Archive for October, 2025

The Marketplace of Ideas: A Week of Art, Exchange and Imagination

Posted on: October 24th, 2025 by cyEditor

From Tuesday 28 October to Saturday 1 November 2025, Kingston’s historic Ancient Market House transforms into The Marketplace of Ideas — a week-long celebration of creativity, culture, and connection, produced by Creative Youth as part of the Kingston 2025 programme.

Bringing together artists, audiences, and the local community, The Marketplace of Ideas reimagines the traditional market as a space for exchange — not of goods, but of ideas, stories, and creativity. Through exhibitions, live art-making, and collaborative installations, the event explores how art can bridge Kingston’s rich heritage with its imaginative future.

Marketplace: Traces, Manifestations & Visions Exhibition

The week opens with Marketplace: Traces, Manifestations & Visions, an exhibition showcasing the work of emerging artists aged 16–30.

Each piece responds to the themes of traces, manifestations, and visions — exploring how marketplaces hold memories of the past, reflect the present, and imagine futures still to come.

Hosted in Kingston’s Ancient Market House, the exhibition features a diverse range of visual artworks, from painting and sculpture to digital media and installation. Together, they create a vibrant dialogue between time, place, and identity — reflecting the global and local significance of marketplaces as spaces of gathering and exchange.

The Marketplace of Ideas – Saturday 1 November

The week culminates in a one-day interactive event, The Marketplace of Ideas, where visitors are invited to take part in a playful reimagining of trade and creativity.

Each visitor will receive a “ticket” featuring a theme inspired by Kingston’s market heritage, which they can exchange with one of eight young artists for a small, original artwork created on the spot. These mini works can then be swapped, traded, or added to a communal Memory Board, forming a living installation shaped by the creativity of everyone involved.

This free event celebrates collaboration over commerce, inviting audiences to experience creativity as a shared act of imagination and community building.

Creativity, Resilience and Recovery

The Marketplace of Ideas marks a moment of resilience and renewal for Creative Youth. Following two severe floods that temporarily closed FUSEBOX, our flagship venue, we’ve continued to deliver artistic programmes in new spaces across Kingston.

This event keeps the spirit of FUSEBOX alive — offering a platform for young artists and reaffirming our mission to create futures through the arts. We look forward to welcoming audiences back to FUSEBOX in 2026, as we rebuild and restore our home for creativity.

Event Details

📍 Location: Kingston’s Ancient Market House, Market Place, KT1 1JS

📅 Dates: Tuesday 28 October – Saturday 1 November 2025

🕒 Exhibition Hours: 11:00 AM – 6:00 PM

🎨 Live Marketplace Event: Saturday 1 November, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

About Kingston 2025

The Marketplace of Ideas forms part of Kingston 2025: A Year of Celebrating Culture, a borough-wide programme marking the 1100th anniversary of King Athelstan’s crowning. Supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, Kingston 2025 connects heritage, creativity, and community through events across the borough.

Join Us

Come explore, exchange, and imagine in the heart of Kingston’s marketplace.

Find out more and support FUSEBOX’s recovery at creativeyouthcharity.org/fusebox.

📸 Follow us: @creativeyouthuk | @fuseboxkingston

Dillon Dance joins Creative Youth as first Associate Company

Posted on: October 8th, 2025 by cyEditor

Our inaugural Associate Company is the phenomenal Dillon Dance, a youth dance company led by the visionary Shaun Dillon. We’ve had the pleasure of working with Shaun and his talented dancers for several years, and it’s a joy to formalise this relationship through this platform. 

This recognition honours the deep and ongoing collaboration between Dillon Dance and Creative Youth, particularly through their long-standing involvement with FUSE International (formerly the International Youth Arts Festival). 

Last year, Dillon Dance captivated audiences with an immersive performance at FUSEBOX, transforming the unique basement space – nestled amongst Kingston Bridge’s ruins and a medieval undercroft – into a dynamic stage for movement and storytelling. 

This summer, Dillon Dance also took part in an exciting international collaboration with our new partners, Siheung City Youth Foundation (South Korea). During FUSE International 2025, the two organisations hosted a vibrant cross-cultural dance workshop, connecting through shared creativity and diverse styles. 

We’re thrilled to share that Shaun Dillon will be attending Siyeung Youth Festival on 18 October 2025 as our Associate Company. Shaun will experience the dance festival, meet and collaborate with local dance companies and learn more about the work of the Siheung City Youth Foundation.

This marks an exciting new chapter for Dillon Dance and Creative Youth – we can’t wait to see what unfolds next.