Five local artists and arts organisations will receive up to £10,000 each to deliver community focused cultural, arts and heritage-based activities and events between now and March 2026.
Part of the Mayor of London’s London Borough of Culture, the Welcome to Wandsworth Project Grants programme is a major award in a year of investment in the borough’s creative communities and cultural life, with boosting the health and wellbeing of residents and visitors at its heart.
Applicants were invited to submit proposals that reflect the spirit of Welcome to Wandsworth - bringing people together, inspiring positive change, and celebrating creativity and community across the borough, to improve health and happiness.
The selected projects include a new festival of Central and Eastern European Culture, a documentary project spotlighting hyper-local music pioneers, a portrait photography and interview and book project celebrating Wandsworth’s Windrush pioneers, a five-month collaborative programme of exhibitions, workshops, and artist-led activities led by Putney School of Art and Design, and a community ballet tour and creative programme led by The Pointe Black Company.
The successful projects were selected by a diverse panel of 15 Wandsworth residents, who make up our London Borough of Culture Local Champions group.
Kemi Akinola, Deputy Leader of Wandsworth Council, Cabinet Member for Business, Voluntary Services and Culture said: ‘Our vision for London Borough of Culture 2025 was to co-create our programme with Wandsworth residents and creatives. Through commissions like these, we are empowering those who live, work and study in the borough to drive our year, and shape the programme with us. By offering opportunities to local creatives to scale up their vision, their ambition, and their engagement with local people and partners, we hope to build and sustain a powerful legacy for our London Borough of Culture year.’
London’s Deputy Mayor for Culture and the Creative industries Justine Simons OBE said: “The Welcome to Wandsworth grants are a brilliant way to bring the local community together. These five exciting projects have been co-created and chosen by residents to celebrate the borough’s unique identity and incredibly diverse talent through the power of creativity. It has been wonderful to see local residents and artists embracing the Mayor’s Borough of Culture programme this year, as we build a better London for everyone.”7
The Projects
Izba Arts: Maslenitsa
Izba Arts presents Maslenitsa, a festival of food, dance, music and much more from the former Eastern Bloc. Landing in early Spring 2026, with workshops kicking off this Autumn, this is a great opportunity for communities from Central and Eastern Europe, and beyond, to come together in Wandsworth to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the area from Polish rock in Balham, to Ukrainian opera in Putney. See beautiful fabrics from Eastern Europe and the Balkans and learn about their ability to unite people through embroidery and their journeys along the Thames and the Wandle.
Izba Arts is an international publication that brings together articles, resources, and events focused on culture from the former Eastern Bloc. Supporting artists from Central & Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and Central Asia, an ever-growing community of over 40,000 readers from across the globe is helping creatives from these areas be heard and share important cultural stories that shape narratives of the future.
On Da Beat: Bloodlines & Basslines Weaving Wandsworth
Bloodlines & Basslines Weaving Wandsworth celebrates Wandsworth's rich Black and Afrodiasporic music heritage through documenting interviews with Wandsworth music pioneers in spaces that have been important to the culture, and a series of intergenerational music writing camps and hands-on workshops that will foster creation, cultural identity, and a lasting digital archive.
On Da Beat (ODB) is a platinum-selling, global majority-led, creative organisation dedicated to amplifying young voices, using technology, audio production, and talent development to drive social impact. With extensive experience in community arts, ODB has been committed to creating pathways into the industry for the current and future generation of creatives.
Workshops and screening dates TBA.
Steve Reeves: Britain Called & We Answered
Through portraits and written interviews, Britain Called & We Answered celebrates the stories of Wandsworth residents who came from the Caribbean in response to the British government’s call for people to help rebuild the country after World War II. Thousands came, mainly by boat, and upon arrival worked in construction, public transport, manufacturing, and the newly formed NHS. They went on to make a huge contribution to British society both culturally and economically, despite often encountering adversity and hostility from the local population.
Steve Reeves is a Wandsworth-based filmmaker and portrait photographer. His work explores themes of identity, migration, and community. His portraits are accompanied by short, written interviews that invite the viewer into a space of learning and empathy, and this project celebrates the resilience, achievements, and everyday lives of those who took that two-week voyage across the Atlantic and settled here in Wandsworth.
The Britain Called & We Answered exhibition took place at Battersea Library throughout October 2025 for Black History Month, and a book is in the pipeline for publication in late 2025/early 2026.
Friends of Putney School of Art and Design: We Art Wandsworth: Uniting Artists, Inspiring Communities
We Art Wandsworthwill bring together artists, community groups, and residents for a brand-new flagship project for Wandsworth’s London Borough of Culture 2025. Running from November 2025 – Feb 2026, the programme places visual arts firmly centre stage through a dynamic line-up of exhibitions, workshops, and more. Shifting from private studios into public spaces - libraries, schools, and galleries - the We Art Wandsworth programme will spark new connections and amplify local voices, as well as showcasing the borough’s vibrant talent.
We Art Wandsworth is led by Friends of Putney School of Art & Design, in partnership with Putney School of Art & Design, Sprout Arts, Wandsworth Libraries and Battersea Arts Centre. The project is creatively driven by a core team of Wandsworth-based practitioners: Roopa Basu (artist, designer, facilitator); Tamara Flanagan OBE (community engagement specialist); and Phillippa Egerton, (multidisciplinary artist); working closely with partner organisations to deliver a dynamic, inclusive, and borough-wide celebration of visual arts.
Exhibitions:
- Sprout Arts (27 January – 10 February)
- Putney School of Art and Design (2 February – 2 March)
- Battersea Arts Centre (16 March – 30 March)
Pointe Black: Affirmations in Motion Tour
Affirmations in Motion is a community ballet tour and creative programme led by the Pointe Black company, bringing inspiring performances and workshops to Battersea, Tooting and Roehampton. The project will engage young people aged 8-16 in a 6-week series of ballet and wellbeing sessions, exploring identity, movement and self-expression. Each programme will culminate in a co-created group performance.
To launch each programme, the Pointe Black company will deliver a professional performance offering powerful representation and sparking excitement before supporting the delivery of the weekly workshops alongside an experienced team.
Pointe Black is a community Black ballet school, rooted in classical ballet and enriched by Afro-Caribbean culture. Pointe Black exists to challenge the lack of representation in ballet and provide a nurturing, affirming space where dancers of all backgrounds particularly those of Black heritage can thrive. In 2025, The Pointe Black Company was launched, offering a full pathway from grassroots to professional-level training.