We Are Lewisham
Lewisham kick off their London Borough of Culture year on the Friday 28 January with a joyous, day long celebration of events, activities and performances.
London Borough of Culture puts culture at the heart of local communities, and Lewisham’s Day One does just that, with artists in residence in every ward of the borough leading everything from sing-a-longs, spoken word and sculpture-making from abandoned objects.
Young people are at the heart of We Are Lewisham and will get everyone moving on Day One. At the strike of midday, every primary school student in the borough will perform the LBOC BOP, a specially choreographed dance to usher in the new year of culture. Anyone can join in from home too, there’s still time to learn the dance, which will be streamed online. Later in the year, young people will lead on We Are Lewisham's call to action on the climate emergency.
Day One will bring people together with Lewisham residents, artists and local legends collaborating to weave an ‘Identity Tapestry’ creating a beautiful and enduring artwork encapsulating the the story of the borough. Throughout 2022 local people from the borough’s diverse communities will come together to tell a striking new story of Lewisham’s recent past In Living Memory.
Projections in Piccadilly Circus and across sites in the borough will bring the stories of the people of Lewisham into the heart of London.
Lewisham is the third London Borough to be crowned London Borough of Culture, after Waltham Forest in 2019 and Brent in 2020. It was transformative for those boroughs, embedding culture into fabric of how councils and residents work together. It promises to leave a long lasting legacy in Lewisham too; partnerships between the council and arts sector have deepened and Artists of Change will be embedded into the council to test new ways of working and encouraging thinking from different perspectives.
London Borough of Culture has given Londoners the opportunity to experience the capital’s fantastic cultural riches and increase the level of participation in the arts and creativity across the city. We Are Lewisham promises to be a beautiful shared year, where grassroots creativity shines and the potential of young Londoners is unleashed.