East brings people together through stories, but lockdown stopped our work just when it was most needed. You can help us move online.
by Daedalus Theatre Company in London, England, United Kingdom
If we can raise more we can reach more people, have a more sustained engagement with participants, and provide more paid work for arts professionals. We can also get some more expert help with developing East and Daedalus to make them more resilient.
East is a multicultural storytelling project for the people of East London.
We connect people and communities, celebrate the diversity of East London, and believe in the power of stories to help us better understand the world.
Our lead professionals, Shamim Azad and Sef Townsend, supported by musician Paul Burgess, help storytellers from across our diverse community develop the skills and confidence to tell their own tales, and share each other’s stories and songs.
We do this by running workshops for both adults and children, holding social events and perform at local events and festivals. We also created the East Archive website, where we’re gathering some of our stories and songs on video.
We want to continue East's storytelling through online sessions, as an antidote for this new world of enforced isolation and constant anxiety. It's a difficult time for the arts but you can help us by supporting this crowdfunder.
East is run by Daedalus, a small theatre company based in Bethnal Green, East London. Our focus is on projects that bring arts professionals and communities together to learn about each other, share stories and explore the issues that matter. LGBTQ-led and committed to diversity, we’re a registered charity and have no regular funding.
Early in lockdown we applied for emergency funding to reconfigure East for these socially-distant times, but our bid was rejected. We also had to put on hold our plans to tour our other project, Mobile Incitement. Our planned events have all been cancelled and we currently have no income.
But we’re determined to continue our work and to ensure that our artists are paid. East is a project that connects and empowers people, that celebrates our diverse communities, and that brings the magical experience of shared telling and singing into our everyday lives. It lends itself naturally to this “new normal” of Zoom and YouTube.
So now we’re asking you to help us make this happen. Donate what you can and if you can’t afford to make a donation please share this campaign and join our mailing list. Your support, in any way, helps!
Your donations will enable us to run an online programme comprising the following:
However you can help, we’re really grateful. Making a donation, or even just sharing this crowdfunding campaign, will make a huge difference.
This project offers rewards in return for your donation. Please select a reward below.