Tower Hamlets has a vibrant arts scene, and a host of family and community activities. We hope you find something to enjoy.
For more events taking place in Tower Hamlets this month, visit our What’s on Guide for arts and entertainment listings.
 Young people aged 11-19 can get creative this summer with a range of free holiday activities across the borough. A host of exciting workshops and week-long sessions include dance, animation, DJ-ing, drama and much more - with plenty to choose from!
Activities beginning in late July include
-
Performing London - The 1 Week Challenge
-
Bollywood Summer Camp
-
Resistance is Our Mother Tongue Summer Series
-
Ogaal: Traditional Music Workshops
-
Ogaal: DJ-ing Workshops
-
Ogaal: Traditional Somali Dance
-
Summer Fun & Dance: Bengali Traditional Folk Dance
Book your place.
Supported by Young Tower Hamlets. All sessions are open to those who live, work or study in Tower Hamlets.
 We’re looking forward to a summer of fun in our parks!
Our summer holiday activities include sports and adventure play, inclusive play sessions (suitable for SEND children and young people), gardening, fun with food, cooking, art in the park, sticker hunts and more!
Nature activities include pond dipping, bird watching, tree walks and bird box making as well as a chance to take part in fishing and canoeing on the Victoria Park Lake.
Have a great day out at our family days in parks across the borough.
Have fun on the farm with donkey rides, animal handling, farm tours and build, make and grow.
All activities are FREE and open to all families who live, work or study in Tower Hamlets. There are activities to suit all age ranges from 3 – 18 (25 SEND). Children must be accompanied by adults. You can just turn up to most activities although spaces are limited. Some activities require advance booking.
 A Team Arts Education are running four free summer programmes in partnership with The Prince’s Foundation, UAL: Central St Martins and Alexander McQueen. All programmes are free and are open to young people who live, work or study in Tower Hamlets.
- The Textile Crafts and Design Programme for students keen to discover new materials, processes, and traditional global techniques.
- The Junior Foundation Programme is an opportuntity for young people in years 6, 7, 8 and 9 to try different art forms on the themes of community and heritage.
- Create a Sketchbook will help students learn how to look at artists work and take inspiration into their own sketches.
- Film Making & Animation is a week-long course introducing stop motion animated film making.
 The Brady Arts Centre hosts the End of Year Shows for the Idea Store Learning arts and creative industries classes which take place at the centre and Shadwell Print Studio.
The work on display showcases an eclectic stylistic mix and a wide array of experience and ability. The work was created during courses and workshops in screen-printing, collograph, intaglio, lino, mono printing and block printing. The vibrant and inspiring atmosphere of the classes has enabled students to pursue their own interests and achieve a very high standard of work. The exhibition is on show from 8 July to 30 August.
 Young V&A opens in London’s Bethnal Green on Saturday 1 July. Designed with and for 0–14-year-olds, Young V&A’s mission is to inspire the next generation of artists, designers, performers and practitioners.
From optical illusions to den-building, and with a stage to perform on, Young V&A is packed full of hands-on activities alongside daring new collection displays.
Taking place on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 July visitors are invited to Young V&A’s Summer Festival to explore everything the museum has to offer alongside a series of free fun and creative activities. Experience performances from local young talent such as Britain’s Got Talent finalists IMD Legion, the east London based Grand Union Orchestra, and hula-hoop performance group Marawa's Majorettes. There will also be the chance to help create a large-scale art installation with Leap then Look that will grow as visitors add their own unique contributions over the weekend.
 Head down to Spitalfields City Farm Summer Fair on Saturday 1 July for a fun-filled day perfect for families, art lovers, and animal enthusiasts. Enjoy delicious food, browse local art vendors, and learn more about the amazing animals that call the farm home. There will be live music, workshops, and fun activities for kids of all ages.
Before the fair there will be a Chicken Run fun run, where you can jog, walk, or run through Weavers Fields - just round the corner from the farm.
All proceeds from the fun run and summer fair go directly to supporting the city farm and the animals.
 An annual festival celebrating the life of Thomas Crosbie and realising his vision of young people in east London having the opportunity to participate in the arts and to realise their potential.
This free family festival takes place on Wennington Green, Mile End Park on Saturday 8 July. Activities include performance by young people and others in music, spoken word and dance, together with displays and activities focusing on young people's mental health. Advice and information will be available to all.
There will also be food and refreshments; stalls run by a range of local organisations and entertainment for children of all ages including under 5s.
 The Summer Fair is back!
After some years away due to Covid-19 and all the associated lockdowns, Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park are thrilled to be welcoming the community back for the 2023 Summer Fair!
This will be a day of fun activities, informative tours, stalls for local makers, delicious food and drink and of course a chance to find out more about the work the Friends do at Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park.
 The Space are joining forces with Canary Wharf for Festival14! As part of the line-up of comedy, live music and theatre The Space and Half Moon Theatre and running FREE family focused events in the glorious Crossrail Roof Garden from 26 – 30 July. All tickets are free to book and advanced booking is recommended to avoid disappointment.
The activities at Crossrail Place Roof Gardens are part of Festivals14’s takeover of Canary Wharf’s parks, plazas, and open spaces, with a packed programme spanning music, theatre, dance, comedy and children’s activities.
 Moving Recovery is returning to east London this July!
Moving Recovery is a weekly dance and movement activity for adults affected by addiction (which includes people with experience of addiction themselves, affected by a loved one's addiction or at risk of addiction) and no experience is required.
This isn't dance as you know it... participants will learn to unlock their own movements and ignite their creativity! Would you like to take part? FREE Taster Sessions at The Brady Arts Centre. Find out more and register.
 New Houses. A slum clearance operation in Poplar, East London, 19th April 1951.©Topical Press Agency/Getty Images/Hulton Archive.
Images of Housing, Homelessness and Resistance in London's East End
A major new exhibition opens at Four Corners Gallery on 30 June. Conditions of Living: Home and Homelessness in London's East End takes a visual journey from workhouses to slum clearances, tower blocks and homeless shelters, to explore how photographs have represented these conditions for over a century. It includes little-known histories such as the tenants' rent strikes of the 1930s, post-war squatting, and 'bonfire corner', a meeting place for homeless people at Spitalfields Market for over twenty years.
The exhibition is accompanied by a series of talks and screenings, that will discuss the work in the context of campaigns for housing justice. Further information coming soon.
Conditions of Living is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
 So much music and storytelling awaits this summer as Spitalfields Music Festival returns. Traverse 500 years of music and history, with concerts staged in remarkable venues that are themselves a treat to step inside. As ever, Spitalfields Music is bringing extraordinary music and musicians to east London, this year featuring a stellar line-up of singers, ensembles, artists and an array of exciting premieres. Browse the 2023 Festival line-up and buy tickets
In the run up to the festival you can take part in ‘Whatever Your Weather’, a music-led mindfulness workshop at Rich Mix on Sunday 2 July. Bringing together their love of music and passion for well-being, join Raph Clarkson, Martha Wright and musicians from the award-winning Engines Orchestra for an immersive music and mindfulness experience.
 Image: VPF © 2010>2022
Come and enjoy a great family afternoon at Vicky Park's famous bandstand as the Victoria Park Bandstand Season draws to a close for 2023. Concerts take place every Sunday until 30 July. This month you can catch Graham Pike and The Stepney Supper Club, Saudha, London City Brass, Harry & The Chicks, Joli Blon Cajun Band and more! Fantastic free concerts to liven up your summer Sunday. Performances start at 2pm. Check out the full programme.
The bandstand season is brought to you by Victoria Park Friends Group in partnership with Tower Hamlets Council.
 In the Neighbourhood at Luno Presents All Points East.
In partnership with Tower Hamlets Council, the local community, businesses, organisations and suppliers, In the Neighbourhood host a vibrant programme of free activities and entertainment in Victoria Park. From outdoor cinema, live music and entertainment and street food to pop up bars, theatre, arts, sports and wellbeing, children’s activities and lots more.
Sunday 20 August - Wednesday 23 August. Free Entry. Full programme coming soon.
If you are organising arts or cultural events, either online or at your venue in Tower Hamlets, please submit listings to our What’s On pages.
Use #TowerHamletsTogether to highlight your event and enter wider conversations about activities and support available to the local community.
Twitter @THevents
Facebook TowerHamletsEvents
 |
|
Tell your friends!
|
We’re delighted that you're one of our readers!
If you enjoy our arts and events highlights, why not invite your friends and family to subscribe?
Simply send them this link.
|
|
Did you know that Tower Hamlets offers other email newsletters to keep you up to date on a variety of topics?
|
