Our Track Record
Below is a summary of our projects, commissions, and achievements to date.
We’ve organised them under five programmes of work, but for us they are interwoven threads that form the fabric of our collaborative and community-rooted practice.
We are a non-profit Community Interest Company est. Dec 2014
(previously an unincorporated association since 2004)
Awards
Global Music Cities competition for the Best High Street Economy Initiative
High Street ADVENTures 2019
Leader’s Special Award for Cultural Commitment, Love Your Borough Awards
Borough of Culture Steering Group 2018
Love Your Borough Award for Arts and Culture
E17 Art Trail 2010
Additional Roles
-
Contributor to UCL Trellis x Tate Institute x PEARL Diagnosing Places for Neurodivergent Inclusion
-
Contributor to Mayor of London’s Constructing the Creative Health City
-
Member of Mayor of London’s Urbact Access Steering Group
-
Fellows of Mayor of London’s inaugural Civic Futures cohort
-
Arts Council England x Julie’s Bicycle’s second national Accelerator cohort - Local Futures consortium with Barbican and Waltham Forest Council.
-
Member of Waltham Forest Cultural Education Partnership Advisory Group
-
Member of Steering Group for Waltham Forest’s bid to win London Borough of Culture 2019
-
1 of 5 national ‘deep-dive’ exemplars for EU funded research: COGOV exploring co-production, co-governance and co-creation.
-
Initiators and admins of Waltham Forest Creatives mutual aid group, 2020 to date
Transforming High Streets
Appetite Flavours of Lea Bridge, August - Dec 2024
Client: Waltham Forest Council with UK Shared Prosperity Fund
A dynamic publicity campaign with celebration event held on Small Business Saturday, December 2024 spotlighting the vibrant food and culinary businesses with Asian, African, Caribbean, East European, and the Middle Eastern cuisine along Lea Bridge Road and Markhouse Corner. 39 local businesses participated, 11 benefitted from photo and reel features, 43% increased footfall reported for Small Business Saturday.
The Walthamstow Griffin, May 2022-April 2023
Funders: Mayor of London’s Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm, Waltham Forest Council, St James Street Big Local
Featuring the major new public sculpture by Sandie M Sutton, and a suite of contemporary artworks including the vivid Flags of Our High Street Treasures co-created with Alisa Ruzavina, all inspired by the under-told stories of the people and heritage of Walthamstow High Street. Over 500 local residents, retailers and market traders contributed designs, stories and materials.
The Mile Long Street Party, 5 June 2022
Client: Waltham Forest Council
Animating the entirety of Walthamstow High Street with circus, opera, fusion dance, storytelling, international musicians, cricket, flashmobs, open air disco, workshops, street games and global cuisine. Attracting 20,000 visitors, this was a major Platinum Jubilee event realised in partnership with National Counter Terrorism Unit, Met Police, Fire and Ambulance services, and Highways, and the programme co-produced with 37 lead artists.
High Street ADVENTures, October - December 2019 & October - December 2021
Client: Waltham Forest Council as part of the Night Time Enterprise Zone pilot project awarded to Walthamstow High Street by the Mayor of London.
Over two editions, Artillery engaged 100 artists or creative collectives to partner with businesses & community sites, featuring 24 High Street locations each time, increasing footfall and transforming the visitor experience of the High Street after dark. Programme info here. View High Street ADVENTures film
A Winter Feast, 4 December 2022
Client: Waltham Forest Council
The 2022 iteration of High Street ADVENTures, the Winter Feast was especially curated to welcome arrival of The Walthamstow Griffin sculpture and artworks to Walthamstow High Street. This free, accessible event included world music, High Street procession, street games, a warming feast all co-created by a team of 102 artists, creatives, food suppliers and production staff.
Make Yourself at Home, Feb-June 2012
Client: Enfield Council financed by Mayor of London’s Outer London Fund.
Producing and curating a month of art interventions for Fore Street, Edmonton. Artillery explored stories of contemporary and historic homemaking with Bird Box Avenue, bespoke commemorative blue plaques, roaming performance Tickets Please, and public art installations.
Neighbourhood Projects
Grandad’s Island: From Page to Pavement, Aug’18-Mar’20
Funders: ‘Hero’ project commission awarded by Waltham Forest London Borough of Culture. Near Neighbours, William Morris Big Local, and sponsorship.
With 12 Associate Artists we co-created a multi-art form story trail of dance, sound compositions, procession, and installations in neighbourhoods across Waltham Forest responding to an award winning picture book by Benji Davies.
Bird Box Avenue for Chobham Manor, Apr-Sept 2017
Client: London Legacy Development Agency & L&Q.
Producers of placemaking project engaging 5 artists to join us in hands-on construction and decorative activities bringing new residents and established East London communities together in a shared creative purpose, resulting in an open air exhibition of 100+ artworks
Beans on Balconies: Making Space to Grow, Aug’15-Aug’17
Funder: People’s Health Trust.
Hyperlocal multigenerational project exploring the creative possibilities of urban food growing. Outputs included co-creation of Theatres of Learning for young families incl. The Sound Kitchen, Seed Sorting Warehouse and the Pop, Snip, Squeeze Kitchen.
How to Catch a Star Lantern Procession and Story Trail, Walthamstow 2012
Creative neighbourhood initiative with lead artist, Laura Kerry, inspired by Oliver Jeffers’ best selling picture book. Residents transformed a street with tableaux and lanterns created together through the summer.
When Wood Street Draws, Feb–Mar 2012 - Client: Waltham Forest Council financed by Mayor of London’s Outer London Fund.
A series of drawing games in Wood Street’s businesses and cafes to initiate conversations about what passers-by valued about and dreamed of for Wood Street. Provocations devised and created by Morag McGuire in partnership with Associate Artist, Della Rees.
Festivals and Showcases
Yes! Art project in progress since July 2023
Collectively developed with local creatives, Yes! Art creates a vibrant marketplace celebrating bold and diverse fine artists from across East London. Yes! Art has featured over 70 artists to date. More than a market, each event is curated with engaging talks, demos, live sketching, workshops and live music. Artillery provides marketing, support and tools for artists taking part.
Reuse & Repair Fairs 2024-26, project in progress since October 2023
Commissioned by Waltham Forest Council Climate Emergency Team
Highlighting ingenious and achievable solutions to tackling the climate crisis by reducing waste, this series of Fairs is co-programmed with local partners. To date they have featured 96 community initiatives and local businesses realising 7 Fairs, 3 pop-ups and 2 walking tours including facilitating 67 skill-sharing workshops, and all collectively diverting 6 tonnes of waste from landfill.
E17 Art Trail 2005-2024.
Funders: mixed economy of Local Authority funding, sponsorship, advertising, and registration fees. Over 20 years this grew into Artillery’s flagship project, evolving into an 18 day biennial festival inspiring collaborations among neighbours to create art for the places where we live, play & work. Typically the festival can feature 250+ events and exhibitions across c180 sites including over 30 learning settings, with over 8500 creative contributors at its peak. There have been 14 editions of the festival, with a comprehensive preparatory programme to support the collective process of shaping cultural programming together including mentoring, sharing practice with Idea Sparks talks and How to sessions, artist development, and community outreach initiatives. Take a virtual visit of the 2021 festival with this multi-media Miro report of Possible Futures. In 2024 we partnered with internationally renowned Bloomberg Connects, more details here e17arttrail.co.uk
Artists Open Houses Online, May-Sept 2020
Funder: Arts Council England Emergency Response Fund.
Devising, broadcasting and producing 6 live fortnightly virtual studio ‘visits’ featuring 13 diverse artists and art forms, 415 live ‘attenders’, with a parallel short film open call.
Fellowship Island, Walthamstow Garden Party, annually since 2014-2021.
Client: Barbican as part of the Beyond Barbican programme.
Programming & event productions for the moated island of this annual weekend festival incl. visual & participative art, spoken word & music performance, food & drink. Fellowship Island was a test bed for sharing festival curation and greener festival strategies.
‘Magic Carpet’ by artist Zarah Hussain, 2014 & 2015
Funder: Barbican commission in partnership with William Morris Gallery.
Producers for participatory light projection, developing digital partnership with Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and South Asian diaspora outreach.
Cultivate: Waltham Forest’s Urban Food Growing Festival 2014-2018
Client: Waltham Forest Council Environment Directorate.
Produce programme of spring & autumn grassroots activities to inspire more urban food growing initiatives among borough’s residents.
Words Over Waltham Forest, 2013
Funder: Waltham Forest Council and sponsors
A festival of language and literary inspired events curated and produced in partnership with Waltham Forest Library Service. 106 events over 21 days from performances, talks, workshops, to poetry hunts, installations in pram sheds, exhibitions and dance in shopping centres.
Appetite Festival, Nunhead 2013
Client: Southwark Council financed by Mayor of London’s Outer London Fund.
17 day festival championing independent food and drink producers with a series of creative collaborations from food trails to performances to exhibitions, launched with a Feast on the Green.
Appetite Festival, Waltham Forest 2013
30 day festival pilot showcasing artisanal cuisine and art in Waltham Forest, it featured over 250 local individuals and small businesses supported to devise unique food and art experiences for local audiences.
Young Creatives Programme
Some Kind of Hack Space, project in progress since February 2023
Funder: Foundation for Future London: Connecting People & Places Collaborative Commission.
Piloting an episodic creative lab space devised for and with neurodiverse young people enabling autonomous, self led creative learning, especially making digital technology and tools accessible. Partnering with a local FE college, Artillery has recruited a team to support neurodivergent young people who struggle to access mainstream education to be resourced with the conditions and expertise to embark on their own creative experiments. Discover more in this padlet report
Games Cafe, project in progress since August 2024
Founded by young people from 'Some Kind of Hack Space' who wanted to create a much needed opportunity to socialise in a quieter space, the Games Cafe also offers visits to related cultural events in Central London, all benefitting from Artillery’s due diligence and safeguarding procedures.
Wonder with Light, Dec’18-Apr’19
Funders: Waltham Forest Community Ward Forums, Waltham Forest Council Leader’s Fund, William Morris Big Local, Priory Court Community Centre.
Theatre of Learning to inspire learning settings, community groups & artists in creative possibilities of Newton’s light experiments in anticipation of E17 Art Trail 2019. Welcomed 478 participants over 10days including young adults with complex learning disabilities.
Welcome to Frederick Street, Aug–Sept 2010
Partnership with CLaSS and LBWF Youth Service
Series of skill sharing workshops to create festival-scale flags and banners to transform the approach to Frederick Street Youth Club and neighbouring Children’s Centre into a colourful and attractive street.
Rearranging the Deck Chairs, Lloyd Park 2009
Partnering with detached youth workers co-creating a collection of 50 restored and built deck chairs with Skate Park users.
Creative Development & Artist Residencies
Artillery WhatsApp Community, ongoing since March 2020
Started as a mutual aid space for local creatives navigating the rapid close downs of work opportunities due to COVID-19, this group has grown to over 400 members where people share opportunities and consider challenges together. The community now hosts groups for specialists in four related fields.
Value: An Artists’ Incubator, January 2023 - October 2024
Funder: Foundation for Future London: Westfield Eastbank Creative Futures Fund
Artists development programme designed to nurture Waltham Forest’s creative ecology in the twin challenges of a post-pandemic and high inflation economy. An open-access mentoring programme including 1to1’s, including How To workshops, and Idea Sparks Forums with co-designed panels of visiting speakers, and a Creative Business Builder programme.
Creative Business Builder, May- October 2023
Supporting 24 artists and creative sole traders in partnership with To Market in applying business strategies to finding clients and securing income for their creative business.
The Walthamstow Griffin, March 2023
Funder: Community Ward Funding
With Associate Artist, Sandie M Sutton, devise and deliver Continuing Professional Development sessions for whole staff teams teaching Key Stages 1 & 2. Staff learned and developed techniques in sculpting using cardboard, to create mythical beasts plus background to Griffin mythology. Artillery’s teacher resource pack is available as an open-access downloadable resource for all learning settings..
Imagination Exchange: Barbican, May 2021:
What if everything we do could be community powered?
Discursive artist development session co-devised with Chloe Osborne to inspire future delivery structures for the Walthamstow Garden Party. Invited speakers: Susan Wills, Save Higham Hill Library Campaign; Toby Poolman, Blackhorse Workshop; Tony Cealy, 81 Acts of Exuberant Defiance; Tom Williams, Woodland Tribe; Lucy Hayhoe, artist.
Same Sky Artists Residencies, May – September 2021
Focusing on developing participative projects for Walthamstow’s high streets and parks during Covid restrictions. 5 artists received bursaries and budget for material costs, introductions to creative activists and focused mentoring to pilot initiatives during the E17 Art Trail 2021.
Grandad’s Island Storymaking, May 2021
Produced with Associate Artist Del Taylor as part of Grandad’s Island: From Page to Pavement. This workshop series shared storymaking techniques for lifting stories from picturebooks and into imaginative and collective play for Early Years Foundation Stage & Key Stage 1 practitioners.
Wonder with Light: Feb - March 2020
A series of sessions for artists and teachers exploring the creative learning opportunities of this immersive learning environment including a Working in Partnership case study presentation with headteacher Helen Currie to Waltham Forest Cultural Education Partnership CPD event.
Culture on Every Corner, Big Culture Conversation, Mar 2018
Client: Waltham Forest Council.
Curate discussion panel and activities to reflect on local experience in accessible, inclusive and local creative programming and look ahead to what’s possible for London Borough of Culture.
No Artist is an Island, Lloyd Park 2005 & 2006
Three waves of artist residencies with community engagement supporting 6 artists each time. Audiences were invited to be part of the process at regular points throughout the residency, achieving rare access as artworks evolved.
Our Funders and Clients
.png)
_edited.jpg)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
Image Credits:
From Page to Pavement: Grandad's Island, Flags by Kally Laurence © Andrew Baker
High Street ADVENTures, Mbilla Arts © Jenna Selby
From Page to Pavement: Grandad's Island, Tales on the Wing Procession © James Robertshaw
Yes! Art 2025, Jose Moura © Laura Martinez
Wonder with Light © Chloe Beale
Same Sky Artist Residency © Jane Sharp