Our borough

Hammersmith & Fulham is a vibrant and diverse borough, increasingly home to residents from all over the world.

Over 12% of residents are Black or Black British, over 10% are Asian or Asian British and a further 7% are from other ethnic minorities.

We have reflected this in our engagement programme to shape this strategy. However, this diversity extends beyond ethnicity. Age, disability, and the LGBT community are important facets of our borough's identity, and currently they lack the representation and investment they deserve in the arts and culture sector.

This strategy acknowledges this gap and seeks to amplify these voices in cultural planning and invest in relevant activities.

Have your say

To ensure that this strategy reflects the issues, views and priorities of people and organisations, we consulted through:

  • interaction with the community at local markets and conducting a public survey online
  • meetings with H&F Council – councillors and officers
  • workshops and a conference for the council and partners to work out the action plan

We held engagement events with a range of arts organisations in the borough including:

  • Lyric Hammersmith
  • Bush Theatre
  • Kindred Studios
  • London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA)
  • The Bhavan (the UK’s principal venue for Indian cultural education, performance and events)
  • the Irish Cultural Centre (ICC)
  • Polish Social and Cultural Centre (POSK – the largest Polish centre outside Poland)
  • and the H-Q-I Foundation (supporting emerging visual, performance and musical artists priced out of building sustainable arts careers in the capital) to name just a few

Views were also sought from partners in education, schools, heritage and history groups, libraries and archives, grassroots community organisations, local business and creative industries.

We would like to thank the thousands of people who took the time to get involved. They were all very positive about the importance of arts, culture and heritage to life in Hammersmith & Fulham.

Insights

Many people told us about their experiences, and emphasised the need to work together effectively to make the borough even better so that everyone can participate and benefit – whether that’s just for fun or to start a creative business, or to find employment.

Many were quick to point out how much they value our fantastic arts organisations, venues, local culture and events, and our unique heritage and history, and want to participate more.

Many spoke of the necessity for increased integration and coordination across our initiatives to attract new investments and to promote what’s going on in the borough more effectively.

These insights have proved invaluable, and the strategy is committed to improving collaboration across all sectors to better highlight the borough's rich cultural offering to secure the necessary investment and maximise growth.

Inspired

This strategy was not developed in a vacuum.

In building it, we researched strategies in other cities, to ensure it was informed by successful models and good practice in London and beyond, but conscious that it must be of our place – truly Hammersmith & Fulham.

Inspired by these models, our strategy balances the local with the global.

It seeks to develop both community culture, and the cultural and creative industries, to create a compelling destination that promotes local talent and draws in tourists and investment.

It acknowledges both the need to work in partnership and draw on the resources of our key partners, and the desire to be led by our community, ensure culture is accessible and enriches the lives of all our residents.