Sydenham Arts

Sydenham Arts is a registered charity providing arts activities, programmes and events all year round. Our mission is to ‘provide, promote and advance the arts for the benefit of the public, in particular people who live, work and are educated in Sydenham and surrounding areas’. We see the arts as a cultural and social driver, which not only provide a source of entertainment, but can educate and enlighten communities, bringing them together to celebrate, to rally to cultural causes, to enjoy new experiences, and to appreciate the diversity and cultural vibrancy that surrounds us. We are committed to providing a platform for emerging, local artists as well as bringing in high quality, established artists to the area. Between 2009 and 2018 we staged annual festivals in July, embracing every art form (as Sydenham Arts Festival). In 2018 we moved from running an annual festival to year-round programming, and in 2019 delivered 38 multi-arts events, including outreach in schools, care homes and hospices. In 2023, Sydenham Arts appointed a new Chief Executive/ Artistic Director, Sheree-Marie Abraham, to steer the charity towards further innovative programming and sustainability. Our vision for future programming will look to promote further diversity and equality across all aspects of the arts, both in the artists we work with and our audiences, respond to key moments of universal significance including the Climate Crisis, and support the diverse communities of Sydenham and South East London across the arts. Sydenham Arts will look to be a driving force locally, responding the Arts Council’s Creative Case for Diversity and Let’s Create strategy, and building on Lewisham’s London Borough of Culture 2022 legacy.