Explore the value of play and creativity in everyday life. Have you visited the Culture Mile of late? The Culture Mile stretches from Farringdon to Moorgate. Explore 2,000 years of history colliding and the places and people in Culture Mile and PLAY THE MILE.
MAJOR FESTIVALS – free performances in new and unusual venues
POP UP PLAY – outdoor activities responding to the streets, building and architecture of the area
PLAY SESSIONS – meet, make, and celebrate the benefits of creativity for local workers and residents
PLAY DAYS – every Saturday for families
PLAY AS YOU GO – with games and trails encouraging visitors to explore existing places and offers in new ways
PLAY THE MILE season will begin and end with two one-off festival events: Sound Unbound (18 & 19 May) and A Beastly Street Party (25 August).
These major events will be connected by a series of activities and performances taking place in more than 20 different indoor venues and outdoor spaces. Two outdoor installations available to everyone everyday throughout summer and ten new site-specific music commissions which bring unique architecture and history of the area to life. There will be 50 free performances and activities available for attendees at lunchtimes, evenings and weekends.
For garden lovers
The Smithfield Greenhouse will bring Smithfield Rotunda Garden (West Smithfield) to life with a temporary pavilion; part glass house, part bandstand filled with plants and a programme of gardening workshops. (18 May – 29 September).
Pleasure Garden at The Salters’ Garden will feature a sound installation by Genevieve Lacey which combines music and environmental sounds to create an interactive listening garden that responds to movement (24 May – 14 June).
For music lovers
There will be over 100 short concerts packed into one weekend, with music spanning from the medieval era to the present day at the Sound Unbound festival (18-19 May).
Programmed by the Barbican, the festival explores unexpected and unique spaces across the Culture Mile. There will be over 100 short concerts in more than 20 unusual venues. Sound Unbound features artists for whom the boundaries between classical music and contemporary, experimental music and jazz have been blurred – or never even existed in the first place (18 & 19 May).
Also, ten artists will create ten individual new tracks in response to a building, area or aspect of the city that inspires them as part of Musicity. Using data gathered by acoustic experts ARUP, the artists explore the intrinsic connection between architecture and sound (May – Aug).
For families
A Beastly Street Party (25 August) celebrates the history, people and beasts that make Smithfield. Curated by the Museum of London. A Beastly Family Challenge is an exciting digital treasure hunt connecting some of Culture Mile’s best family friendly spaces, with challenges, games and clues to help families explore a new route through the city of London. Designed by award-winning digital production studio Fish in a Bottle and inspired by the Museum of London’s Beasts of London (25 May – 25 August).
Co-inside your visit with a trip to the Museum of London and visit their Beasts of London experience. Read my review of Beasts of London experience here.
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Hazel Baker is a qualified CIGA Tour Guide who delivers guided walks and private tours in London. View all of Hazel’s walking tours.
