We bring local people and partners together to actively use arts and culture to make a difference in Bexley. We collaborate with the people who live, work and study here, to produce festivals, run radio stations, become art critics and stitch quilts. We want to create a new way of making culture in Bexley, by empowering local people to make it themselves.

1. We support what’s already here. We know that amazing art and culture have always been made in Bexley, in community centres, libraries, church halls and front rooms – but now we’re making it public.
2. We make new connections. We bring voluntary, community and cultural organisations together with artists, and work with them to create projects for the people who say art isn't for them.
3. We keep it in the community. We sometimes invite artists and experts from the rest of London and beyond – but we always make sure it's local people and partners that are running the show.
4. We share what we've got. We try to ensure that our local partners hold at least half of the money we’re working with on a project so that the relationships we build are as equal as possible.

Three Rivers is funded by Arts Council England, through a programme called Creative Places and People, which focuses on parts of the country where involvement in arts and culture is significantly below the national average.

Bexley is one of those places and Three Rivers is the result.

Our programme is hosted by Peabody Trust, with support from Orbit Housing and Red House, National Trust.

Three Rivers takes its name from the three main rivers that define the geography of Bexley – the Thames, the Cray and the Shuttle – which are represented on the borough’s coat of arms. The name also reflects the free-floating nature of what we’re trying to do. We want to give local people the power to decide what art and culture happens in their community. Who knows where we’ll end up?

Scott Burrell, Director - scott@threeriversbexley.org

Chiara Famengo, Creative Producer - chiara@threeriversbexley.org

Our Board is made up of representatives from local organisations and residents from each of our priority areas. They meet together regularly to make decisions about the shape of our programme, and to ensure that all of our activities are responding to local needs, and interests.

Adriana Marques, Co-Chair and Head of Cultural Strategy for Thamesmead at Peabody

Afia Yeboah, Co-Chair and community member for Slade Green & North End

Andreas Andreou, Place Area Lead at Orbit Housing

Anna Dempf, House & Gardens Manager at Red House, National Trust

Curtis Donovan, community member for Belvedere

Simon Hart, CEO at Re-Instate

Eva Lis, community member for Erith

Anne Poole, community member for Thamesmead East

Our Creative Maintenance Allowance (CMA) is available to all community members, service users or participants working with us as co-creators for three or more consecutive sessions on a project.

The rate is based on the current London Living Wage of £13.15.

It is inspired by the Educational Maintenance Allowance that supported students and those undertaking unpaid work-based learning in England between 2004 and 2010.

It aims to value community members' skills and knowledge fairly, as well as recognise that participation in free arts activity still has a cost involved, particularly during a cost of living crisis.

Three Rivers is determined to pay artists fairly for their labour and we use the rates of pay recommended by Artists' Union England. More information can be found here.

Graphic identity and website design by Europa

Web development by Kieran Startup

Interactive by Max Kohler