Hothouse
What is Hothouse?
Hothouse is an artist led development project for and at Deptford Lounge, starting in December 2015 and running for 16 months. Funded by Arts Council England,the project will establish a high-profile resident artistic company who will co-create a programme of quality events and participatory arts activities with visitors, local artists and resident groups. The programme will shape and enhance the role Deptford Lounge can play as a key cultural resource now and for future generations.
Hothouse will build on the current programme of activity and the creativity already beginning to flourish at
Deptford Lounge, by deepening involvement of local communities and residents in co-creating the future programme. It will inspire new work, reach and draw in new audiences and use currently underutilised spaces in and around Deptford Lounge.
About Deptford Lounge
Deptford Lounge is Lewisham Council’s award-winning building complex and civic space in the heart of
Deptford. It’s managed by the Albany - South-East London’s leading arts centre.
Deptford Lounge opened in 2012, facilities include a library, Tidemill primary school, sports and leisure facilities, health and wellbeing services, community, rehearsal and performance spaces (including the outdoor performance space of Giffin Square), a Council Access Point and a café. The meeting rooms include seven flexible training rooms and two ICT rooms.
Who is Hothouse aimed at?
Hothouse is aimed at current building users and participants and a wide variety our diverse, local communities.
Strands of work within the programme will engage some specific groups and communities including:
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Young people aged 10 to 19 years
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Lewisham’s Vietnamese community who current engage with Deptford Lounge infrequently
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Older people (over 60s) who are currently under represented among core building users
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Local Artists and Creative Groups - essential to Hothouse’s development as a cultural hub and involved as co-creators and collaborators via networking, projects and active participation
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Lewisham Council and Libraries and Deptford Lounge staff teams will work in new ways together through Hothouse, combining their knowledge and strengths
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A team of regular Deptford Lounge users will be recruited to support engagement of target groups and the wider public in the project.
What do we hope to get from Hothouse?
The wider impact of the project is to demonstrate how artists can collaborate in public spaces and how this cultural activity impacts on the local economy. The relationships developed will continue beyond the end of the project, ensuring links are maintained between the artists and Deptford Lounge.
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Hothouse
The project will strengthen working relationships between the project partners and relationships will be built with a range of artists and organisations. This will generate extra visitors to Deptford Lounge and increased usage of the services and spaces.
Legacy - we want to:
• Establish the Lounge as a cultural hub for the area
• Develop a shared language for the project partners and stakeholders
• Develop a volunteer body ’The Lounge Lovers’ who can co-programme and co-run aspects of the space taking ownership of the hub.
Who is Lead Artist for Hothouse?
The Lead Artist for Hothouse is Uninvited Guests: Paul Clarke, Richard Dufty and Jessica Hoffmann. Formed in
Bristol in 1998, the company’s work has toured nationally and internationally. They create entertaining and provocative performance that combines high-tech with low tech, the visceral with the virtual. Uninvited
Guests work in various contexts, focusing mainly on theatre but also producing installation and audio walks.
Their recent work has blurred the line between theatre and social festivities, with audiences joining in events that are celebratory and critical of these times.
Uninvited Guests are produced by Fuel.
Who are the Associate Artists for Hothouse?
We plan to have three Associate Artists working across the project: Bernadette Russell, Trikhon Theatre and an additional artist. The final Associate will be recruited after initial planning to help fill any gaps in skills and experience identified in the early stages.
Bernadette Russell is a writer, performer, theatre-maker and live artist. She creates interactive installations, live literature and spoken word performances, theatre, cabaret, podcasts and films, both as a solo artist and with her company, White Rabbit. Participation and people are at the centre of Bernadette’s practise, and her work provides a platform for people to tell their stories, particularly those whose stories might not usually be told or heard; the art she creates is usually seated in the belief that stories can change the world and drifts between personal and universal politics. Recent project, 366 Days of Kindness, a response to the London (and
UK) summer riots in 2011, was drawn out across a range of creative platforms – as a live show, installation, critical debate, participatory workshops and finally, a children’s book, which Bernadette extensively toured the USA to launch.
Trikhon Theatre is Anna Nguyen who works in collaboration with creative producer Ming Yu Lin. Anna studied at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (BA Hons. Acting, Collaborative and Devised Theatre) and established Trikhon (meaning ‘a particular wisdom to complete something’ in Vietnamese) in 2011. Trikhon’s work is seated in a collaborative creative process between director, producer and the performing company, towards an immersive experience for the audience where they too can share a dynamic in the way a story unfolds.
The additional artist will be appointed in response to the gaps, needs and wants that arise as the project develops. They could be anything from a filmmaker, dancer or painter, to a landscape gardener, chef or club night promoter.
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Hothouse
What role will the artists play in Hothouse?
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We want the artists to create and lead on the development of fantastic new work for Deptford
Lounge
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The creative brief and project ambition will be created with the artists and continue to develop with groups and users of the Lounge. We are confident this model can be used to create a range of quality and authentic artistic works and experiences, for a broad range of audiences and participants.
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The artists will work together to cover all bases of Hothouse – from attending programming meetings or chairing evaluation sessions, to running weekly activities to working closely with the project team on the ground. They will also play important roles in mentoring - between themselves, and for the wider pool of artists who will be part of the programme of events.
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Ultimately, they will jointly provide an active, present artistic voice within the Lounge across the life of the project to instil a legacy of creative learning, collaboration and imagination.
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The artists will take an active role in the development, promotion and marketing of Hothouse, supported by the production and marketing teams.
Who else will be involved in the management and delivery of Hothouse?
The project will establish an Executive Management Team to oversee a Project Team.
• The Executive Management Team will include, from the Albany: Chief Executive, Gavin Barlow, and
Head of Creative Programmes, Raidene Carter. For Lewisham Library and Information Service:
Service Manager, Antonio Rizzo and Service Development Manager, Joanne Moulton.
• Raidene and Joanne will work closely with the Project Team, as Executive Producer and Strategic
Manager respectively. Debra McGee, Development Manager for the Deptford Lounge, will be Creative
Producer for the project and lead for the Project Team, which will include the Lead and Associate Artists plus a dedicated library team member. Active individuals from target groups and Lounge users will be encouraged to join the Project Team for key meetings and decision making.
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