Culture Strategy
Culture is an essential ingredient for our cities. As well as generating tourism and boosting the economy, culture brings us together and helps define the places we love. Having great transport and efficient roads alone isn’t enough – cities also need a soul, so threading culture through all aspects of city life is key. Team London Bridge’s culture strategy brings businesses and cultural organisations together, to make sure London Bridge thrives as a vital part of our capital. Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor Culture and the Creative Industries, Mayor of London
Culture Strategy 1
Our Vision
London Bridge will be the front stage that creates our favourite memories of the city through innovative and contemporary cultural programming. The ambition of the culture offer and programme is to become the destination for everyone to experience what makes London the world leader for culture and creativity. Whether coming here to work or take in the iconic vistas, enjoy some respite mid journey or to celebrate the best that the capital has to offer – the area will become the destination for everyone to savour the essence of contemporary London. When you imagine London, you will think of London Bridge.
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Culture Landscape London Bridge is the city’s Front Stage. It is the oldest continuously inhabited part of the city and has been a commercial dynamo for centuries.
Today London Bridge is home to a community of businesses that range from multinationals to art galleries and seats of government. A thriving commercial hub and destination, it buzzes with an energy synonymous with London. In order to achieve its vision of ‘a globally significant, historic and vibrant place of modern commerce, enterprise and creativity,’ Team London Bridge sets forth an ambitious Culture Strategy that makes it an international exemplar of a Business Improvement District engaging culture and creative industries.
London Bridge boasts a riverfront with iconic views of historic Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast, alongside contemporary architecture of Renzo Piano’s The Shard and Sir Norman Foster’s More London, that visually define ‘London’. The new Shard Quarter and London Bridge Station’s redevelopment have brought many new retail and hospitality resources to the area; adding new public spaces and complementing Hay’s Galleria and shops occupying beautifully restored industrial infrastructure.
Culture and arts professionals are experts at creating stories, perspectives and memories through experience of both familiar and new places. Through the focus of this Strategy the resulting memories will develop our sense of place and positively affect our desire to stay and return. The Low Line development of historic railway arches will unite the exceptional food trade of Borough Market through to Maltby Street, enhancing the gateway to the boutiques, restaurants and pubs of Bermondsey Street.
As many of the area’s long-term development plans complete, it is the perfect time to consider how to welcome a greater, diverse, and dedicated audience. Through a culture programme balancing experiential changes of our public spaces and a commitment to support of culture and creative industries, London Bridge sets forth a vision and approach that inspires stakeholders to stay, invest and attracts new followers. We invite you to share in our open secrets.
The returning Southwark Playhouse and new Bridge Theatre join the Unicorn Theatre to make a solid destination for innovative productions. King’s College London Guy’s Campus boasts the new Science Gallery London and neighbours the historic and intimate Old Operating Theatre Museum.
At the Unicorn we’re proud to be part of an amazing Southwark hub – a melting pot of the emerging and the established, the old school and the wildly iconoclastic. Through the work on our stages and in front of our audiences, we want to continue to reflect the rich diversity and exuberance of our global capital city. London Bridge hosts a truly world class cultural offer, and we’re thrilled to be part of it. Anneliese Davidson – Unicorn Theatre
Culture Strategy 3
50,000
1 Hay’s Galleria 2 Unicorn Theatre 3 Science Gallery London
local employees
Exhibition
400+ businesses located here
350,000 travellers pass through the London Bridge Station every day
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3,000 residents call London Bridge home
10 million visitors a year take in the sights
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When King’s College London opens Science Gallery London in 2018 it joins the likes of HMS Belfast, Borough Market, Tower Bridge, and the Bridge Theatre in an area of rich cultural importance. The new Strategy will ingrain the values and aspirations of this community into future plans and capture the imagination of artists and scientists to showcase the area to the world. Daniel Glaser – Science Gallery London
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How do we How do we define culture? define our audience? We use ‘culture’ definition from the Improving Places report commissioned by Arts Council England and the Mayor of London. “As an umbrella term, it includes the creative industries, arts and cultural organisations, and sectors from visual and digital art, to theatre, film, music, dance, literature and fashion. Cultural organisations play a key role in defining the character and identity of the places we live, work and visit. They bring us together, help us to enjoy our cities and flourish personally. They also foster creativity and innovation, provide jobs and celebrate heritage”.
We are excited at the prospect of being part of a strategy which will raise London Bridge’s profile as a cultural hub of London. This is such an exciting time for the area and we look forward to joining together with other nearby landmark assets to help create something really special.
We live in a time where residents, employees and visitors explore cities as urban adventurers in search of distinctive and authentic experiences. London Bridge’s Culture Strategy seeks to create experiences and access that brings the traditional, disparate audience profiles together in a new, united profile. The objectives to make London Bridge a place to go to (rather than through) focus on audience profile based upon times of day and cultural experiences in public spaces.
Kimberly Speyer – Broadgate Estates
Tower Bridge is symbolic of London and brings diverse influences together. This Culture Strategy for the London Bridge area will share these virtues and build a stage to showcase the very best of the capital here. Chris Earlie – Tower Bridge
Science
Heritage
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Design
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Theatre
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Culture Strategy 5
1 Guy’s Hospital 2 Emblem House 3 Fashion & Textile
Museum 4 Bridge Theatre 5 Fashion & Textile
Museum 6 Alex Monroe Jewellery 7 Maltby Street Market 8 Gibbon’s Rent
Museums & Galleries
Enterprises
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Food
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Public Realm
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Our Cultural Mission
We commit to engaging the city’s cultural sector to creatively and continuously reveal the diverse landscape of London Bridge as the epitome of a global capital. The Culture Strategy is the area’s long-term commitment to provide a consistent creative heartbeat.
The public programme will shift perceptions by revealing new experiences day and night throughout the public space Platforms:
By supporting existing assets, offers and platforms, Team London Bridge commits to keeping the identity of London Bridge synonymous with the city’s dynamism. Additional guidance will be made available to create ambitious new experiences with cultural partners and artists.
1. Front Stages
Partnerships will be sought to bring major celebrations for the city here and to capture relevant moments for the area, while future change in London Bridge will be kept appropriately ambitious through planning guidance.
The River Gateways Gatherings 2. Intrigue 3. Corridors 4. Insiders 5. London Bridge Hive See definitions pp. 8 –11
Culture Strategy 7
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Platforms
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Front Stages of London
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These larger open spaces invite spectacle, statements and engagement that reflect the important moments for London through temporary artistic innovation of static and performing arts. These will affect positive displacement that surprises both the regular and once-only visitor to look up and take in their environment.
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The River This stage has the greatest visibility and framing of iconic landmarks that identify the city.
1 HMS Belfast 2 Tower Bridge 3 The Scoop 4 London Bridge City 5 London Bridge Station
concourse 6 King’s College London
colonnade 7 Hay’s Galleria 4
8 Potters Fields Park
Culture Strategy 9
Gateways The entrances into the area are grand (London Bridge Station, London Bridge and Tower Bridge), and are perfect frames to create drama.
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Gatherings These slightly closed areas offer a sensation of respite and provide more focus or intimacy. They can facilitate curated programmes of screenings, special performances and sculptural environments. 6
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1 Kentish Buildings 2 Gibbon’s Rent 3 Bermondsey Tunnel 4 Unicorn Theatre 5
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Intrigue Yards and plazas which draw the audience through portals and concentrate attention for installations or performance. Presenting unexpected content and drawing people off their routine walks, taking them on new journeys – highlighting heritage interests that may have gone unnoticed.
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Corridors There are vital connectors of the area between boundaries of the station, roads or from behind tall buildings. These areas should be canvases for permanent or semi-permanent art works that make a commitment to the community that the area remains open.
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Culture Strategy 11
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Insiders The institutions in the area represent innovation of purpose: Southwark Playhouse redefines amateur and professional performers; Unicorn provides adventurous and highly literate youth theatre; Bridge Theatre rolls out a new commercial model outside the West End. Science Gallery London engages youth in curation; Fashion & Textile Museum explores the making of Design; the Old Operating Theatre exemplifies the micro-museum. Repurposing of unexpected stages that can be interpreted for cultural use, including commercial buildings and virtual engagement. 4
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London Bridge Hive
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This street-front dedicated space will be programmed for further exploration and interpretation of cultural offerings, through exhibition, talks or intimate screenings to provide depth of engagement related to the public realm programme. 6
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Lond on Br idge
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9 Lond on B City P ridge ier
8 River Path
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2 No.1 London Bridge London Bridge Hospital
Borough Market
Hay’s Galleria Ha y’s Ln
To ole yS t
N Bu ew ild s ing
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Bo ro ug hH ig hS t
Lo nd on
Br idg eS t
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Shard Quarter
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The Shard
King’s College London 22
Gre at M aze Pon d
ey St onds Berm
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Guy’s Hospital
Westo n St
Guy’s Memorial Garden
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London Bridge Station
St Th om as St
Science Gallery London
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Cottons Centre
Ba ttl eB rid ge Ln
Sout h Cath wark edra l
Ne wc om en St
Me lio rS t
23 London Bridge Hive Snowsfields
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Front Stages of London
The River
Gateways
Gatherings
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London Bridge
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London Bridge Station
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Potters Fields Park
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The Queen’s Walk
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Tower Bridge
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The Scoop
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London Bridge
King’s College London / Science Gallery London courtyard
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HMS Belfast
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London Bridge City Pier
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Guy’s Memorial Garden
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River Thames, Pool of London
Culture Strategy 13
N W 5 4
E S
River Thames
HM SB elfa st
Tow er B rid ge
The Que en’s Walk
7 London Bridge City
3 The Scoop
City Hall
Potters Fields Park
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Un Th icor ea n tre To o
Bridge Theatre
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Th e Lo LaL nd iT on
Southwark Council
Bar nha mS t
Ho ly ro od
Sha nd S t
One Tower Bridge
Sh ad Th am es
Ga ins for d
Fa ir St
St
St
St
Cu rle w
ley St
Ho rse lyd ow nL n
Ma gda len
Tow er B rid ge Rd
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on & Fashi ile x Te t m u Muse
St
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Corridors
St
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Insiders
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Hay’s Galleria
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Bermondsey Street tunnel
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Bridge Theatre
London Bridge Hive
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Inns and Yards
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Unicorn Theatre
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Shard Quarter
The Low Line; St Thomas Street
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Fashion & Textile Museum
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The Low Line
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Science Gallery London
Tow er B ridg eR d
Intrigue
To ol ey
St John’s Churchyard Park
La fon eS t
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Dr ui d
Tow er B rid ge Rd
16 Cru cifix Lan e
London Bridge Hive
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Core Values London Bridge sets out to collaborate with partners on ambitious programming that engages with these core values of identity.
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Innovation
Bridges
Innovation is reflected in the ingenuity of government, commerce, medicine, science, culture, and transportation at iconic proportion that encourages similar ambition of thinking, scale and freshness.
Bridges literally define the area’s boundary and connect people. Metaphorically, the programme will explore partnerships and collaboration, as well as joined-up thinking, sectors and audiences.
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London
Heritage
London is diversity – a joyous, quirky and eclectic mix. The inns and yards off Borough High Street, futuristic commercial office landscape, large military vessel, surrounding residential populations, and railway platforms as long as The Shard is tall. Programming should explore a diversity of creators, scale, opportunity, duration and audience to reflect eccentricity.
Heritage is evident through tangible preservation and programmed celebration and interpreted through print, performance and digital interface.
5 Contemporary Contemporary issues, perspectives, and design should be showcased at London’s front stage. Whatever is important in the country’s capital should be reflected in what is presented in the area that holds London’s instantly identifiable urban skyline.
London Bridge is already thriving with a cultural pulse. As the new station opens in 2018 it is more important than ever that the area retains its integrity as it becomes the capital’s front stage. Ian Hanson – Network Rail
Culture Strategy 15
Our Commitment
The Culture Strategy will maintain a balance between the temporary, experiential shifts that excite and challenge our perspectives, and the embedded support of the area’s cultural organisations, to maintain our front stage status.
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Experiential shifts in the perception of place... Team London Bridge will support partnerships and collaborations through brokering relationships with stakeholders, enhancing communications to new audiences, seed funding when appropriate, curatorial support and building creative sector relationships that actively engage our CORE VALUES across our PLATFORMS to create:
• An engaged audience that participates both day and night, week and weekend.
• London Bridge Station as a concourse of creative intervention through temporary engagement in performance, installations and video art. • Potters Fields Park, King’s College London Memorial Garden and Science Gallery London courtyard become important community spaces through sculptural and performance or media presentation.
• A strong identity as a destination; somewhere with a variety of propositions that are bound by a shared cultural context. • A cultural offer that is free to the public so that it opens access for creation, participation and enjoyment for our audiences.
• Small-scale events with niche styles are presented across the Intrigue platforms. • Space at the London Bridge Hive for exhibition, talks and screenings. • Major festivals and celebrations as partners to create new, ambitious collaborations at London Bridge City. • Experimentation with heritage interpretation and wayfinding.
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Culture Strategy 17
...and sustained delivery through our London Bridge Plan Culture will be embedded throughout the London Bridge Plan against the four priorities:
Identity & Partnerships We aim to sustain our Insider offerings and identity by: • Supporting creative industries and partnership for greater visibility. • Collaborating on promotion and communications to better inform day and nighttime audiences. • Championing quality and restraint in selecting cultural partners.
Economy
Placeshaping
We will encourage sustainable enterprise and innovation by:
We will creatively enhance our environment by:
• Working with Southwark Council for cultural support for all development and maintaining importance of quality and diversity of the cultural offer.
• Assisting creative approaches to sustainability of the natural environment. • Supporting creative industries presence in the area.
• Building opportunity along the Low Line for the food industry linking Borough Market to Maltby Street Market. • Encouraging creative clusters; creative enterprises and innovative SMEs.
• Establishing a culture stakeholder network that is accessible, easy to work with and open to creative challenges encouraging innovative interpretation of the area’s heritage and identity.
• Celebrating boundarybreaking design and public art of stakeholders.
• Encouraging innovative wayfinding that promotes 24-hour activity. • Keeping the street-level business diverse and intriguing to pedestrians. • Supporting high-quality public realm commissions in major corridors that connect the district. 1 St John’s Churchyard
• Matchmaking with businesses for audience development promotion.
2 Hay’s Galleria 3 Maltby Street Market 4 Borough Market
• Enhancing place branding through dynamic digital representation of programming as a part of the district’s identity.
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Summer Festival 6 London Bridge Station 7 Fresh Air Square 8 Snowsfields
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Nothing ever becomes real till it is experienced. John Keats 17th Century St Thomas Street resident
Culture Strategy
Design by
London Bridge Team London Bridge London Bridge Hive 1 Melior Place London SE1 3SZ T: 020 7407 4701 E: info@teamlondonbridge.co.uk
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Photos by Georgina Piper Cover, 4,5,11,14
Laura McGregor
It all happens... @atlondonbridge #atlondonbridge
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www.atlondonbridge.com
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Mickey Lee 5,6,9,10,11,17,18
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