On the back of our news on Centre Pompidou’s partnership with Beulah International, we are proud to announce the launch of the Heart of London Business Alliance’s (HOLBA) new ‘Arts Quarter’ Prospectus, developed by Futurecity with Publica.
The Arts Quarter prospectus
Identifies culture led opportunities for investors to harness London’s creative energy, set within a tight-knit set of 6 ‘back of house’ streets (Whitcomb Street, Jubilee Walk to St Martins Street, Orange Street, Panton Street, Oxendon Street) squeezed between Charing Cross Road, Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square and Haymarket. Its purpose is to secure the long-term commercial and cultural well-being of the West End. Creating a new Arts Quarter will contribute to the revival of a thriving West End. The Prospectus illustrates how increased commercial and social value can be delivered for the benefit of everyone who lives, works, or visits the West End.
Gallery Without Walls
With a series of recommended public realm proposals, cultural placemaking opportunities and an occupier curation strategy this is our ‘Gallery Without Walls’ idea made real; which includes multi-functional spaces and places, designed for artists. From large scale banners and street art to public art, sculpture, projection, and artistic interventions. It will provide a stage and canvas for the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Royal Watercolour Society, Canada House, the Harold Pinter and Prince of Wales theatres, cinemas, research centres, top hotels, restaurants, and bars.
Heart of London Business Alliance Cultural Strategy
The Arts Quarter is one of Futurecity’s key recommendations, a set of dedicated cultural cluster areas inside an area which includes the world-famous Piccadilly Circus, Charing Cross Road, Leicester Square and Piccadilly & St James’s. The prospectus focuses on three cultural outputs, CULTURAL INNOVATION, CO-CREATION and CREATIVE-TECH which can unlock economic and social value, incubate #nextgen talent and celebrate London’s diversity.
250 Years of History & Heritage
This area has also been a focus for theatre, fashion, craft, and the visual arts, now it’s time to add Creative Tech, Film, and the Digital Arts to its cultural offer, transforming it into a new destination of exemplary culture and art. The Arts Quarter will enable the Heart of London area to:
- Invest in creativity, innovation, and cross-sector collaboration.
- Generate economic and social value and inclusive growth.
- Deliver tangible cultural infrastructure.
- Create new investor opportunities.
- Support homegrown content and be a platform for London talent.
About the Arts Quarter vision
In 2019 Futurecity delivered an ambitious Culture-led Placemaking strategy for HOLBA, which acts on behalf of over six hundred leading businesses and property owners in the world-famous Piccadilly Circus, Charing Cross Road, Leicester Square, Piccadilly & St James’s. The purpose of the strategy was to provide assets of deliverable projects and initiatives that would position the BID as a leading exert, enabler, and advocate for culture and placemaking and to secure the long-term commercial and cultural well-being of the West End.
One of the many recommendations was to develop small cluster areas where there were concentrations of creative activity i.e., Theatre, Fashion, Crafts & Artisan, Visual Arts, and Film.
From 2021 to 2022 Futurecity developed the concept of a new Arts Quarter that could contribute to the revival of a thriving West End. Our proposal identified opportunities for investors to harness London’s creative energy within a tight-knit district of often overlooked commercial and outdoor spaces at the very heart of London’s West End. 6 Streets, Panton, Orange, Whitcombe, Oxendon, Jubilee Walk and St Martins appear as ‘back of house streets’ servicing major institutions such as the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery.
The new Arts Quarter strategy set out a governance structure, which we call the ‘5C’ approach, joining together Civic, Commercial, Cultural, Community and Consumer in increasing the commercial and social value delivered for the benefit of everyone who lives, works, or visits the West End.
The new Arts Quarter launched last week will now become part of the West End’s stage, providing a new ‘Gallery Without Walls’ cultural experience that is designed to.
- Invest in creativity, innovation, and cross- sector collaboration.
- Support homegrown content as a platform for London talent.
- Generate economic & social value and inclusive growth.
- Deliver tangible cultural infrastructure.
- Seed local community engagement through accessible culture.
- Create new investment opportunities for the property, retail, and beverage sectors.
