Next meeting – 13 January
The next General Meeting of the Forum will be on Monday 13 January from 6-30 pm at the Advocacy Academy, 2 Beehive Place SW9 7QR (off Brixton Station Road, entrance shared with Photofusion).
The main topic will be to follow up our decision last month to pursue a Neighbourhood Plan. We will also hear about Lambeth Council’s latest thinking about what will replace the Pop Brixton site.
Help get us over the line
We have plenty of organisations on our mailing list, but to qualify to make a Neighbourhood Plan, we need to show we have enough individual members, whether living or working in the area we want the Plan to cover. If you have not renewed membership in the past year, or already handed in a membership form, please fill in a simple form to confirm your home or workplace address, and return it to the Forum Secretary at apiperbrix@aol.com or through the letterbox at 82 Mayall Road, SE24 0PJ. Forms available digitally as a Word file – or as paper copies – from the above.
More Events coming up
Brockwell Park Greenhouses
Sunday 19 January: Fermentation Workshop, 12-30 to 2-30 pm in the Barn, fee £35 to £45.
Repeat sessions on 9 February, 16 March.
Sunday 26 January: Creative Writing – Our Garden in the City, led by Tracey Hammett, 10 am to 12-30, fee £25 to £35.
Repeat sessions on 23 February, 23 March.
For more details and all bookings, see
https://www.brockwellgreenhouses.com/events
Brixton House Theatre Events
Brixton House Community Choir is welcoming new members for 2025 – but the final date to register is Monday 17 February.
Learn to sing in different musical styles including soul, jazz, gospel, folk, pop and reggae. Sessions on Mondays 7pm to 9pm from 20 January to 31 March.
Tones – a Hip Hop Opera returns for another run, 4 to 15 February, ages 15+.
Providers is a new play about family, love, money and what we do when we don’t have enough of them. Q & A session after each performance, 25 to 29 March, ages 12+.
For full events list and bookings, see www.brixtonhouse.co.uk
Brixton life in photographs
The Endz Game – You’ve been framed is the current exhibition in the Olive Morris Room at Lambeth Archives on Brixton Hill. It shows photographs taken since 2013 by iCha of JetBlakInk, publisher of the Waiting2XHair zine and a Brixton resident for almost 50 years.
It can be seen during normal opening hours until 23 January.
Wellbeing at Windmill Gardens
Sessions are starting up again in the Education Centre next to Brixton Windmill. Enquiries to info@brixtonwindmill.org
Tai Chi: Beginners age 50+, fee £4 per session, Wednesdays 10-30 am from 8th January.
Outdoor sessions in Windmill Gardens, no age restrictions, pay what you can, Saturdays at 11-30 am from 11 January.
Pilates on Fridays at 12-30 pm from 10 January.
Community Club for people aged 55+, Thursdays 10 am to 2 pm.
Yoga (with Wild Balance) Fridays 9 to 11 am, from 17 January, enquiries/bookings to hello@wildbalance.co.uk
Health and Social Care
Lambeth Health Survey
Lambeth Healthwatch wants to know which aspects of health and social care matter to you and your family. Healthwatch will make sure your feedback is shared with NHS leaders and used to improve services.
Their Lambeth Pulse survey is open until the end of January – find it at bit.ly/HWLperspective
Change NHS Webinars
As part of a national listening exercise, SE London’s Integrated Care System offer a choice of 2 webinar dates to canvas views on moving more care from hospitals to community services, making better use of technology and more emphasis on prevention rather than just treatment. Sessions will be on:
Monday 20 January, 12 – 2 pm, or
Wednesday 5 February, 6 – 8 pm.
Enquiries to engagement@nhssoutheastlondon-external.008.com or register via Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/change-nhs-webinar-help-build-a-health-service-fit-for-the-future-tickets-110450697308
Mental Health First Aid Courses
Ecosystem Coldharbour is hosting a Youth Mental Health First Aid Course on 27 & 28 January, 9-30 am to 4-30 pm each day at the Marcus Lipton Centre, Minet Road, SW9 7UH.
Learn how to support young people’s mental health effectively. Please book via connect@ecosystemcoldharbour.org
Brixton BID is holding a shorter Adult Mental Health First Aid Course (Level 2) on 20 February, 10 am to 4 pm, venue tbc. Free to BID members and their staff – book by e-mail to admin@brixtonbid.co.uk
Other News
Lambeth Civic Awards
Missed out on an MBE again this year? At least the Civic Awards are still to come – and there are categories to recognise the whole team as well as individual efforts. Take it as an opportunity to raise the profile of your organisation – nominations must be in before 26 January – see www.lambeth.gov.uk/awards
Presentations are expected in April.
Myatt’s Fields Park
Work is due to start this month on adapting the old depot buildings near Cormont Road to better support the work of the Myatt’s Fields Park Project. Completion is not expected until this time next year.
Some facilities are suspended during the winter months, but the café is usually open every day between 9 am and 4 pm.
Fabric Floor at International House
The Fabric Floor is a fashion and textiles workspace managed by Assemble within International House, on its 8th floor.
Space is available to rent on a monthly basis until March 2027, ranging from £265 for an open-plan desk with hanging space, to a private studio up to 5.5 x 9m at £1785 pcm. This includes all premises bills and shared access to a workshop with industrial machines, kitchen and classroom.
More details at https://assemblestudio.co.uk/workspace/fabric-floor or contact (020) 7237 0000 or fabricfloor@assemblestudio.co.uk
In case you missed them…
It can be hectic in the run-up to Christmas, and then many people took a long break, so we are repeating a few items from last month.
Children and Youth Activities
The range of activities is continuing to grow at the St. Vincent’s Centre in Talma Road, SW2 1AS.
Rhyme and Story Time is a new session for under-5s on Fridays, 10 am to 10-45 am, from 10th January onwards.
Other sessions resuming after the Christmas break will be:
Drama: Wednesdays 4-30 to 6 pm from 8th January, for ages 11-16.
Hip-Hop Dance: Saturdays 10 am to 11 am, from 11th January, for ages 8-16.
Arts and Cooking: Saturdays 12 to 2 pm from 11th January, for ages 8-13.
To register for any of these sessions, please e-mail to LeanneT@svp.org.uk
Step-up Courses at 198
Free entry-level courses are being offered by 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning for Lambeth residents aged 19+ and unemployed or low-waged.
Film & Video every Tuesday from 28 January to 1st April, 11-30 to 5 pm at 198 Railton Road, SE24 0JT.
Art & Design every Wednesday from 29 January to 2nd April, 11-30 to 5 pm at 198 Railton Road, SE24 0JT.
To register your interest, please complete the on-line form at https://forms.office.com/zejAKpjdnJ
They are also promoting a 6-week Photography course in conjunction with Photofusion, on Mondays and Tuesdays 10 am to 2-40 pm from 27 January at Unit 2, 2 Beehive Place. Enquiries to Steff@photofusion.org
Classes in Printing Techniques
Hausprint have several courses lined up for the New Year in techniques such as etching, monoprint, drypoint and aquatint.
Hausprint Studio is at Vincent’s Yard, 23 Alphabet Mews (off Hillyard Street) SW9 0FN. Enquiries to michelle@hausprint.studio
Community Arts at Art4Space
A wide choice of crafts sessions and courses for the New Year are being offered at their studios at 31 Jeffreys Road, SW4 6QU. Some of them are free to eligible age groups.
For more details, see their new-style website at www.art4space.co.uk
Funding, Training & Support
Grant Deadlines
The usual reminder about approaching deadlines for various grant schemes. These were first circulated by Integrate, so contact eoin.heffernan@integrateagency.co.uk
if you missed them.
The Salters Charitable Foundation offers grants up to £10,000 for charities or CIOs for work with disadvantaged communities. Deadline is 20 January.
Lambeth Mental Health Inequalities Fund is offering grants up to £20,000 to support work with Black, Latin American or Portuguese-speaking residents of Lambeth. Closing date is 24 January.
Lambeth Wellbeing Fund offers grants between £1000 and £5000 to support projects that tackle social isolation and help people manage their health conditions. Deadline Friday 31 January.
Charles Hayward Foundation invites bids for its Social and Criminal Justice programme – deadline Friday 31 January.
The Foyle Foundation is closing its grants programme, so your last chance to apply for its small grants scheme, offering up to £10,000 for grassroots charities supporting the young, vulnerable, elderly or disadvantaged. Deadline 31 January.
Baobab Community Fund offers grants of up to £150,000 over 5 years to help Black-led or Global Majority groups tackle racial injustice. (This was also circulated via Ubele). Deadline Monday 3rd February.
The Hedley Foundation offers grants up to £5000 to registered charities, deadline Wednesday 26 February.
The Rayner Foundation offers grants up to £90,000 over 3 years towards work on mental health and well-being for young people and refugees, or potentially older people and their carers. Applications reviewed on a rolling basis.
The Masonic Charitable Foundation offers grants up to £15,000 to registered charities with an annual income of at least £25,000, to support work with children or carers. Again, applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Support for Enterprise
Future Makers Innovate Programme:
A reminder that the Remakery is starting a free 8-week incubator programme to help you turn a business idea into reality.
It comes with a year of free workshop space, ongoing one-to-one support, access to their network of green initiative supporters and the chance to pitch for £500 to £1000 of seed funding.
The programme starts on 7th January and workshops run until 25 February, held at The Remakery at the corner of Lilford and Paulet Roads, SE5. Enquiries to alice@remakery.org or see www.remakery.org/future-makers
Innovation Funding Service:
Creative micro-businesses or SMEs with ideas for tools or products for the creative supply chain should explore this. UK-registered businesses can apply for a share of a £2 million fund to develop new products for UK creative industries. Search collaborative R&D: Creative Catalyst at https://auth.apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk
Support for Walking & Cycling
Transport for London and the London Marathon Foundation run a grant scheme for community groups as part of the Walking and Cycling Grants Programme. The aim is to encourage more active modes of travel, with priority to those who are underrepresented. Average grants are £2400 to £3000.
More details via www.tfl.gov.uk
Support for Arts and History
Once again the Paul Mellon Centre is offering a variety of grants towards publications, research, exhibitions and events on the history of art or architecture. Closing date is 31 January – to apply, see
http://grants.paul-mellon-centre.ac.uk
Keep in Touch
We want our bulletins to reach all community organisations, social enterprises and activists in the wider Brixton area. Please contact us at admin@brixtonneighbourhoodforum.org
- If you want to be added to our mailing list, or to add a colleague or neighbour.
- If you want these bulletins sent to a different e-mail address, so that you see them more quickly or reliably.
- If you have moved away or are no longer interested.
Your Forum Bulletins
If you are doing something around the Brixton area – an event, a new service, or making changes in what you already do – you are welcome to use these bulletins to tell other Forum members. That’s well over 550 on our current list, normally issued via MailChimp. If need be, we can supply it as a Word file or even paper copies.
We aim to circulate around the 10th of each month, but that can slip because we work on a very part-time basis. Play safe and send items to the Forum Secretary at apiperbrix@aol.com by the 3rd of the month.
See more about the Forum on our webs