Let the Grassroots Grow

Partners: SET Centre CIO (London, England), Videocity and riesa efau (Dresden, Germany)

Image © SET, photographer Sophie Le Roux

“‘Let the Grassroots Grow’ is a multi-part programme focussed on exploring communities and the wider international art scene, by exploring the garden, nature and ecological activities as a meeting space for communities, ideas, and culture. Our goal is to bring new perspectives with shared values and will benefit SET, riesa efau and Videocity’s communities and audiences by supporting an ongoing exchange of knowledge, experience and practice beyond borders. We aim to let the (grass)roots of each of the participants and the collaboration to grow into a sustained partnership over the years to come.” SET and riesa efau

Let the Grassroots Grow has received Tier 2 funding to continue the development of their existing partnership. SET and riesa efau received Tier 1 Cultural Bridge funding in 2023 - 2024, read more about their partnership here.

About the partners

SET Centre CIO provides some of the most affordable artists’ studios in London to a community of over 1,000 artists and delivers a diverse programme of free exhibitions, workshops and events across eight centres. SET operates by means of a DIY, meanwhile-use model: each of our centres is hosted in otherwise vacant property, bringing disused space in London back into positive use.

Our diverse and eclectic programme takes place across five main project spaces as well as a social club, fully equipped bar and music venue, community garden and a number of bookable workshop and events rooms. Our primary aim is to create an inclusive, accessible environment at each centre, and to support emerging artists to develop their practices. We achieve the latter by providing affordable studio membership, free exhibition space and curatorial and administrative support, thereby encouraging artistic experimentation and collaboration across our broad networks.

https://setspace.uk/
https://www.instagram.com/setsetsetsetsetset

Videocity is an international grassroots artist-curator network, hosted at riesa efau since 2020. Videocity promotes socially engaged video art and presents curated video cycles in public spaces and unusual locations with the aim to reach diverse audiences. Videocity also provides training and supports emerging curators and programmers, promoting inclusivity in the arts.

riesa efau Kultur Forum Dresden fosters and supports interactions between art and society. The registered non-profit association is established in the cultural landscape of Dresden and East Germany and has international outreach through its art projects. Whilst it hosts regular group exhibitions with international artists at Motorenhalle, the focus is to present and to discuss social relevant questions, to support community groups and communicate art to wider audiences – via a lot of workshops activities, other clubs like for parents with babies, a repair café and oral history groups and a weekly farmers market. Since 2020 riesa efau has been the host of the curatorial initiative Videocity.

https://riesa-efau.de/
https://www.videocity.org/cultural-bridge
https://www.instagram.com/riesaefau
https://www.instagram.com/videocity_bs/