Stratford Arts Trust, the charity that ran Stratford Circus Arts Centre since 2012, will cease operations at the end of the month.

After losing the Theatre Square venue that was their home for nine years and consequently the funding from Arts Council England, the charity wants to ensure that a legacy of cultural service to the local community is put in place.

As part of their solvent winding-up process, Stratford Arts Trust will allocate £125,000 to three local charities that run art organisations.

Eastside Educational Trust will be granted £50,000 to run Creative Schools + Colleges, a programme aimed at education institutions with limited art and cultural provision.

Photo caption: Create Schools + Colleges’ Slow Symposium 2021 will run until 18 November and will be Stratford Arts Trust’s final hosting event.

Spitalfields Music will receive another £50,000 to continue running the New Young Voice Collective (NewYVC), a Newham-based mixed-age youth choir.

The remaining £25,000 will be given to Face Front Inclusive Theatre to continue running Blue Sky Actors, a group of adults with learning difficulties or disabilities. Their Artistic Director, Ray Downing, said:

“The Blue Sky Actors are a prime example of why we exist – inclusive, playful, full of wonder and jolly good fun for all. We are extremely proud of our partnership with Stratford Arts Trust. The legacy funding for the group means we have a guaranteed future. Thank you.”

The group meets every Saturday afternoon to work on performances built from issue-led creative exercises. Their production It’s My Move is about to start a six-week tour.

The funding was distributed according to each group’s running expenses and should cover their activities’ production costs at least until August next year. Stratford Arts Trust’s Chair, Georgina Philippou, said:

“Our legacy partners share our ethos and passion for these projects and we are excited they will continue providing artistic opportunities for people in Newham well into the future.”

The trust has also announced the East London Emerging Artist Research and Development Awards. Local emerging artists Korantema Anyimadu, Chloe Bailey, Mathias Lemaitre, Maria Majewska and Anna Strickland are the five winners of the individual £2,000 grants.

The awards are a contribution to five projects that aim to connect communities in East London, including: a photography project; a theatre production exploring heritage and migration in the Polish community; an illustrated guide to East London’s hidden places; a heritage zone exploring under-documented heritage of Black and Asian people and a series of art therapy workshops for children.

Any remaining reserves held by Stratford Arts Trust, at the point the liquidation process is complete in early 2022, will be distributed to grassroots organisations operating in Newham.

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