We at Shoreditch Town Hall are delighted to announce Shoreditch Live, a free one-day festival for 13–19 year olds, on Saturday 17 August between 2pm – 6pm. As part of Discover Young Hackney 2019, a youth arts and cultural festival running over the summer holidays, Shoreditch Live will take place throughout the Town Hall’s basement space, The Ditch, and spilling outdoors onto Rivington Place.

The afternoon will include a live music stage with acts specially selected by Hackney Music Network’s Youth Music Forum, live urban graffiti, interactive visual and comic arts workshops led by Snooze Fabric, and delicious food provided by Shoreditch Trust’s Waterhouse Restaurant.

In the week leading up to Shoreditch Live, Snooze Fabric will also hold five days of free workshops for ages 13 – 19 called COMICOMMUNITY focused on storytelling, comic art, illustration and graffiti from Monday 12 – Friday 16 August. The work produced will be exhibited as part of Shoreditch Live on Saturday 17 August.

Snooze Fabric are made up of knitwear designer Romany Taylor and illustrator Wayne Murray. The design duo has created a clothing label that encompasses their personal interests of music, fashion, art and craftsmanship.

Hackney Music Network was established in 2000 in order to support the education department of the London Borough of Hackney, providing young people and children with vocal and instrumental music lessons. The Youth Music Forum is composed of 14-19 year olds across Hackney and includes choirs, dance groups and youth jazz ensembles and aims to make music a universally accessible activity to all children and young people in Hackney.

Waterhouse Restaurant was set up by Shoreditch Trust in 2008 and hosts the Blue Marble Training Programme which provides support and training to young adults throughout Hackney. They work with people transitioning from care or custody, those struggling with community due to cultural or language barriers, those living in poverty and those re-entering society after a prison sentence by offering pastoral support alongside their chef skills training programme. The Waterhouse Restaurant provides trainees with real industry experience in a live setting.

As part of Discover Young Hackney 2019, young people aged 13- 19 can take part in a range of free activities across the borough over the summer holidays. This includes music production, filmmaking, photography, screen printing, circus skills, crafts and dance.

We cannot wait to provide a free, safe and welcoming space for young people to enjoy themselves, learn new skills, showcase their talents, and connect with others in Hackney! Find out more about the event and the artists taking part here.