Totally Thames

Totally Thames
Name	Totally Thames
Location	River Thames, London
Years active	2000–present
Founded	2000
Genre	Arts festival

Totally Thames is an annual arts and cultural festival held along the River Thames in London during September. The festival presents a diverse programme of visual art, performance art, music, film and literary events concentrated across central and eastern riverfronts, engaging audiences from local boroughs such as Lambeth, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Greenwich. It collaborates with public institutions, private galleries, community groups and national bodies to activate riverside spaces, landmarks and heritage sites.

History

The festival was established in 2000 as part of a broader movement of urban regeneration and cultural programming linked to projects like the Millennium Dome redevelopment and initiatives involving London Docklands Development Corporation and Thames Gateway. Early editions featured partnerships with institutions such as the Tate Modern, Southbank Centre, National Maritime Museum and Museum of London Docklands, and engaged artists connected to exhibitions at Royal Academy of Arts and Victoria and Albert Museum. Over subsequent decades the programme expanded to include commissions linked to anniversaries of the Great Fire of London, Tower Bridge, and public art schemes that echoed the civic ambitions of bodies like Arts Council England and Heritage Lottery Fund.

Notable collaborations and premieres have involved artists associated with Artangel, Frieze, Serpentine Galleries and the Institute of Contemporary Arts. The festival has intersected with events such as London Festival of Architecture, London Design Festival, Mayor of London's cultural initiatives, and citywide commemorations including those led by Historic England and English Heritage.

Organization and Funding

The festival is produced by a core team that has worked with municipal partners including City of London Corporation, Greater London Authority, and borough councils like Tower Hamlets London Borough Council and Southwark London Borough Council. Funding has been sourced from national funders such as Arts Council England and Heritage Lottery Fund, corporate sponsors, private benefactors, and ticketed box office revenue tied to venues like Southbank Centre and bespoke commissions for sites administered by Canary Wharf Group and Port of London Authority.

Project management practices draw on models used by festivals including Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Glasgow International, and Hay Festival while contracting with production firms that have supplied events for Royal Opera House, English National Opera, and touring programmes of National Theatre and Barbican Centre.

Events and Programming

Programming spans temporary public art commissions, riverine performances, guided walks, talks, screenings and family workshops. Past highlights have included large-scale commissions comparable to pieces produced by Yayoi Kusama for public spaces, participatory works in the spirit of Banksy street interventions, and sound art projects referencing practitioners like Brian Eno and Janet Cardiff. Literary elements have involved partnerships with publishers and festivals such as Faber and Faber, Penguin Books, British Library, and writers associated with Hay Festival and Serpentine Galleries residencies.

Music programmes have presented ensembles linked to Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, and independent collectives akin to Shubbak Festival curations. Film screenings and commissions have been staged in collaboration with institutions comparable to the BFI and Curzon Cinemas, while academic symposia have featured scholars from King's College London, University College London, Queen Mary University of London and Goldsmiths, University of London.

Venues and Locations

Activities occur across a stretch of the Thames including riverside spaces at Southbank, Bankside, Greenwich Peninsula, Canary Wharf, Wapping, Rotherhithe and Battersea. Key institutional venues have included Tate Modern, Globe Theatre, Hay's Galleria, Tower Bridge, National Maritime Museum, Cutty Sark, V&A, Royal Observatory, and community venues such as Whitechapel Gallery and Riverside Studios. Temporary sites have made use of piers, barges, towpaths and public squares adjacent to London Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge, Waterloo Bridge and Charing Cross.

Community and Educational Outreach

Outreach programmes work with local schools, youth groups, charities and community organisations including Age UK, Refugee Council, Stonewall affiliates, and local tenants' associations to co-produce events and workshops. Learning initiatives have been developed with educational partners such as Greater London Authority learning teams, museums' education departments at the National Maritime Museum and Museum of London, and university outreach units from UCL Culture and King's Cultural Institute. Volunteering and training schemes mirror practices used by Royal Voluntary Service and arts sector workforce development models promoted by Creative & Cultural Skills.

The festival's community commissions often engage local historians, river workers, boat clubs like Thames Boat Project, rowing clubs, and heritage volunteers connected to Thames Discovery Programme and Port of London Authority stewardship activities.

Impact and Reception

Critics and commentators from publications such as The Guardian, The Times, Financial Times, Time Out, The Telegraph and cultural journals including Frieze and ArtReview have noted the festival's role in activating riverside public realm, supporting commissioned artists and generating footfall for borough high streets. Economists and cultural planners referencing studies by Creative Industries Federation and Centre for Cities have cited festivals like this as contributors to cultural tourism, placemaking and creative sector employment comparable to impacts from London Fashion Week and Frieze Art Fair.

Debate around gentrification, access and long-term sustainability has involved stakeholders such as local councillors from Southwark London Borough Council and activists associated with community land trusts and groups modeled on London Renters Union. Evaluations commissioned by funders have considered metrics used by Arts Council England and urban research by Institute for Public Policy Research and Nesta.

Category:Arts festivals in London