Weekly Highlights - from Hutchinson's Bank to Raindance Film Festival
...all the best content from 24 June - 1 July
(Photo courtesy of @JustEfe)
We’ve created this free weekly email to help keep you in the loop with Croydon news (as we know that pesky Instagram algorithm is hiding some of it from you!).
The content that got the most traction this past week included Hutchinson’s Bank Trail, Garwood Foundation, Helen Chadwick, Shermya, and Beyond the Divide.
Keep scrolling for a recap…
And a reminder to all Paid Subscribers that it’s #SeeYouNextTuesday Club tonight. See you in Trickle from 6pm to 8pm.
Level-up your summer walks
Need some motivation to get off the sofa this summer?! 🤪
‘Dawn After Night, Spring After Winter’ is a gamified trail walk created by artists @david_blandy_ and @daniellocke.
Designed to encourage people to explore their local landscapes, the trail offers new and unusual ways to reflect on nature with an intricate map and immersive audio-tour that incorporates poetry, writing, drawing and game design.
The Hutchinson’s Bank Trail provides walkers with a fantasy adventure while exploring Hutchinson’s Bank - a London Wildlife Trust nature reserve near New Addington.
A second trail will launch on Box Hill in Surrey on 19 July.
To find out more and to download the trail map to your phone, head to the @naturecalling25 website. Or pick up a physical copy from New Addington Library.
Space to Thrive
Great to see the progress being made at @garwoodfoundation 🤩.
Garwood provide a range of services (including education, therapies, activities and residential care) to people with a variety of disabilities.
They are currently building a new space that has been designed to accommodate the very complex medical and physical needs of people with profound and multiple disabilities.
This space will include:
1️⃣ a new hydrotherapy pool for use by their students and groups from the community
2️⃣ an extra classroom and new student entrance
3️⃣ an accessible meeting space (including accessible toilets) open to the community
So far, they have raised £2.4million towards this fantastic project. They now need to raise the last £100,000 to complete it.
Click HERE to learn more about the Space to Thrive campaign and to make a donation.
Keen to Volunteer at Garwood? Join our Volunteer group!
Croydon’s Rule-Breaking Art Pioneer
Did you know Helen Chadwick (1953 - 1996) the British sculptor, photographer and installation artist (and one of the first female artists to be nominated for the Turner Prize) was born in Croydon?
Her mother was a Greek refugee and her father was from east London and they met during the Second World War in Athens, Greece. In 1946, they moved to the “new and aspirational” London suburb of Croydon.
Littleheath Woods, an ‘Area of Special Character’, was just behind their home, and there Chadwick remembered making mudpies and rose petal perfumes as a small child. As she grew older she would walk in the woods and bring home injured animals; there are anecdotes of the neighbours complaining about the lame ferret and goose in the Chadwick’s back garden.
Surprisingly, Chadwick failed O-level art, with one art teacher commenting: ‘Helen has an independent nature and has worked in her individual manner, but she needs to concentrate for longer periods.‘
After Chadwick left @croydonhighschool, she embarked on a Fine Art Foundation course at @CroydonCollege.
If you happen to find yourself in Yorkshire over the holidays - ‘Helen Chadwick: Life Pleasures’ (a major retrospective charting the development of Chadwick’s art) is now open at @hepworthwakefield and runs until October.
Croydon Girl on Track: Shermya’s Slam Success
Throwback to April when #CroydonGirl @shermyax wowed @roundhouseldn Poetry Slam guests with this masterpiece (keep watching for the hometown love 😉).
The former @croydonhighschool pupil won her heat and came second in the overall competition - a huge achievement especially given this was the first Slam she’d ever entered. 👏
Give her a follow to see what she does next… 👀
Beyond the Divide: Croydon hits the big screen
Thursday 26 June saw the worldwide premiere of ‘Beyond the Divide’ at the @raindancefilmfestival in Central London.
This docufilm is directed by @maichal94 and features #CroydonBoy @chris_yampower - creator of @holisticwellbeinghub (which is part of our Volunteer Group).
The film follows a Black British activist and a former Neo-Nazi as they confront their pasts in a tense, revealing meeting that exposes the roots and perpetration of far-right extremism, and challenges the possibility of forgiveness.
It is now available to watch on @netflixuk’s You Tube channel (keep your eyes out for scenes shot in Croydon!) 👀