.  

Six community-led projects were funded and supported by Goldsmiths. These explored different aspects of the Borough of Lewisham’s social history, from Windrush-era migration to the Black-led self-build movement, to LGBTQ+ pubs, bars and meeting places, to the 1968 floods that saw much of the borough submerged under water.  

Across festivals, pop-ups, exhibitions, screenings and public art, In Living Memory reached over 3000 people at in-person events, and hundreds of thousands more via digital outputs and exhibitions. It supported community-led projects to uncover untold histories and develop four new large-scale public artworks, which are all on permanent display across the borough. It culminated in a year-long exhibition in Lewisham Shopping Centre and the launch of a new digital archive of Lewisham memories.  

In addition, In Living Memory informed guidance published by the National Archives for large cultural infrastructure projects and is the basis for six new education packs designed with and for teachers to use in the classroom.

Creative Futures and high streets engagement 

Beyond In Living Memory, Goldsmiths also supported a range of other activities as part of the Borough of Culture year.

Young musicians and performers from our Alchemy programme took part in the Deptford Sound System trail. Our Knowledge Exchange team led the High Streets Business Engagement programme, which engaged and supported hundreds of businesses to get involved in the We Are Lewisham programme, ranging from advice on developing cultural activities to translation and linguistic support. 

Goldsmiths also led Creative Futures, which aimed to break down barriers to careers in the creative industries. The Creative Futures Career Fair brought together local partners and introduced local young people to the creative industries, especially in relation to areas such as creative computing, music, performing arts, and film. 

Legacies 

Our role in Borough of Culture has left a significant legacy and made an impact not only on our local area, but on the way that we approach cultural engagement at Goldsmiths. Public artworks across the borough are a lasting testament to an incredible year of cultural engagement.

In Living Memory project leads leveraged their activities into new opportunities and exciting new initiatives. Lasting partnerships and friendships were formed, and an online archive was produced that has now been accessed more than 30,000 times.

Education packs from each In Living Memory project were made available for local schools, meaning that the stories unearthed by the project can now feed back into the curriculum in Lewisham and beyond. The packs have been downloaded by a diverse range of cultural and educational organisations and practitioners. 

At Goldsmiths, now more than ever, our cultural engagement activity is focussed on co-production with local communities. We use cultural engagement as a tool to drive social change, and as a way of supporting and enriching the culture of one of the most diverse, exciting and culturally vibrant parts of London.