The Borough of Culture is a programme run by the Mayor of London to promote culture across the capital. Waltham Forest is the 2019 Borough of Culture; Brent is scheduled to be Borough of Culture in 2020. With applications now open to be the Borough of Culture in 2021 and 2023, and £1.35m on offer to the winning boroughs to support the development of a year-long cultural programme, Hounslow is bidding.
Being awarded the London Borough of Culture would bring enormous benefit to Hounslow. The council believes it would be a great opportunity to get investment into the borough, showcase what makes Hounslow special, and use culture as a catalyst for other good things.
Hounslow is a welcoming, self-starting, hard-working borough with a healthy dose of grit, eye-twinkling magic and heaps of potential. It’s one of the most connected places in the world. The council wants to use the bid to unlock more of Hounslow’s magic by using culture to connect the parts, to mix differences to create value, see further and imagine better for the borough. The council says it wants to “create an unstoppable movement of people, ideas and opportunity because we believe culture sets potential free”.
The council aims to emphasise civic pride and lay to rest the perception of Hounslow as a place people pass through on the way to somewhere else, showcasing instead the amazing things that happen within the borough.
As welcome as additional funding might be, winning Borough of Culture is more than additional investment; it’s very much focused on the strengthened links and collaborations, the mobilisation and sharing of ideas and aspirations throughout the borough; creating a cultural superhighway and unleashing an unstoppable movement of people, ideas and opportunity.
Councillor Samia Chaudhary, Cabinet Member for Culture at Hounslow Council said: “The London Borough of Culture award would be a fantastic boost for Hounslow and would enable us to kickstart an unstoppable movement of people, ideas and opportunity throughout the borough and create better community cohesion, while showcasing the borough’s wonderful assets to the wider London community and beyond.
“This is an opportunity not to be missed and we urge all residents and stakeholders of the borough to support our bid and get involved in shaping it so that it truly reflects the aspirations of all.”
