Maria Adebowale-Schwarte, CEO of Foundation for Future London, spoke with Andy Robinson, Head of Strategy at Futurecity, about the genesis, mission, and vision of the Foundation for Future London, as part of our Digital Dialogues series, in which Futurecity talks to cultural and property innovators to reveal the complexity of collaborators involved in digital place-shaping process.
Andy Robinson: How does the Foundation for Future London deliver the evolving story of East London and the Olympic Legacy?
Maria Adebowale-Schwarte: The Foundation was established in 2015, as in integral part of the planning of East Bank, the new cultural hub of amazing institutions soon to arrive at the heart of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park here in Stratford. The Foundation is part of the building blocks to bring continued investment into East London, honouring the aspirations of Olympic legacy. There is a real need and want to continue to build legacy; to invest in London’s 4 Olympic boroughs (Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Waltham Forest), to work with partners and collectively create East Bank. This new cultural quarter will host fantastic cultural organisations with amazing histories, but it is not about the past.
East Bank is about the future; to celebrate the artists and communities who are there now and growing. It is about celebrating the local and the global, bringing them all together through a coalition of excellent cultural partners. The Foundation’s commitment is to build and support the local economy through fundraising and grant making to support to local creative individuals, projects and organisations, and creating broader social value of wellbeing and joy for everyone who lives here.
Andy Robinson: Your ‘Approach’ outlines three pillars of work: Connecting Communities; Opening Up Opportunities; and Creative Placemaking. Has this mission changed at all since inception in 2015?
Maria Adebowale-Schwarte: We’re looking to create a place here in East London that makes its own culture. We have brilliant spaces and communities to work with, an amazing network of green spaces across the four boroughs that we’re working to help connect better. The Foundation champions creative inclusive placemaking, but we also fund it, working with organisations to generate revenue and capital funding and support. We are focusing on establishing East Bank as an inclusive cultural place that is also an example to other districts and cities around the world. It is about creatively disrupting places and spaces and placemaking to bring out the best in local people’s creativity and ingenuity, which is very much in line with my own background in environmental justice.
Andy Robinson: What would you like the next 5 years to look like?
Maria Adebowale-Schwarte: The Foundation is all about scale – from the large vision of East Bank to the scale of the ‘Westfield East Bank Creative Future Funds’, our grant giving schemes for individuals and organisations across the four boroughs. We have our KPI’s to measure, but overall our success will have been to open doors to others right across East London. We are currently investing £11m into East Bank surrounding communities. I hope to double this, and why stop there? Our philanthropic partners are committed to equality, social inclusion, innovation and arts & culture. The future is us having delivered true legacy.
Andy Robinson: Can you tell us about the new Small Grants Scheme that was just launched and has been funded by commercial partners in the area?
Maria Adebowale-Schwarte: The Small Grant Scheme is there to kickstart projects, business and startups, and support local people’s employment opportunities through skills and qualifications with grants of up to £5000 are available to individuals, groups and organisations. There is a reason to keep its remit wide; we are dealing with difficult times, due to Covid19. The 4 boroughs (like many other places) are trying to deal with this complexity and these grants aim to develop resilience, helping people to bounce back. The grant scheme is made possible by working with the fantastic Westfield Stratford City as its donor – they totally understand the value of public realm. They understand their own value as having created a place where young people meet and feel safe. And, as an environment at the heart of the area with a brilliant mix of people coming and going.
We will very soon be opening up the Westfield East Bank Creative Future Funds’ medium and large grants to compliment the small grants scheme. The Foundation is also partnering with the Cultural Mile & City of London who are donating £1m over 4 years. They really recognise the value of supporting new talent, and so we are working with them on how to help young people develop fusion skills, valuing their soft skills that can help propel their futures. Amazing young people have come through our work, and there will be the Fusion Prize – 50K for the best innovation idea.
Our medium grants scheme aims to support ideas and projects which have started already and help them with the next steps of growth and resilience. Our large grants scheme is for much bigger projects and is an equal partnership with East Bank partners.
Andy Robinson: How can other potential partners get involved with the foundation?
Maria Adebowale-Schwarte: We’re aware that many construction companies are really moving forward. They understand the importance of using financial resources around the core business of bricks and mortar to great social value. We look forward to expanding out network of donors and partners. Westfield Stratford City and City of London have worked brilliantly with us – and we’ll be promoting it in amazing ways thanks to a shared vision. And a note to readers who may miss grant deadlines; they will be recurring, and please contact us at the Foundation to ask us anything. We have a small but very committed team and a very supportive board that is enabling us to totally punch above our weight. It’s an exciting time.
Andy Robinson: Thank you so much for sharing your vision and work. Any final thoughts, Maria?
Maria Adebowale-Schwarte: Yes. We are here by invitation. East Bank sometimes comes across as a powerhouse for the area, but the powerhouse is really the 4 boroughs. That’s why they and we are here. We’ve joined this initiative. East Bank could be something wonderful for the social and economic change of East London.
Finally, in these times, it’s really important as an organisation to constantly reiterate that we are here with clear principles. We stand by disrupting racism, dealing with prejudice, and dealing with inequality. There is no reason for any of these things to be in our lives. We have to lead. We do not tolerate any inequality, and it’s a great shame that it took another death for the cultural sector to awaken and vocalise once again. A message to all in the cultural sector: keep pushing and keep creating a platform that consistently says we will tackle inequality and we will measure change.
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