Create London

Create London
Name	Create London
Formation	2018
Type	Cultural development agency
Headquarters	London, England
Leader title	Director
Leader name	Samir Mehta
Website	(official site)

Create London Create London is a strategic cultural development body based in London that supports creative industries, cultural institutions, and community arts initiatives across the capital. It operates at the intersection of arts policy, urban regeneration, and cultural entrepreneurship, engaging with major institutions, local authorities, philanthropic bodies, and commercial partners. The organization positions itself as a bridge between funders, commissioners, and practitioners working in venues, festivals, heritage sites, and digital platforms.

History

Create London emerged from policy conversations and sector advocacy during the late 2010s, influenced by reports from bodies such as the Greater London Authority, Arts Council England, London Assembly, and London borough cultural strategies. Founder-level dialogues included figures connected to Mayor of London initiatives, civic leaders from City of London Corporation, and trustees associated with institutions like the British Council, Tate Modern, and Victoria and Albert Museum. Early partnerships drew on networks established by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Big Lottery Fund, and philanthropic activity linked to the Wellcome Trust and Nesta. Create London’s formative projects referenced precedents set by organizations including Creative England, London Cultural Strategy, and regional development agencies such as Team London.

The organization’s trajectory intersected with major civic campaigns and events: responses to outcomes from the 2012 Summer Olympics legacy planning, the cultural programming surrounding the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and the evolution of cultural recovery plans following the economic shocks contemporaneous with COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. Create London developed relationships with arts unions and networks such as the Musicians' Union, Equity (British trade union), and umbrella bodies including Cultural Learning Alliance and Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation members.

Mission and Activities

Create London’s mission emphasizes inclusion, resilience, and economic sustainability for creative practitioners and cultural venues across boroughs from Camden to Lewisham. Its remit covers advocacy for small-scale makers, strategic advice for institutions like the Barbican Centre, support for venue operators in areas such as Hackney, and policy input to the Mayor's Cultural Strategy. Activities include capacity-building for organisations akin to Southbank Centre project teams, commissioning research with partners such as King's College London, and curating cross-sector convenings that bring together stakeholders from British Film Institute, Royal Opera House, and independent gallery circuits.

Programming targets audiences, producers, and commissioners, collaborating with training providers analogous to Goldsmiths, University of London and University of the Arts London to strengthen workforce pipelines, creative enterprise development, and audience engagement initiatives. Create London also engages with heritage sites, festivals, and media organisations such as Notting Hill Carnival, BBC Arts, and independent theatre producers rooted in the National Theatre ecosystem.

Funding and Governance

Create London operates through a blend of public grant income, philanthropic grants, earned income, and project-specific sponsorships. Principal funders and partners have included entities comparable to Arts Council England, the Mayor of London, philanthropic foundations like the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Barrow Cadbury Trust, and corporate partners in sectors represented by HSBC and Barclays. The governance structure mirrors charitable and company models seen in the sector: a trustee board with expertise drawn from institutions such as Historic England, executives from the Creative Industries Federation, and representatives with backgrounds at Export Finance-adjacent cultural trade bodies.

Financial oversight and accountability practices reflect standards practised by organisations like National Lottery Community Fund recipients and align with statutory reporting norms associated with Charity Commission for England and Wales. Risk management and equality frameworks are informed by legal and regulatory thinking from actors including Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance and local authority equality impact assessments.

Programs and Initiatives

Programmatic activity has ranged from small grants for local creative projects to large-scale partnership commissions. Initiatives echo models used by Creative Scotland and Arts Council Northern Ireland, including residencies, research fellowships with universities such as Queen Mary University of London, and place-based cultural regeneration projects in collaboration with boroughs like Southwark and Tower Hamlets. Talent development pipelines resemble schemes run by Roundhouse Trust and Jerwood Arts, while audience development pilots mirror experiments by Audience Agency and Nesta.

Create London has supported creative enterprise incubators, public realm activations in coordination with planning bodies such as Historic England and commercial landlords including firms associated with Canary Wharf Group. It has also backed digital innovation pilots in partnership with media organisations like Channel 4 and technology partners patterned after collaborations with Google Arts & Culture-style platforms.

Partnerships and Collaborations

Collaborative models emphasize cross-sector alliances linking cultural institutions, education providers, funders, and civic agencies. Typical partners have included the British Council for international exchange, the London School of Economics for policy research, and commercial partners drawn from banking and property sectors. Create London’s network extends to festivals and venues including Frieze Art Fair, Glyndebourne-affiliated producers, and community organisations active in networks such as Arts & Health Alliance.

Consortia work has brought together health bodies like NHS England commissioners, regeneration agencies linked to Transport for London projects, and creative technology start-ups associated with incubators similar to Tech Nation. International exchanges reflect ties to cultural diplomacy networks involving UNESCO-affiliated programmes and city-level exchanges with counterparts in New York City, Berlin, and Paris.

Impact and Evaluation

Impact assessment combines quantitative and qualitative methods, drawing on evaluative frameworks used by Arts Council England, Nesta, and academic partners at institutions such as University College London. Outcome metrics track job creation, venue sustainability, audience diversity, and community well-being indicators comparable to measures used by Public Health England in arts and health research. Case studies highlight contribution to commercial and non-commercial cultural ecosystems — for example, stabilising small theatres, supporting independent galleries in Notting Hill-adjacent circuits, and enabling creative enterprises to access workspace markets influenced by trends tracked by Centre for London.

Independent evaluations commissioned by trusts and public funders provide accountability and inform iterative programming, aligning with sector-wide learning promoted by networks such as Creative Industries Federation and policy briefs produced by think tanks like Institute for Public Policy Research.

Category:Cultural organisations based in London