Eastside’s December Updates
Happy December everyone!
I hope you are all keeping well and looking forward to a well-earned rest over the holidays.
Welcome to our December updates – it’s been a busy time recently at Eastside, and we have lots to celebrate!
30th Anniversary Celebrations
In November we kicked off a year of 30th Anniversary celebrations by opening the doors to our special free exhibition held in Shoreditch Library. The exhibition is a celebration of Eastside’s work over the last 30 years, inspiring thousands of young people to fulfil their potential through participation in our creative programmes.
You can visit the exhibition until 4th March 2024 – please make the trip and take headphones and a device to enjoy the short films and podcasts embedded in the exhibits.
We would love for you to join our 30th Anniversary Creativity Campaign on social media, by answering the following question: “Being creative is important to me because…“.
Don’t forget to tag us and use the hashtag #Eastside30.
Find us on Instagram.
Find out more about how to get involved in our 30th Anniversary celebrations
New Appointments
Ahead of our 30th Anniversary year, we’re delighted to share that we’ve recently welcomed two new team members.
Firstly, we have appointed a new Chairman of the Board: Edward Benyon, from The Benyon Estate in London.
Edward said: “I am hugely impressed with the work of Eastside and the opportunities it gives to young people to expand their horizons and grow in confidence through the performing arts. I am delighted to take up the position as Chair and look forward to working with the charity on its many inspiring projects.”
With Edward’s arrival we bid a fond and heartfelt farewell to Terry Corby (Chair – 2020-2023), Anna Nicholson (Trustee – 2018-2023) and Sarah Conway (Trustee – 2019-2023). We offer these three ‘new Eastside alumni’ our deepest gratitude for their great service over recent years, some of which have been so challenging for us all.
We have also recently welcomed Rosemary Foster to the team, taking on the position of Schools Engagement Coordinator. Rosemary will be supporting the coordination and delivery of our school programmes, including Artists in Residence, Eastside School Workshops and Spoken Word Power. Welcome Rosemary!
Creative Schools Symposium
Throughout November we have been delivering our annual Creative Schools Symposium 2023 for all educators: from teachers of all phases to creative practitioners and artists educators. The Symposium included a series of workshops, discussions and ideas sharing.
We explored the theme of creativity, culture and wellbeing within education.
We had partners, presenters and participants from seven East London boroughs and delivered sessions in a number of artforms from visual arts to music and dance. This year to honour the theme of wellbeing and thanks to our generous partners we also included a series of opportunities for educators to go and see shows and exhibitions.
Be sure to check out the resources page from this year’s event and keep an eye out for next year’s event, which will launch the 10th year of the Creative Schools’ programme.
Find out more.
April Foolery
Save the date: April 15th, 2024!
We’re excited to share that planning for April Foolery 2024 is well underway. We have some fab new stars joining the line up!
Stay tuned for tickets to be released in the New Year.
Finally as we approach the end of 2023, the whole Eastside team would like to wish you a very happy Christmas and New Year.
Please stay in touch with us and continue to support our life-changing work.
Matt and the Eastside team
🎄🎁☃️🎅🏼