Waltham Forest, which covers the area north of Stratford including the London areas of Walthamstow, Leyton, and Chigford (which used to be their own towns/villages) to the northeast edge of what has now been consumed by London, is this year's Borough of Culture. This is the first year that London has had a Borough of Culture. The goal of this is to bring together the community with artists and other creatives to celebrate that community. Waltham Forest London Borough will aim to highlight diversity, character, art, and culture throughut the year with different programs and events taking place. The opening night for this venture, dubbed "Welcome to the Forest" has taken place this weekend from Friday to Sunay nights.
"Welcome to the Forest" took place on January 11-13, 2019. I visited it on Saturday night after spending a day in Walthamstow. The events of the evening included illuminated projections with music and a celebration of the area on the Town Hall, a parade and display of flames and neon signs on Forest Road, and a light show at Lloyd Park.
First up, I started the evening at Town Hall where I arrived an hour earlier (one of the museums closed earlier than stated on their website) and waited around. The stewards didn't know what they were doing and it was all very disorganised; after asking twice, I was told to wait in the wrong place and then they changed their mind and didn't tell me, so I was not impressed considering that I was the first one there an hour ahead of time. So, after that disoganisation, I finally got in and watched the two illuminations projected onto the facade of the Town Hall.
The first segment was a selection of small videos of performers that were singing/playing a song about the borough. This was put together by Addictive TV. This was a shorter segment and was created to showcase the different musical styles of the borough, blended together.
The second segment, created by Greenaway and Greenaway and Talvin Singh and titled "Into the Forest", was almost half an hour long and celebrated the history of Walthamstow as well as its current incarnation, diversity, skills, and how the past has shaped the area. Street art, gentrification, diversity, culture, art, music, employment, and housing were all celebrated or discussed with various views.
"Gods Own Junkyard", a local business specialising in neon signs that have sold to celebrities and have had their signs used in popular films, provided some neon signs for the trees in front of Town Hall. Other local groups provided diverse entertainment along Forest Road.
The last stop was to Lloyd Park, a short walk away from Town Hall. First up and in front of the William Morris Gallery was a group of flames lit up into patterns that artist William Morris is known for. The main attraction was a immersive sound and light sculpture called "Nest" by Marshmallow Laser Feast. The lights are projected into the sky, changing shape and pattern to a soundscape.
Overall, it was a great opening ceremony to showcase the arts, culture and diversity of Walthamstow, an area of London that I have never been to until this weekend. The only aspect that was not done well was work of the stewards; this should have been more organised.
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