Following a challenging period for cultural and live music venues, Broadwick Live celebrates the opening of one of the biggest and most significant new cultural spaces in recent years – Beams.
The venue opened with a highly anticipated inaugural AW22 music series curated by Broadwick Live and LWE, the team behind the landmark music season that opened Printworks London, another Broadwick venue back in 2017. Saturday 15 October saw Chicago-native Honey Dijon’s new concept ‘Radiance,’ dazzle crowds at The Beams, featuring an eclectic hand-picked selection including rising star Dan Shake, dance music veteran Mr. G [live], Ibiza stalwart Natasha Diggs, Eliza Rose and many more. The show witnessed a crowd of 5,000 people enter the newly opened venue, signalling an exciting new chapter for the London cultural scene.
Beams, Centre for New Culture, in the heart of the Royal Docks, has been created by Broadwick Live – the group behind some of the UK’s most ambitious and acclaimed venues, events and creative development projects. The Beams breathes new life into a stunning 55,000 sq feet / 5,000 capacity former industrial warehouse complex on Factory Road near London City Airport that will now act as a testbed for culture in all its forms.
In addition to its programme of diverse music, The Beams’ stunning spaces will be a home to world-class contemporary cultural programme and immersive experiences, with its wider culture programme to be announced shortly.
The opening of Beams follows Broadwick Live’s recent announcement that they are in detailed talks with developers British Land to secure the future of Printworks London, with the ambition that the award-winning venue – widely acclaimed as one of the most ambitions and innovative cultural spaces in the UK – returns to the former printing presses following a period of redevelopment of the site.
As with Printworks and other venues in the Broadwick Live portfolio, The Beams will operate under a hybrid multi-use model. When it is not used for public cultural programming, The Beams will provide versatile space for modern industrial usage such as set builds, film and art production, photo shoots, brand events, and fashion shows.
Simeon Aldred, Director of Strategy at Broadwick Live says:
“Our spaces and venues are not traditional in the sense that they adopt conventional titles like theatre, cultural venue or conference centres. Beams, like all Broadwick Live venues, are fluid spaces that are continuously reconfigured and transformed to create new and exciting spatial environments that are filled with a variety of incredible content. Complete set builds, fashion shows, visual-arts, music, culture, film, brand experiences, represent just a few examples of activity that will take place”
