The Albany Reveals Inaugural Community Council

A local librarian and an organiser of Vietnamese cultural events in Lewisham are two of a group of people announced today as the inaugural members of the Albany’s Community Council. This paid opportunity with Southeast London’s leading arts centre will see the cohort, who all live, work or have a strong, demonstrable connection to Deptford or Lewisham, joining the Council for one year. They will attend events and activities and meet six times across the year, to provide the venue with thoughts and feedback, helping to shape the future programme.

The group have been recruited as part of the arts centre’s bold new Creative Strategy, which prioritises and encourages community engagement through a shift to distributed leadership, sharing decision making with local people and increasing transparency about ways to get involved with the organisation.

The members of the community council are:

• Amy Adams – A volunteer at Meet Me… at the Albany, an arts and social club for over 65s, Amy is already very engaged with the Albany. She has been a Lewisham resident for 10 years and has volunteered in many local elderly services over the last 4 years, including the Ladywell Dementia Centre and Voluntary Services Lewisham (VSL). Amy’s perspective as an acquired brain injury survivor who has benefited from local services such as Lewisham Speech and Language Therapy, further underscores her commitment to creating inclusive and accessible opportunities for everyone in the community to experience.
• Rachel Allen – Rachel has lived in the borough of Lewisham their whole life, since the 80s. Embedded in the local community, Rachel currently works part-time for Youth First and has previously held voluntary or paid positions with 999 Club, the Albany, Lewisham Young Women's Resource Project and the Lewisham Refugee and Befriending Project run by the British Red Cross
• Amir Taimoor Khan – Amir lives and works locally, and brings a passion for rock music to the role. He is keen to develop his skills and contribute to the venue
• Alice Lemmard – Alice is a Creative Librarian who grew up in Deptford and lives in Lewisham. In her role, she has developed a strong connection with the Lewisham public, and has been a long-standing supporter of the Albany
• Selena Mitchell – Selena is a local parent, who regularly attends workshops and shows that take place at the Albany, with her family. Selena will be delivering craft workshops for two upcoming shows: The Rainbow Butterfly (Sunday 2 February 2025) and The Littlest Yak (Sunday 30 March 2025)
• Chery Nguyen – Born, raised and educated in Lewisham, Chery is a primary school teacher at a Lewisham borough school and has a strong background in set design, prop making and illustration. She hopes that these practical skills will enhance the creative and educational offerings at the Albany, whether through workshops, exhibitions, or community projects
• Quynh Nguyen – Quynh is the CEO and founder of Vietnamese Family Partnership, a local grassroots charity, which supports the Vietnamese community and promotes wider understanding of Vietnamese culture. The charity hosts annual cultural events twice a year at Deptford Lounge (managed by the Albany). These events draw thousands of local residents to experience Vietnamese food, music, and culture each year

Vicki Dela Amedume MBE, Creative Director at the Albany, said: “The Albany has a strong history of co-creating work with our local communities and I’m excited for this next step on our journey. It’s so important to us that our audiences, participants, neighbours and friends have a voice in our decision making, so we can continue to fulfil our purpose as an arts centre at the heart of our local community. It’s great to have such a wide range of expertise and local knowledge on the Community Council, and I’m looking forward to us working together, sharing ideas and learning from each other over the coming year.”

Selena Mitchell, one of the inaugural Community Council members, said: “I really love the Albany – I'm a regular! I’m excited to be able to contribute my ideas and suggestions, and find out more about what goes on behind the scenes.”

Amy Adams, one of the inaugural Community Council members, said: “I’m looking forward to finding out what’s coming up at the Albany and being able to give my opinions and feedback. This is the first time I’ve had the chance for my own personal views to be heard in this way.”

Abdou Sidibe, Director of Grants, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, said:

“Shifting power is central to the Albany’s vision. The new Community Council will support them to open up planning and decision-making across the organisation. Working in partnership, the Council will help drive forward artistic policy, provide accountability to communities and allow a deeper understanding of what local people are looking for in creative opportunities. This programme has the potential to drive meaningful systemic change and move power to local communities. We are glad to support this exciting work and look forward to exploring the new paths they create together.”

Following the Albany's role as lead producer of the momentous We Are Lewisham - The Mayor's London Borough of Culture in 2022 - the venue was subsequently appointed as Lewisham's first Anchor Culture Organisation.

Lewisham is one of the most diverse boroughs in the UK, with just under half of residents from the Black and Global Majority. With its new strategy, the Albany aims to build a more co-operative and responsive relationship with people from across its diverse local communities, creating work that reflects ideas and issues that matter to them.

As a leader in the community-led cultural sphere, the Albany aims to increase clarity and transparency about its processes and how artists and audiences can get involved – whether that be through creating work, finding a pathway into a creative career or simply having a space to be heard. The new strategy will enable the organisation to produce even more ambitious work, which will genuinely resonate with local audiences.

The Albany will also shortly be announcing a new cohort of Associate Artists, who will each receive a £1000 grant, one week of in-kind space and access to support and advice from the wider Albany creative team; as well as an Artist of Change who will work with the arts centre over a longer period to co-create work with its local communities.

To post a comment, you must register and login.