Wandsworth Council’s flagship arts festival returns from 7-23 June 2024 and audiences are encouraged to leap into the undiscovered through an eclectic programme of art, music, dance, theatre, comedy, film, circus and street performance.
As part of Wandsworth’s commitment to supporting artist development, and creating meaningful experiences for local audiences, the WAF Grants help artists and organisations to make a positive impact in Wandsworth, working with our inspiring residents, communities, and places. For 2024, Wandsworth Council has distributed £24,785 among 15 recipients, including homegrown creatives and internationally acclaimed artists, for projects taking place over this year’s festival. The WAF Grants are funded directly by Wandsworth Council, with a maximum award of £2,000 per project.
Many of 2024’s funded projects explore and support health and wellbeing, recognising the impact that the arts can make on positive mental and physical health. A Piece of Mind uses interpretive dance to follow the story of Picasso’s painting, The Weeping Woman. Brought to you by Energy Beans, a dance company made up of adults with learning disabilities, A Piece of Mind celebrates the power of unity, the joy of movement, and the rich tapestry of life.
“I am very proud that Energy Beans are putting their show on stage again after performing it at Putney Arts Theatre earlier this year. Receiving the WAF 2024 Grant gives us a second opportunity to perform our amazing show and give a new audience the experience. Bring on Summer 2024!” – Louise Hodson, Energy Beans Dance Tutor, The Baked Bean Charity
In Tooting, All Saints Church will host The Golden Tent, an immersive sensory installation and space of refuge and contemplation. Unity in Motion, a partnership project by Hallomai Dance and Nine Elms Arts Ministry, will offer free wellbeing dance sessions, and On the Clouds Kids’ yoga story sessions will take young people and their families in a range of age groups, from babies right up to teenagers on an adventure and bring them the health benefits and mindfulness that comes from yoga practice. Group 64 Theatre for Young People also celebrate positive mental health in their show, Spreading the Joy, an exciting interactive journey through space!
“Group 64 are passionate about the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. We are thrilled that due to funding from WAF we can reach out to even more children and be part of such an exciting and innovative festival!” Nicola Sterry, Company Director, Group 64 Theatre for Young People
Discovering the shared histories of Wandsworth’s migrant community is another exciting theme for WAF’s funded programme this year. Multimedia production, Engelchen, by musician Alison Cotton, will use her music, talks and a poem read by local poets to explore the lives of Ida and Louise Cook, local residents and opera fans who rescued 29 Jews from the Nazis, focussing on the relevance of this story to refugee experiences today. Home is Where the Art is by creative tour guide History Speak and poet Hilaire will follow the artistic process of Kenyan-born artist, poet and civil servant Khadambi Asalache, who drew inspiration from all over the world to transform his home at 575 Wandsworth Road with intricate hand-carved fretwork and paintings. The project will include a guided walk from the Battersea Power Station Tube to the National Trust property 575 Wandsworth Road for a tour of the house and a workshop. On the walk participants will document their impressions through stories, sketches and gathered texts. Swallow’s Wings Puppetry are bringing to WAF their Offie-nominated puppet show, Anansi & the Lost Sun, telling traditional West African stories. The performance is a springboard to learn about the journey of the Anansi stories from Africa, following enslaved African people to the Caribbean and then the migration of their descendants to the UK with the Windrush generation. Windrush Day, on 22 June, falls on the final Saturday of the festival this year. Caff Pictures’ Full(y) English documentary considers what it means to be migrant-British, in the context of the Great British Caff. Whether Turkish, Italian, Greek or Caribbean, these ‘Fully English’ spaces become sites of assimilation for the people who run them. Join Caff Pictures for a slap-up screening of Fully English, followed by a Q&A and a workshop.
“We’re so thrilled to have the funding to document and explore this aspect of London and Wandsworth that so many interact with and enjoy, but few take seriously as places of real cultural importance. We can’t wait to see where the journey takes us” – Ferdie Simon, Caff Pictures
An ongoing focus of WAF’s grant funded projects is on bringing the community together. Back by popular demand after winning the WAF 2023 Audience Choice Award with their inaugural event last year, Furzedown Pridestavaganza 2024 is set to be another evening filled with neighbourhood fun, music, drag acts and LGBTQ+ comedians, celebrating Pride Month in the borough. G23LAB’s latest mesmerising laser-light sculpture and soundscape, The Everyperson, will be an acknowledgment of our shared humanity. The sculpture will go on a pilgrimage, starting at St. Mary’s Church Putney during WAF, before visiting places of worship associated with the different major world religions. All Saints Tooting Arts Festival, building on previous successes, will delight us with a diverse programme embodying community cohesion including dance, visual arts, music and spoken word events.
“All Saints is delighted to be able to participate in celebrating the diversity of our borough through visual arts and performance.” Reverend Professor June Boyce-Tillman, All Saints Church
Finally, there’s plenty of fun in store for all the family! Don’t miss BrainFools’ Community Circus Day, filled with circus taster sessions, giant soap bubbles and delicous popcorn! Your Bay, My Bay, Our Bay will invite children aged 6 – 11 years old to shape vibrant streets through creative workshops, fostering a community where every child’s voice transforms our shared spaces, and The Grow Roehampton Street Band, made up of talented young musicians from local primary schools, will bring brass, wind and marching drums to the streets of Roehampton.
Councillor Kemi Akinola, Wandsworth Council’s Deputy Leader and cabinet member for the voluntary sector, business engagement and culture says:
“Wandsworth Arts Fringe is celebrating its 15th anniversary, and I am delighted that through the council’s WAF Grants we can support creatives to bring such a high standard of cultural projects again to areas throughout Wandsworth for another spectacular festival. At last year’s WAF launch we announced Wandsworth’s bid to become London Borough of Culture 2025 and in March 2024 we’ll find out the outcome, if successful we hope this will allow us to build on the power of culture to change lives, connect people and improve wellbeing.”
