Arts with Heart n Soul: Inside The Albany

When you talk about the founding organisations, the original social entrepreneurs, using cutting edge art and music and ingenuity to help fight poverty, one of your starting points is the Albany. Situated in delightful Deptford, this is an amazing venue with an eclectic programme whose every beam and floor tile says one thing: community.

#UglyDuckling has begun! So nice to have so many excited little ones in our building. @tuttifruttiprod #christmasmagic #kidstheatre #EveryChild

A post shared by The Albany (@thealbanyse8) on Dec 5, 2017 at 4:44am PST

The original Albany Institute was opened in 1899 by the Duchess of Albany, daughter-in-law of Queen Victoria. Social good was woven into its fabric; the Duchess was an active patron of the Deptford Fund – a project founded to help women secure employment away from the dangerous local trades in the slaughterhouses. Residencies began in the 1970s and the community focus was clarified. In the 1970s The Albany hosted fifteen Rock Against Racism gigs; Dire Straits famously headlined.

Today, resident at the Albany are twenty four companies – including the internationally renowned Heart n Soul who work with artists with learning disabilities, Apples & Snakes, the UK’s leading performance poetry organisation and a number of other arts and community organisations.

Check out the unbelievably catchy #DeanTVGirls, our latest #SoundLab video from @DeanRodney & @RavioliMeAway using super cool @Ableton and @mimu_gloves technology 😎 https://t.co/hA3naPYByx pic.twitter.com/sM7KUWQ1Ze

— Heart n Soul (@HeartnSoulArt) January 3, 2018

The calendar is eclectic, involving family events, theatre pieces, gardening clubs, events for young creative collaborators and more. Check out the What’s on page for more info.

Watch two opposite characters get their wires crossed and their noodles in a muddle as they strive to find ways to work and play together. #FamilySundays 11 Feb, 3+, to find out more: https://t.co/suTw1hJ3jF. @filskittheatre pic.twitter.com/3JEL3ON7mA

— Albany Deptford (@TheAlbanySE8) January 14, 2018

We love coming here, being part of this amazing organisation’s history and future, being part of this community and having a great time, every time. Here’s to a hundred more years of cutting edge, community event at this living, breathing monument to history and heart.

So excited about this brand new project for teenagers in Lewisham with @ChillPillUK and @artstrain @LewishamLIVE , @lewishamhomes, @TheAlbanySE8, @LewishamCouncil, @lewishamlocal @EEALondon #youngpeople #lewisham #urbanmusic #free #getinvolved pic.twitter.com/Xhpc7vQEnD

— Zaylie-Dawn Wilson (@ZaylieDawn) January 12, 2018