Last month we held the Past, Present and Future exhibition highlighting the estate's cultural background.
In 2023 we, along with the Colindale Communities Trust, received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to recruit and train ‘heritage volunteers’ from the Grahame Park estate. This culminated in the Past, Present and Future exhibition we held at number 15 (our shared workspace on Grahame Park) last month.
The heritage volunteers each chose subjects to research and their work was then displayed for the local community to read.
The Grahame Park community is proud of the rich heritage of the estate, which takes its name from Claude Grahame-White, an early pioneer of aviation and the first person to make a night flight, during the 1910 London to Manchester air race.
One display focussed on a sculptor who worked on Grahame Park in the 1970s, Brian Yale, as well as the ideas behind the brutalist architecture that became the dominant social housing style in England in the 1960s and 70s.
John Whelan, arts and culture project manager, said the exhibition was made possible by the hard work of all of the community coming together.
“I’m so pleased with the exhibition. The heritage volunteers really brought the Grahame Park community’s story to life in a beautiful and engaging way.”
Research and data analyst Ben Britton said that the exhibition was the culmination of many strands of the ‘Past, Present, Future’ project: “We showcased everything from musical performances to local delicacies. It was an incredible testament to the spirit of Grahame Park, highlighting the creativity and vision of the whole community.”
Programme manager Steve Nicola said: “It’s so important to celebrate art, culture and heritage on Grahame Park. The estate has so many creative and talented people. Projects like this are a way of highlighting the amazing residents we have on the estate. It gives residents the ability to express their memories of the estate through storytelling, photography and art.”
“I am so proud of how the arts and culture programme we commission has grown over the years. You see it all over the estate now with murals, regular cultural events and now this exhibition.”
We have seen the arts and culture programme bring out the best of the Grahame Park community as residents express their warmth and depth of feeling for the place that they call home. We’re excited for the programme to continue and see what our heritage volunteers will create next.
