Culture

This is Liberty

24 August 2023

The next London Borough of Culture festival on our radar is Liberty. The free arts festival celebrating the work of deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists hits our town for three days from Friday 1...
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This is Croydon Stands Tall

17 August 2023

You may remember back in February us talking about giraffes covered in art roaming our streets. No? Well if not see here. Since then Croydon BID and Wild in Art (who are the organisations...
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This is Purley Community Festival

10 August 2023

It’s great to hear that Croydon’s festival season continues beyond August. Now we’re nearing the halfway mark of the school summer holidays, I’m scanning the September calendar for events to look forward to.  One...
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In good company

3 August 2023

I continue to be surprised and impressed by the number of names linked to Croydon; famous actors, musicians, inventors, activists, writers… the list goes on. So this week dear readers, in my research I...
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This is Croydon Carnival

26 July 2023

Summer festival season is well underway in Croydon, and this year because we’re the London Borough of Culture (in case you didn’t know 🙂) the festivals are coming at us thicker and faster than...
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This is Pride and Mela

12 July 2023

This weekend is a busy one with free* double festival fun in Wandle Park. Croydon PrideFest returns this Saturday (15 July) and Croydon Mela is back on Sunday (16 July). This year both festivals...
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The wilder side of Croydon

6 July 2023

Earlier this week we headed to Thornton Heath Library for the launch of the Rural Croydon exhibition by artist, photographer and writer Ameena Rojee. Commissioned by This Is Croydon in partnership with The National...
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CR0 Summer Exhibition

29 June 2023

Last week I headed to a new art gallery in town – well a new gallery to me anyway, because actually Croydon Art Space has been just a short walk from East Croydon Station, on...
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50 years of Orleta

22 June 2023

This week we catch up with the award-winning founder, choreographer, and artistic director of Orleta Polish Dance Company, Basia Klimas-Sawyer, to find out about the company’s upcoming 50th anniversary concert. On Saturday 1 July,...
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This is Recognition

15 June 2023

I was excited to see Talawa’s new production, Recognition, earlier this week, which forms part of the This Is Croydon programme. Written by Amanda Wilkin and directed by Rachael Nanyonjo, Recognition parallels the stories...
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David, meet Joanna

8 June 2023

Earlier this week I popped along to the Arts Bar, which, if you are unfamiliar, is the bar connected to the David Lean Cinema, in the Clocktower complex. I was there at the invitation...
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The organic art of Melanie Russell

25 May 2023

This week we chat with Croydon-based artist Melanie Russell whose art we showcased on our social media headers earlier this year. A Streatham resident, Melanie works in a studio at ASC Art House, Grafton...
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Swap it, grow it, fix it

17 May 2023

Continuing our series of features on the climate, where we discuss the climate crisis with Croydon businesses and individuals, this week we chat with founder of Sustainable Thornton Heath, Ian Morris, ahead of their...
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An interestingly different store

9 May 2023

Now we do ‘occasionally’ head outside of Croydon, and even sometimes into our neighbouring borough of Sutton (albeit usually to mix up our park visits with watery greenspaces like Beddington Park or Carshalton Ponds)....
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Hamsey Greens’ microgreens

3 May 2023

Since 2019 we have been running a series of features on the climate, where we chat with different Croydon businesses and individuals about the ways in which they combat the climate crisis. This week...
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This is Fashion Meets Music

27 April 2023

Croydon is now officially the London Borough of Culture, so this week we continue our chats with creative organisations involved in the programme. Here we chat with Fashion Meets Music co-founders, sisters, Lizzy Lambie and Dennica...
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Five facts about Peggy

12 April 2023

Whilst I was at the Fairfield Halls earlier this month enjoying the Oratorio of Hope in the Concert Hall, it got me thinking about their other main performance space, the Ashcroft Theatre, and its...
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We heart Heartworms

6 April 2023

Croydon’s music scene and connections continue to flourish, spanning multiple genres and cultures. This week’s connection is pretty much one of the most talked about new artists on the tipping point of huge stardom....
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This is the Oratorio of Hope

29 March 2023

This weekend sees the opening event of Croydon’s year as London Borough of Culture with the Oratorio of Hope at the Fairfield Halls. An original eight-movement composition commissioned by London Mozart Players it’s an...
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This is BirdGang

23 March 2023

The launch of Croydon’s London Borough of Culture is just over a week away, so we are continuing our chats with creative organisations involved with the programme. Here we catch up with Kendra Horsburgh,...
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