Deptford arts venue The Albany nominated for prestigious award

from Greenwich & Lewisham Weekender - March 1st 2023

Veldes exhibition

Deptford arts venue The Albany is one of 10 organisations shortlisted for the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s major arts award: the Award for Civic Arts Organisations 2023. A total of 336 organisations applied for the award, which recognises venues for their work within the community, and using arts and creativity to enable positive change. The award comes with a total of £150,000 prize funding, split into a winning prize of £100,000 and two runner-up prizes of £25,000 each. The winning organisation will be announced on March 22, writes Holly O’Mahony…

The Award for Civic Arts

Organisations has been running for three years now, and The Albany has applied for it before, but this is the first year it’s been shortlisted. It comes off the back of the venue being the main delivery partner for We Are Lewisham, the Mayor’s London Borough of Culture 2022 programme.

“It allowed us to make lots of exciting things happen and partner with lots of exciting people. It put both Lewisham and the Albany a bit more on the map,” reflects Gavin Barlow, CEO and Artistic Director of The Albany. What will the theatre spend the money on if it wins? “I haven’t really thought about that!,” laughs Gavin.

“We’ve got lots of exciting ideas for the future we’d like to invest in. We have plans for renovating the Albany over the next few years as well, but certainly for this kind of one-off investment, we’ll put it directly into our programmes.”

As part of its We Are Lewisham programme, the Albany worked with young people, residents, community groups and charities to pinpoint the areas most concerning them. The climate crisis, mental health, space for young people and feeling displaced were among the biggest concerns, and as a result, the organisation launched community and youth-led projects to explore these issues further.

Highlights included Climate Home, a project in partnership with youth collective Sounds Like Chaos. “We took over an old adventure playground in Deptford, and young people worked with architects to design and rebuild it, then created a six-week festival produced by young creatives,” Gavin recalls. Events included a cross-genertional fashion show, spoken word and theatre performances, and a holiday club for younger children. The project also provided £92,000 worth of paid employment for young people working at the venue.

The Albany has long championed a democratic approach to its commissioning, periodically inviting in local creatives to pitch ideas over pizza. The winning pitcher is then given £1,000 and support from the Albany to make their idea happen.

“It’s great for us because we have loads of different ideas coming in. If you focus locally, you will create exciting shows and experiences,” points out Gavin. “The best ideas come from everywhere, so it’s about trying to find the best ideas and create and find things that are really relevant to local people.”

The Albany was involved with over 400 projects and events last year, hosting 250,000 visitors all in all. “We were working on a scale we haven’t done before. A lot of that came out of different partnerships and community groups, as well as the imaginations of local people.”

Gavin’s hopes for the young people who engaged with the Albany’s We Are Lewisham programme is that they continue to see the theatre as “a place of positivity and creativity”. He’s also keen to stress there’s often future opportunities for those who have engaged in the Albany’s youth schemes. “It’s not just a place for people to be creative. A lot of the young people we’ve worked with over the last few years, we’ve been able to support them into careers, or into self-employment as creatives.”

Winning the Award for Civic Arts Organisations will not only be a boost for The Albany’s programming, it will help prevent Lewisham being forgotten now the baton for London Borough of Culture has been passed on. “It’s really important there’s a good legacy, and I think there is. I think we changed people’s perceptions of Lewisham; there was a real energy and enthusiasm, with people coming together and making a difference. It’s our job to keep that legacy alive,” says Gavin.

“[To win the award] would be a fantastic vote of confidence in our work with lots of different people and what we do.”

The winner of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s Award for Civic Arts Organisations 2023 will be announced on March 22. For more information on th Albany and its nomination, visit: www.thealbany.org.uk/news/thealbany-shortlisted-for-the-awardfor-civic-arts-organisations/

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