Today we announce that, following a 24-week period of closure due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Shoreditch Town Hall will reopen to the public from Tuesday 1 September 2020. Current reopening plans – which include the launch of Made in Shoreditch with a free artist desk space initiative, and the formation of a new Youth Board – continue our commitment as a vital cultural space for artists and the local community.

With a focus on artist development and the creation of new live performance, we will recommence artist residencies in the building as well as launch a new Made in Shoreditch: Artist Workspace initiative. 200 free desk space slots will be made available to artists every month for an initial period of 6 months from the end of September 2020. Artists will be able to book desk space for a day or week at a time, benefitting from a dedicated and safe communal working environment, interaction with other artists, and advice sessions with Town Hall staff.

Also announced today, we will recruit our first ever Youth Board. Supported by Hackney Council’s Discover Young Hackney programme, the 8-strong Youth Board of 16-19 year olds from across Hackney will play a key role in the development of our programmes and future direction. This process will begin next month, with the Youth Board initially in place for a year.

We will once again host small-scale events, weddings and hires from the 1 September 2020. An autumn programme of socially distanced cultural and community activity will be announced in due course. Kicking this off, we’re proud to present Access All Areas’ Black Cab Company’s Still, Here – a walking audio exhibition across Hackney exploring learning disabled life in lockdown and beyond. Commissioned by Chats Palace, and presented with Hackney Carnival, the piece will play from Sunday 13 September – Saturday 31 October 2020.

James Pidgeon, Director & Chief Executive of Shoreditch Town Hall, today said: “We are thrilled to be reopening the Town Hall’s doors and welcoming visitors back to the building again. Whilst our process of reopening rightly remains tentative for now, our artistic and civic responsibilities continue at the heart of what we do as we focus on physically reconnecting communities and supporting people to reengage with public spaces. Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on the cultural and live events sectors, and whilst the Town Hall continues to face significant financial challenges and uncertainties – particularly given we receive no regular funding and rely on 100% earned income – only by reopening can we meaningfully start to rebuild and adapt, as well as more proactively contribute to wider local recovery plans.”

Shoreditch Town Hall is an independent, not-for-profit charitable organisation and receives no regular or revenue funding. The Town Hall is grateful for Emergency Response Funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England in May 2020, as well as a Discover Young Hackney grant from Hackney Council.

Photo: Jo Fong’s Ways of Being Together in the Assembly Hall, 2020 by Pari Naderi