East Storytelling Online

by Daedalus Theatre Company in London, England, United Kingdom

Total raised £4,870

raised so far

+ est. £467.50 Gift Aid

45

supporters

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

We're still collecting donations

On the 8th September 2020 we'd raised £4,850 with 45 supporters in 28 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.

 New stretch target

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.


What is East?

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.

Who’s behind it?

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!

What will we do?

Your donations will enable us to run an online programme comprising the following:

  • Online sessions in which our lead professionals will coach new storytellers and help them create a video story for the East Archive, providing new skills for the participants and helping us to reach out to new communities,
  • The chance, for the first time, for us to include stories told in BSL (British Sign Language),
  • Opportunities for community participants and professional colleagues to share new stories and songs for the archive, thus keeping our existing community engaged,
  • Online social event(s) to connect people in our networks, bridging many of the different communities in East London,
  • Support for a deaf trainee producer, James Greenhalgh, who will be mentored by our main producer, Maeve O’Neill of Rua Arts,
  • Nuts and bolts work by the core team to help us survive this difficult time and become more resilient.


However you can help, we’re really grateful. Making a donation, or even just sharing this crowdfunding campaign, will make a huge difference.


Rewards

This project offered rewards

£5 or more

A thank you and and invitation to join us

All donations of £5 or more will get a thank you on the East Archive website and an invitation to join one of our events.

£15 or more

All the above plus a little gift

A thank you and an invitation as above, plus a badge and a sticker.

£30 or more

All the above plus a tote bag

A thank you, an invitation, a badge and a sticker as above, plus an East tote bag.

£50 or more

All the basics, plus an East notebook and pencil

A thank you, an invitation, a badge and a sticker as above, plus an East notebook and pencil

£100 or more

A thank you video

An East notebook, a tote bag and a personalised thank you video, which will be emailed to you.

£500 or more

A story, just for you

Acknowledgement as a patron on the Daedalus website, as well as on the East Archive site, plus a recording of a story told by one of our lead artists. We'll get in contact to find out who the story is for, so we can pitch it right.

£1,000 or more

A mini performance (on video), just for you!

Acknowledgement as a patron on the Daedalus website, as well as on the East Archive website, plus a specially-made video emailed to you, with two stories, or one story and a song or a fiddle tune. We'll get in contact to find out who the story is for, so we can pitch it right. And for even larger donations, we'll thrown in some extra material!

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