Library Lighting - Illumination of North Kensington Library purple, as a show of solidarity for the ‘Stand up to
Racism’ campaign.
Underground Spaces - Brownbaby were approached by a London Underground staff member
in June to discuss how BB could support the development of local station spaces. This has
since grown into a full development project with LU, RBKC, Energy Garden and Westway
Trust, via the Future Neighbourhoods Fund, with BB providing the community connection
and steer
Science Museum - participation in the production of a report into how local communities
view and interact with one of the museums in the south of the borough
Kelso Cochrane Legacy - development stages of a major public arts project to acknowledge,
celebrate and develop the legacy of a key person in North Kensington and British history.
Kelso Cochrane Memorial - supporting local group, ‘Grove United’, to produce a memorial
event for Kelso Cochrane, including banner and Order of Service
Our Library. Saved - support for the Friends of North Kensington Library to produce annual
events that celebrate the successful campaign to save the library and bring the grassroots community together
COVID-19
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic from early 2020 to early 2022 has been felt across the globe. As a community Arts and development organisation, Brownbaby's activities have been severely impacted.
During the two-year period a small number of Brownbaby activities were able to continue, largely online.
In the previous year, Brownbaby applied for and received an Emergency grant from Arts Council England, which enabled some overheads to be paid. A small grant from RBKC was also received.
Without this emergency support, Brownbaby would have lost its premises in North Kensington.
WESTWAY TRUST
Our Chair and trustee, Toby, has been heavily involved with supporting a number of local community campaigns since around 2014/15.
In the case of the Westway23 campaign this led to Toby being encouraged to apply for the role of Chair of Westway Trust, as that organisation reflected the local community's demands for transformation into a community-led organisation. Toby's application was successful at the end of 2019, leading to him taking up the role in early 2020.
With the impact of Covid, the publication of an independent Review into Institutional Racism at Westway Trust and a restructure, the role became a full time one and remained so until the Chief Executive position was filled by current CEO, Venu Dhupa in July/August 2021.
Toby has continued to give a lot of his time to Westway Trust. However, with the rebuild of the Trust well underway under new leadership, 2021 has been, as predicted, a year where Toby has been able to steadily return to the development and delivery of Brownbaby projects.
GRENFELL TOWER FIRE
Predictably, the effects of the Grenfell Tower Fire continue to have a significant impact on the
community of North Kensington and those working in and around the community. It is very much now
a part of the fabric of our local communities.
The Brownbaby Chair, practitioners and volunteers continue to dedicate time and effort to the ongoing
response.
Involvement in 2021 has included:
● Green for Grenfell Illuminations Fourth Anniversary. Illumination of eight local residential
tower blocks and Grenfell Tower itself. Working with 4 Resident Associations (Silchester,
Trellick, Ed Woods) and two local authorities (RBKC & LBHF). Support for illuminating
various other community and residential spaces, including All Saints church.
● Green for Grenfell Illuminations Fourth Anniversary. Live streamed event to “green the
streets” with an engagement of 50k through Facebook. Two mobile units with LED
floodlights
● Green for Grenfell, Greening the streets. Organising a voluntary team to green the route of the
Silent Walk with fabric and paper crafts
● Green for Grenfell Illuminations Green Hearts. Design, consultation and installation of two
5-metre tall semi-permanent green LED hearts onto the scaffold of two tower blocks
● Silent Walk December - Illuminated residential and community buildings as the walk moved
to a 6-monthly cycle (June & December)
