Celebrating the Thames Estuary Production Corridor at Queen Mary
The Thames Estuary Production Corridor Skills Summit formed the centrepiece of a wider event hosted by Greater London Authority, Creative Estuary and Queen Mary University of London, marking nine years since the launch of the Thames Estuary Production Corridor.
Thames Estuary Production Corridor Celebration
On Monday 20 April, we welcomed partners, creatives and industry leaders to The Octagon for a celebration of the Thames Estuary Production Corridor’s achievements and future ambitions.
The event brought together a wide mix of guests from across the cultural and creative industries, including policymakers, investors, researchers and practitioners, to recognise the Thames Estuary’s growing role as a major centre for creative production in the UK.
Attendees had the opportunity to meet some of the extraordinary organisations and creative practitioners shaping the region’s cultural landscape and to see their work in action through a series of showcases and keynote talks.
Highlights included presentations from the Royal Opera and Ballet East on improving access to arts and culture for children and young people, and from 3 Mills Studios, which showcased the expertise behind major international film, TV and theatre productions as well as independent creative work.
Caramel Rock shared its work developing talent in fashion and the creative arts, while AΦE (AE) demonstrated its innovative approach to combining dance and digital technology to create new forms of cultural expression.
Creative Estuary also shared its vision for transforming the Thames Estuary into a vibrant global hub for culture and creativity, strengthening the visibility and future of the area’s creative production infrastructure.
Alongside a drinks reception, the evening created valuable opportunities for guests to make new connections, discuss sector challenges around skills and funding, and contribute to conversations about future investment and policy support for the region.
The celebration reflected the scale, ambition and diversity of creative work emerging across the Estuary and reinforced the importance of a coordinated approach to supporting the future of creative production in east London and the South East.
You can watch a showcase of creative skills work from School of the Arts in the following video, created by our doctoral student and filmmaker Shelby Rose Prichard.