Stanley Arts Announces ARCADIA Climate-Conscious Arts Festival

Over four days, Stanley Arts will be taken over by Arcadia, young people's response to the climate crisis, imagining a future in harmony with balance and nature.

With many free events and activities, the festival features performances, film screenings - including headliner Can I Live? presented by Complicité - live music, guest speakers, eco-activities, dance, and ends in a colourful Holi celebration.

Arcadia is presented as part of the legacy of Croydon Borough of Culture, and marks the venue joining the network Culture Declares Emergency in declaring climate and ecological emergency.

The festival is presented in five strands:

· Performances: three promenade performances and experiences made by local young people with Croydon Youth Theatre Organisation, BirdGang and Syrus Consultancy including theatre, film and dance. Taking place twice a day from 4 - 6 April, the shows will travel around different spaces in the venue to explore the seasons, the elements and the impact of climate crisis on individual lives.

· Installations: two installations will be open throughout the festival, both created with young people from Croydon. Cultivate Croydon, made by Croydon Youth Association, is a visual and textual arts exploration of what Croydon's green space means to the borough, and HUH?!, made by Boundless Theatre, is a playful installation asking audiences to decode a communication from another planet.

· We are the Forest: Marketplace, Workshops + Gardening: the whole day of 6th April will be an eclectic mix of activities for all ages. Attendees can connect with local climate and nature groups, learn about bike fixing and beekeeping, enjoy vegan and vegetarian food, gain tips in how to make their homes more sustainable and get into gardening.

· Can I Live? Film Screening, Q&A + Party: inspired by Fehinti Balogun's experiences in environmental activism, Can I Live? is a specially filmed performance prompting an urgent conversation about the lack of diversity at the heart of the British climate movement. Balogun (I May Destroy You) is an actor, writer and activist, and now delivers his energising exploration of where the climate emergency and social justice meet. Using rap, spoken word and theatre, it is a call-to-arms to anyone who may have felt excluded from activism or anyone curious about how to get involved. The screening is followed by a Q&A with Fehinti Balogun, eco artist Ian Solomon-Kawall (KMT Freedom Teacher), co-founder of Culture Declares Emergency Kay Michael and Arcadia young artists on the climate, activism and the arts. The evening will end with live music curated by the Hip Hop Garden, including Amy True, fusing rap, jazz and soul.

· Spring into Action: Nature, Colour + Festivities: A collaboration with Beeja Dance to mark the arrival of spring and the joyous spirit of Holi with colour, music, dance, food and festivities. From mesmerising dance performances by both local and national companies to captivating music acts, a special exhibition, exhilarating workshops, food, and, of course, the thrill of playing with colours. Nature trails will be lead by Lira Valencia (@outsidewithlira) and journalist and cultural historian Chris Schüler, author of 'The Wood That Built London' to partake in tree-care activity and learn about the ancient Great North Wood.

Kay Michael, co-producer of Arcadia, said "Climate change and biodiversity loss is here and isn't slowing down. We're facing this head-on by galvanising our local community of artists, creative partners, young people and activists to imagine what a greener, healthier and fairer future looks like and how we can get there. Arcadia is a mythological utopia, a golden age of peace, harmony and prosperity for all. We're drawing on this vision of a green paradise, and centering young people's responses to it, rooted in the locality, history and cultural diversity of Croydon, one of London's greenest boroughs. We're excited to see what comes next."

Stanley Arts is one of South London's premiere arts and performance venues, providing their local community with a vital home for cultural expression and discovery. As a radically inclusive space they seek to foreground under-represented voices, providing artists of colour and LGBTQ+ creatives with a platform to reach out to audiences across South London and beyond.

Installations 5

Apr 5pm - 10pm, 6

Apr 10am - 7.30pm, 7 Apr 2pm - 8pm

Cultivate Croydon | Created collaboratively between Croydon Youth Assembly transformation group and Fables Creative Additionally open 4 Apr 5.30pm - 10pm

A visual arts and textual exploration of what Croydon's green space means to the borough; about what it can be; and what it might become. Led by young activists who participate in tree planting, litter picking, and other eco-friendly interventions throughout Croydon.

HUH!? | produced by Boundless Theatre, Produced Moon and Jesper Pedersen.

You're invited to decode communication received from an off planet species and learn about their world. Inspired by the Voyager Golden Records sent into space in the 1970s, this playful installation asks the question - what can we learn from other ways of being? What is out there? And would we be able to understand each other, or would we just go HUH!?!

HUH?! Is being developed by Jesper Pedersen (Denmark), Produced Moon (Scotland) and Boundless (England) alongside designers, linguists, architects, scientists, alien trackers and behavioural psychologists.

For Arcadia we've been working with young creatives: Michael, Umar, Purity, Kathryn and Katie. They have created a fantasy world many lightyears away for you to explore: GOF.

HUH!?! is a collaboration with artists in England, Scotland and Denmark, HUH? Is

Performances 4 Apr 6.30pm & 8.30pm, 5 Apr 6.30pm & 8.30pm, 6 Apr 2.30pm & 4.30pm

Three promenade performances and experiences made by local young people including theatre, film and dance. Please note the performances are not seated but will be traveling through different spaces in the venue. Please email bookings@stanleyarts.org if you have access needs.

One Last Breath | Produced by Chris Syrus Consultancy

Imani is a young girl who cares about people, animals and the environment. She has grown up in an urban environment with her brother. Follow her journey through relationships, music and how the global crisis impacts her very life.

Seasons and Reasons for Change | Produced by CYTO's (Croydon Youth Theatre Organisation) Act Three and Act Up!

Four short plays inspired by the four seasons. Spring unpacks the superficial way young people are taught about the climate crisis. Summer sees the powerful elite attempt to distract you. Autumn hits home as young people attempt to agree on a message to change hearts and minds. Winter transports us to Antartica, where climate scientists are finalising a major research project.

The Four Elements | Collaboratively created and choreographed by BirdGang Ltd. and EGGZ (performers)

A collection of dance pieces rooted in the four elements; air, fire, earth and water. The pieces explore the characteristics of each element as well as the relationship between them, whether that be harmonious or confrontational. The piece details the impact of these relationships and their cyclical nature, with greater focus on outcomes in relation to climate change.

We are the Forest: Marketplace, Workshops + Gardening

Apr 6 10am - 5.30pm

Join a marketplace of free community activity: explore local climate and nature groups as they take over our main hall, wider venue and yard with a variety of eco activities for you to get involved with and learn about.

Led by Sustainable Thornton Heath's Pop Up, the day will be filled with workshops on climate science and eco anxiety, vegetarian and vegan treats, tips on food growing and gardening and the opportunity to even have your bike repaired.

Indoor in the Main Hall

Sustainable​​ Thornton Heath: A group committed to learning, sharing and supporting each other to live more sustainable lives and to help make Thornton Heath more sustainable. We'll be hosting one of their regular pop-ups which will include a kids zone of games and art activities; an electrical repair party helping you repair your faulty or broken electrical items; a refill station for household laundry and washing products (bring your containers!), a terracycle waste drop-off and free Ethical Consumer Magazines.

Croydon Beekeepers Association: Learn about pollinators, buy some local honey and do some candle rolling with beeswax. The Croydon Beekeepers have been going since 1879 and know everything you need to know about bees!

Croydon Climate Action: Find out how you can get active in local solutions to the climate crisis, from campaigns to planting more trees in areas of green space deprivation to achieving a Pesticide-Free Croydon. Everyone is needed!

Croydon Community Energy: Get some free energy advice, tips and skills from Croydon's first renewable energy cooperative. Their vision is to develop renewable energy projects and deliver energy education to empower our community to get to the nation's net zero goals.

Croydon Vegan and Vegetarians: Try some baked goods and get some recipe tips from one of the oldest vegetarian groups in the UK.

Go Wild With Us: Reconnect with nature, your own wildness and wellness with seasonal craft and find out more about the Heartwood site project and upcoming outdoor activities for all ages.

Red Kite Plants: Learn about nature friendly garden design for city spaces, take part in their annual #Sunflowersofsono sunflower grow-along and bring seeds to swap as part of their a community seed swap.

Tanio Pizza will be selling pizzas for lunch in the Yard between 12.30 - 3.30pm.

Outdoor events

Dr Bike

10am - 1pm: Outside the front of the venue

Outside the front of the building get your bike a free roadworthy safety check, have minor repairs fixed for free (excluding parts) and get advice on best practice on how to wear a cycling helmet.

Let's Get Gardening!

11am - 12pm Gazebo, The Yard

Get your hands in the soil with Tracy Holtham, our Gardening Volunteer Leader at Stanley Arts. Tracy is an interdisciplinary artist, gardener, and mental health advocate. She has always been curious about nature and its restorative properties, and has a particular interest in the interplay between historic architecture and green spaces. She'll introduce you to the plant life we have here in our Yard and will lead some gardening activities for all ages to enjoy.

Other bookable events

Climate Fresk Workshops

10.30am - 1.30pm: The Society Room

Want to help tackle climate change but don't have the time to become a climate scientist? In just 3 hours, the collaborative Climate Fresk workshop will teach you the fundamental science behind climate change and empower you to take action. The workshops will teach you how climate change works and empower you to take effective action as a citizen. Refreshments will be provided.

FREE, but pre-booking is advised

Meadow Book Reading for 2 - 6yrs

10am - 11am: The Boundless Box, The Yard

Join theatre-maker and artist Rachel Lincoln who will be reading her new Picture E-Book Meadow, to an original score. It's a silly, playful and colourful story about biodiversity in a wonderful slither of Meadow in Croydon. Then we will create our own stories about our love for local nature. Expect some movement, and lots of fun words and drawing! Aimed at Ages 2-6.

FREE, but pre-booking is advised

Climate Café

11.30am - 1pm, The Boundless Box, The Yard

A space to reflect and discuss the climate crisis and our relationship to the Earth. Come for a chat, a biscuit, and a welcoming smile. This event is facilitated by practitioners from the climate psychology alliance alongside young producers of Arcadia, bridging creativity with conversation.

FREE, but pre-booking is advised

Introduction to Permaculture with the Hip Hop Garden

4pm - 5.30pm: The Boundless Box, The Yard

Learn the basic principles of permaculture, how to design with and for nature. Led by Ian Solomon Kawall, aka KMT Freedom Teacher, a musician, community activist and gardener, whose May Project Gardens in Morden in south London includes a herb spiral, growing beds, water butt system, compost toilet, cob oven, insulated treehouse, forest garden, ponds, an orchard and eco-built outdoor classroom.

FREE, but pre-booking is advised

Can I Live? Film Screening, Q&A + Party

Apr 6 7.30pm - 10.30pm

Can I Live? | presented by Complicité, conceived, written and performed by Fehinti Balogun

Why don't we talk about it? Fehinti Balogun asks this urgent question and offers an invitation in Can I Live?, a vital new digital performance about the climate catastrophe, sharing his personal journey into the biggest challenge of our times. Weaving his story with spoken word, rap, theatre, animation and the scientific facts, Fehinti charts a course through the fundamental issues underpinning the emergency, identifying the intimate relationship between the environmental crisis & the global struggle for social justice, and sharing how, as a young Black British man, he has found his place in the climate movement.

In the face of a sense of helplessness about the climate catastrophe, Can I Live? is an outstretched hand, inviting audiences to recognise they are not alone - and that through understanding the issues and connecting with the many powerful activists around the globe driving change, we can find a sense of hope for the future.

A Complicité production in association with the Barbican, London, supported by Doc Society and Oxford Playhouse. Supported by Arts Council England and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

Running Time: 60 mins | Suitable for ages 12+

Content information: contains some flashing images, some strong language, explores themes of racism, classism and describes some violence.

Followed by Q&A with Fehinti Balogun, eco artist Ian Solomon-Kawall (KMT Freedom Teacher), co-founder of Culture Declares Emergency Kay Michael and Arcadia young artists.

The evening will end with live music and MCs curated by the Hip Hop Garden, who bring together musicians, artists and activists who connect creative expression with nature and social change.

About the speakers and artists:

Fehinti Balogun is an actor, theatre maker and an activist. As an actor he trained at RADA and has worked in theatre, film and television, with recent performances in Walden directed by Ian Rickson on the West End, The Blue Door at Bath Theatre Royal; BBC Radio 4's retelling of Oliver Twist and the BBC HBO television drama I May Destroy You written by Michaela Cole. Alongside his acting career, he delivers talks on the climate emergency aimed at creating a more rounded and inclusive conversation. As a result of these talks,he has toured around London and south England discussing the climate emergency and taking part in international climate discussions.

Ian Solomon-Kawall (KMT Freedom Teacher) is a dedicated artist who has spent over two decades using the medium of hip-hop to inspire positive social change and bring attention to a wide range of important social issues. His unwavering passion for environmental conservation and preservation is just one aspect of his advocacy work. He is the CEO & Co-founder of the May Project Gardens and currently consults for Bristol Council as the Climate Change Diversity and Engagement Manager.

Kay Michael is a theatre-maker, creative producer, facilitator and activist. She has developed and staged new writing at theatres including Theatre Royal Plymouth, Arcola and Bristol Old Vic. She is a co-founder of Culture Declares Emergency, an international movement of artists and organisations responding to the climate and ecological emergency. She produced the 'Extinction Underground' festival at VAULTS and has facilitated 'Cultural Assemblies' for hundreds of participants at the Roundhouse, Southbank Centre and Central St Martins. Kay is a co-founder and director of Letters to the Earth, an award-winning participatory creative campaign, for whom she has produced educational resources, creative actions and has spoken at global climate conferences. She co-curated and edited the book 'Letters to the Earth, Writing to a Planet in Crisis' introduced by Emma Thompson. Kay is co-producer of Arcadia with Chrissy Jay.

May Project Gardens (MPG) is a Global Majority-led, award-winning grassroots organisation in the borough of Merton, working with marginalised urban communities to address poverty, disempowerment, and access to resources and influence. They provide practical, affordable, and collective solutions for people to live sustainably and challenge power structures that don't serve their interests. We do this using what we consider universally connecting tools - nature, food, and creative arts - to foster people's personal transformation, which collectively leads to social change. The mission of MPG is to connect people to nature for personal, social and economic transformation.

Their award-winning Hip Hop Garden programme engages urban youth with nature through popular Hip Hop culture, transcending language and cultural backgrounds. It's delivered using five elements: Wellbeing, Food, Hip Hop, Employment & Entrepreneurship, and Event Management.

Amy True (+ band) has been delivering a politicised fusion of hip hop, jazz and soul since the early 2000s. Her sound is a steady stream of rebellious rap delivered atop soulful melodic hooks; using lyrics to conscientiously provoke a shift in her audience's perspective. Amy True has been described as "one of the most influential and talked about personalities in the Hip Hop, Soul and Jazz scene". Since being named 'the one to watch' in 2010 by the Mobo Awards, Amy True became known for her debut projects 'Subject of My Environment' and 'Tryna Get By' before joining People's Army*. She later became a member of 'Caxton Press', winning Best HipHop Album for 'Shame The Devil' by Wordplay Magazine. Throughout her career, Amy True has continued to place herself at the forefront of socially conscious movements. Her back catalogue is packed with collaborations alongside fellow advocates of change. In 2017 she put down vocals for dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah's album 'Revolutionary Minds' and became part of his live tour band. She has supported acts such as Public Enemy ("Amy True is so dope" quote by Chuck D), Mos Def and Immortal Technique. And has been featured on albums with hip hop artist Akala, and iconic rap group Asian Dub Foundation. Such collaborations reflect Amy True's philosophy, as a member of the '*People's Army Movement', of working together to provide unity, understanding and positive social change through music, arts, and education.

Spring into Action: Nature, Colour + Festivities 7 Apr

10am - 8pm

Nature trail and volunteering with Lira Valencia at South Norwood Lake 10am - 12pm

Lira has been described as an 'Urban Wildlife Queen' and the David Attenborough of Croydon. She is a London Wildlife Trust ranger and wildlife content creator. She'll be leading a nature trail from Stanley Arts and heading toward the South Norwood Lake where she'll share the joys of bird-watching and her favourite wildlife species. We will then join the Friends of South Norwood Lake to learn how to take care of newly planted trees and get active. Any under 16 year olds must be accompanied by an adult.

FREE, but pre-booking is advised

The Wood That Built London: Walking tour of the Great North Wood at Grangewood Park

1.30pm - 3pm

It is hard to imagine that the busy townscape of South London was once a great wood, stretching almost seven miles from Croydon to Deptford or that, scattered through the suburbs, from Dulwich to Norwood, a number of oak woodlands have survived since before the Norman Conquest. Chris Schüler, freelance writer, journalist and cultural historian will be leading a walking tour to one of the surviving woodlands nearby and talking about his book The Wood That Built London, a history of the Great North Wood. Books will be available to purchase.

FREE, but pre-booking is advised

Holi Celebrations 2pm - 8pm

A collaboration with Beeja Dance to mark the arrival of spring and the joyous spirit of Holi with colour, music, dance, food and festivities.Holi, the festival of colours, marks the arrival of spring.

Beeja and Stanley Arts invites you to immerse yourself in the joyous spirit of Holi with an array of exciting activities for all ages. From mesmerising dance performances by both local and national companies to captivating music acts, special exhibition, exhilarating workshops, food, and, of course, the thrill of playing with colours. The event has something special for everyone.

Tickets: £8 for adults, £6 concessions, £4 for children over 4yrs.

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