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This is the archived website of the Waterloo Festival 2021 with additional material from Waterloo Festival 2020. We hope you will enjoy exploring this cornucopia of arts, heritage and community creativity. For the current website, visit here.
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from 2021
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 19, 2021
Programme notes: Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 and Vaughan Williams' Bass Tuba Concerto
Ernest Read Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Christopher Stark Leader: John Crawford Sunday, 20th June 2021 Concerto in F Minor for Bass...
Waterloo Festival Team
May 25, 2021
“The Scene Below Can Be Imagined…”
The Shot Tower at the Festival of Britain of 1951.
Waterloo Festival Team
May 18, 2021
Claude Rogers OBE (1907-1979)
The London Group (TLG) is teaming up again with Waterloo Festival over two exhibitions at this year's edition, later in June. We both...
Waterloo Festival Team
May 11, 2021
Vanessa Bell (1879-1961)
The London Group (TLG) is teaming up again with Waterloo Festival over two exhibitions at this year's edition, later in June. We both...
Waterloo Festival Team
May 6, 2021
Churchyard is still buzzing
Luckily for us, plants keep growing. Whilst the garden team has been on and off furlough, the churchyard survives to bloom another day....
Waterloo Festival Team
May 4, 2021
William "Bill" Gear (1915-1997)
The London Group (TLG) is teaming up again with Waterloo Festival over two exhibitions at this year's edition, later in June. We both...
from 2020
Waterloo Festival Team
Jul 14, 20207 min read
Artists in Waterloo #10: Colette Kelly
Throughout Waterloo Festival 2020, we platformed artists who either live in or are connected to Waterloo. And we are continuing this...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 28, 20204 min read
Waterloo Festival 2020: Lights (half) out!
Euchar Gravina Artistic Director Sunset is setting at Waterloo Festival 2020. Photo: Thames River from Waterloo Bridge. What an...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 28, 20202 min read
On this day... (28th June) Happy Pride!
On the 28th of June 1969 the revolutionary Stonewall Riots kicked off in Manhattan, launching 50 years of hard-fought progress for the...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 27, 20204 min read
Artists in Waterloo #9: Rachel Wegh
Throughout Waterloo Festival 2020, we've been platforming artists who either live in or are connected to Waterloo. To finish off this...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 26, 20202 min read
Our creative partners #9: Nonclassical
Waterloo Festival thrives on creative partnerships, on bringing professionals from the world of arts and music to collaborate with and...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 26, 20204 min read
The churchyard in Waterloo #7: Box moth and caterpillars
Over the last few weeks, we've been exploring the Churchyard at St John's Waterloo, its history, its plants and its kind carers. Jonathan...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 25, 20207 min read
The churchyard in Waterloo #6: Gardening against Adversity, thoughts on a line from Virgil
Jonathan Trustram, a volunteer at the Churchyard at St John's Waterloo, has been helping us explore the garden's history, its plants and...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 25, 20205 min read
The Story of Waterloo #11: The Queen's Walk Trees
Jenny O'Neill decided to investigate the history of The Queen's Walk, an avenue of trees planted in the 1970s to memorialise the Civilian...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 24, 20207 min read
Okusinza mu Luganda #11: Lessons on faith, fellowship and inclusion
by Shanon Shah As a gay man from Malaysia, I often feel conflicted when Malaysia makes the headlines, especially on gender or sexuality....
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 23, 20205 min read
The story of Waterloo #10: Edward Henry House
by Oisín Hetherington A historian’s dream would be a time machine – how useful it would be to hop into my Tardis and travel back to...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 23, 20205 min read
Artists in Waterloo #7: Gillian Melling
Throughout the Waterloo Festival 2020, we've been platforming artists who either live in or are connected to Waterloo. Today, we hear...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 23, 20203 min read
The churchyard in Waterloo #5: about campsis and echiums
We're now exploring the Churchyard at St John's Waterloo, its history, its plants and its kind carers. Jonathan Trustram, from the...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 22, 20202 min read
Windrush Day: on this day... (22nd June)
On the 22nd of June 1948, migrants from countries including Jamaica, Bermuda, Trinidad and British Guiana disembarked from the HMT Empire...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 22, 20208 min read
Okusinza mu Luganda #10: “We are all disciples”
by Shanon Shah In this third and final part of our interview with Stephen Kafeero, he and Shanon Shah explore the challenges in balancing...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 21, 20203 min read
Fête de la Musique: Aaron Copland's Symphony No. 3
Fête de la Musique (World Music Day) is celebrated globally on 21st June. We hear from Christopher Stark, conductor of the Ernest Read...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 21, 20202 min read
Remembering 'Return to Waterloo' - film review
by Erin Quigley 'Return to Waterloo' (1984), Ray Davies of ‘The Kinks’ departure into directing, establishes itself as a musical drama...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 20, 20205 min read
The story of Waterloo #9: Eurostar, Waterloo International and Holiday in a Box
by Oliver Ramsay Gray of Holiday in a Box On 14 November 1994, the first scheduled Eurostar train pulled out of Waterloo International...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 19, 20206 min read
Okusinza mu Luganda #9: “It’s about being part of people’s lives”
by Shanon Shah In the second part of this interview, Stephen Kafeero explains how his spiritual conversion led him from his childhood...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 18, 20203 min read
The story of Waterloo #8: London College of Printing
by Jenny O'Neill In 1988 I moved into what was once called Princes Meadows – the part of Waterloo around what is now Hatfields and...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 18, 20207 min read
The churchyard in Waterloo #4: Jonathan tells the story of Putting Down Roots
We're now exploring the Churchyard at St John's Waterloo, its history, its plants and its kind carers. Jonathan Trustram, from the...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 17, 20205 min read
Okusinza mu Luganda #8: Childhood village escapades and career transitions
by Shanon Shah Stephen Kafeero (courtesy of Stephen Kafeero) Our three-part interview with Stephen Kafeero closes our special series to...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 17, 20205 min read
Artists in Waterloo #6: Sarah Gray
Throughout Waterloo Festival 2020, we've been platforming artists who either live in or are connected to Waterloo. Sarah Gray is known...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 16, 20204 min read
The churchyard in Waterloo #3: Remembering the volunteers at Putting Down Roots
We're now exploring the Churchyard at St John's Waterloo, its history, its plants and its kind carers. Jonathan Trustram from the...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 15, 20201 min read
Transforming Communities: the Digital anthology is out!
For the third time running, Waterloo Festival, in collaboration with Bridge House Publishing (BHP), organised a writing competition over...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 15, 20206 min read
Okusinza mu Luganda #7: “The only church I know here”
by Shanon Shah The second and final part of our interview with Sara Kwagala delves into her experiences as youth leader of Okusinza mu...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 14, 20202 min read
On the search for the 2020 ERSO Soloist of the Year #5
In an alternate universe, in this year’s Waterloo Festival ERSO would have been proudly presenting a concerto performed by the winner of...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 14, 20203 min read
Sarah Gray's ghostly tales: recommendations
I've read and watched hundreds of supernatural, ghostly and dark tales. There are a memorable few that occupy a special place in my...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 13, 20202 min read
Our creative partners #8: Morley College London
Waterloo Festival thrives on creative partnerships, on bringing professionals from the world of arts and music to collaborate with and...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 13, 202010 min read
The churchyard in Waterloo #2: Ideas towards a herb garden in Waterloo
Following World Environment Day, we're now exploring the Churchyard at St John's Waterloo, a historic green oasis in the heart of London....
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 12, 20204 min read
Okusinza mu Luganda #6: migration, fashion and nursing
by Shanon Shah We continue our curtain-raiser for the commemorations of the 30th anniversary of Okusinza mu Luganda (Worship in Luganda)...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 11, 20202 min read
The Story of Waterloo #7: Leake Street
by Robert Montero Located off York Road, Leake Street wasn’t always like this. Set underneath the Waterloo Station complex, it used to...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 10, 20203 min read
Okusinza mu Luganda #5: music to move the soul
by Shanon Shah Michaiah Mukiibi at St John's Waterloo (courtesy of Michaiah Mukiibi) The nationwide lockdown that started at the end of...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 9, 20202 min read
Our creative partners #7: Nonesuch Orchestra
Waterloo Festival thrives on creative partnerships, on bringing professionals from the world of arts and music to collaborate with and...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 9, 20205 min read
Artists in Waterloo #5: Chris Horner
Throughout the Waterloo Festival 2020, we've been platforming artists who either live in or are connected to Waterloo. Chris Horner, a...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 8, 202012 min read
Meet our community #3: LERA and how the Roupells transformed Waterloo
Waterloo was the last part of central London to build a community. Centuries after Westminster became the seat of government, Lambeth had...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 8, 20205 min read
Okusinza mu Luganda #4: from tiny plant to leafy bush
by Shanon Shah The Waterloo Festival’s support for Okusinza mu Luganda’s 30th anniversary celebrations spanning 2020 and 2021 continues...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 7, 20202 min read
On the search for the 2020 ERSO Soloist of the Year #4
In an alternate universe, in this year’s Waterloo Festival ERSO would have been proudly presenting a concerto performed by the winner of...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 6, 20202 min read
The churchyard in Waterloo #1: Plant Portraits
Following World Environment Day, we're now exploring the Churchyard at St John's Waterloo, a historic green oasis in the heart of London....
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 5, 20205 min read
Okusinza mu Laganda #3: “This is Luganda, not Yoruba”
by Shanon Shah Continuing the Waterloo Festival’s special series to commemorate the upcoming 30th anniversary celebrations of Okusinza mu...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 4, 20202 min read
Our creative partners #6: Orchestra for the Earth
Waterloo Festival thrives on creative partnerships, on bringing artists and musicians to collaborate with and showcase their wonderful...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 3, 20201 min read
Meet the winners of our writing competition #7
For the third time running, Waterloo Festival, in collaboration with Bridge House Publishing, organised a writing competition over the...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 3, 20209 min read
Okusinza mu Luganda #2: Language, prayer and community
by Shanon Shah Monument of Uganda Martyrs and their oppressors, walking towards Namugongo, erected in Munyonyo on the spot from were the...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 2, 20203 min read
Submit To Love Studios: Collaboration is Key
Waterloo Festival thrives on creative partnerships, on bringing professionals from the world of arts and music to collaborate with and...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 2, 202010 min read
Conversations on press freedom #5: Rebecca Vincent
Through a series of interviews and articles with journalists and activists, our Artistic Director Euchar Gravina is exploring press...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 2, 20202 min read
Meet the winners of our writing competition #6
For the third time running, Waterloo Festival, in collaboration with Bridge House Publishing, organised a writing competition over the...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 1, 20202 min read
Meet the winners of our writing competition #5
For the third time running, Waterloo Festival, in collaboration with Bridge House Publishing, organised a writing competition over the...
Waterloo Festival Team
Jun 1, 20205 min read
Okusinza mu Luganda #1: A unifying and inclusive Ugandan congregation
by Shanon Shah Interior of St John's Waterloo (Drawing: David Bassadone) The Waterloo Festival is honoured this year to feature the...
Waterloo Festival Team
May 31, 20202 min read
On the search for the 2020 ERSO Soloist of the Year #3
In an alternate universe, in this year’s Waterloo Festival ERSO would have been proudly presenting a concerto performed by the winner of...
Waterloo Festival Team
May 31, 20202 min read
Meet the winners of our writing competition #4
For the third time running, Waterloo Festival, in collaboration with Bridge House Publishing, organised a writing competition over the...
Waterloo Festival Team
May 30, 20202 min read
Meet the winners of our writing competition #3
For the third time running, Waterloo Festival, in collaboration with Bridge House Publishing, organised a writing competition over the...
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