London Borough of Camden joins 'Cultural Cities' at the Tower of London

Image: Zerritha Brown, Head of Culture, Camden Council - courtesy Future of London

Future Cities Forum is delighted that the Head of Culture at Camden Council, Zerritha Brown, will be contributing to our 'Cultural Cities' forum this May at the Tower of London.

Zerritha Brown FRSA is a cultural leader with 20 years’ experience working in the public sector, community arts and large scale events. She will be speaking at the forum about Camden Council's cultural strategy.

In February 2022 Zerritha was awarded Best Arts Champion Local Authority in the National Campaign for the Arts, Hearts for Arts 2022 awards for her dedication and commitment to cultural and community engagement. Her key achievements have included the curation and delivery of the London 2012 cultural Olympiad programme in Brent, overseeing the redesign of the Library at Willesden Green and the cultural programme and the co-producing of the Windrush 70 celebrations with Brent communities which included an installation of the West Indian Front Room

Zerritha will be speaking at the Tower of London about Camden's new cultural strategy from 2026, which will be rolled out over the next five years and aims to make culture accessible, inclusive, and central to community life while supporting local artists, creative businesses, and cultural institutions.

The strategy sets out a bold vision to embed culture at the heart of Camden’s community, placemaking, and wellbeing initiatives. It emphasizes inclusive participation, ensuring that all residents have opportunities to engage with cultural activities, develop creativity, and connect communities. The strategy outlines several approaches to achieve its goals:

and was developed through extensive consultation with residents, artists, and stakeholders, reflecting the borough’s diverse communities. Platforms like Commonplace allowed residents to provide input on the draft strategy, shaping its priorities and ambitions.

Camden’s cultural sector contributes significantly to London’s economy and employment, with one in six jobs in the creative industries. The strategy aims to grow the cultural ecology from grassroots initiatives to internationally recognised institutions, ensuring that culture continues to drive innovation, economic development, and community wellbeing.

Camden Council says it has also been putting culture at the heart of the trial pedestrianisation of the High Street. Spanning April 2025 - May 2026, the culture programme fixes the borough’s historic reputation as an undisputed cultural powerhouse, using culture and the arts to reflect and empower communities. The year-long initiative - launched in tandem with the trial of the pedestrianised high street - sees Camden adopting a culturally led-regeneration approach to pedestrianisation and positions the borough as a leader in cultural creativity.

It states:

'As a global capital of creativity, Camden is harnessing and supporting its world-leading, thriving creative economy to uplift every community, spark meaningful connections, and create a vibrant, inspiring borough where everyone can live, learn, work, grow, visit, and invest. 

'Celebrating Camden as a place where the interests and creativity of the residents are championed, the ambitious programme is curated in collaboration with Camden’s communities to foster local ownership, deliver high quality work with local partners, and to platform local talent uniting, reflecting and elevating local creativity

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'Utilising the pedestrianised street, the programme spans a broad menu of dynamic events, reflecting the diversity of Camden itself.'