What’s new

Brief We are excited to announce the ‘We Are Open’ Commissions –  a creative and healing response to Covid-19 which aims to offer…

Wac Arts is taking part in the amazing Big Give Christmas Challenge 2020 when all donations will be doubled. From 12pm Tuesday 1st…

Wac Arts, the performing arts charity that has been empowering young people for over 40 years, is delighted to announce the appointment of…

While rates of coronavirus remain low across Camden, there has been a small increase in cases over the past three weeks. Help keep…

For over 40 years Wac Arts has enriched the lives of young people from diverse backgrounds.  Our belief in an inclusive society has…

We have launched our new Wac Arts Online programme. Here you’ll find our full programme of free activities which will include everything from…

We are delighted to announce that the Ronnie Scott’s Charitable Foundation have awarded a grant to support Wac Arts Music Programme for 2020….

Earlier this year, we announced our new project, Inside Out Wac Arts (IOWA) which will make our home more accessible, sustainable and open…

We are excited to announce that the episode of BBC 4’s ‘Any Questions?’ on the 20th of December will now be hosted by…

Image taken by Andrew Bruce for CulturED Wac Arts recently had the privilege of being involved in this year’s…

On July 20th, Ronnie Scott’s, world famous Jazz Club, celebrated their 60th Anniversary with a big street party, including musical performances, outdoor bars…

For the very first time, Wac Arts opened its doors to the public as a site for Open House London on the 21st…

Voices on the Hill Adult Community Choir Monday Evenings from 7pm-9pm Singing a mixture of pop, soul and jazz classics! All ages and…

We’re back with another interview from our fantastic Youth Voice group! The group have been working hard over the past few months, contributing…

Under Darius Khwaja’s leadership, we are extremely excited about the next five years and have decided to take a scheduled pause with IOWA…

What’s On at Wac Arts this Autumn/Winter Wac Arts believes in the infinite power of the arts to unleash the extraordinary potential of…

At the end of July, we held the We Are Wac Arts (WAWA) Weekender, celebrating 40 years of Wac Arts and 140 years…

Wac Arts in the Old Town Hall, Belsize Park has 40 years experience offering inclusive, high quality and exciting performing arts and media…

We are delighted to announce that we will be taking part in this year’s Open House London – the world’s largest architecture festival,…

Urban Motivation began in 2012 and is based at Wac Arts which offers young people aged 5-26, inclusive performing arts and media programmes,…

We’re back with another interview from our fantastic Youth Voice group! The group have been working hard over the past few months, contributing…

Last week, we held our annual arts and events festival, the We Are Wac Arts (WAWA) Weekender, celebrating 40 years of Wac Arts…

Wac Arts has a fantastic group of young people who work with the organisation as part of the Youth Voice group. The group…

U3A member Barbara Prynn spends some time with Dance professional Ingrid Mackinnon to explore the themes of Heritage. Ingrid Mackinnon’s movement direction credits…

[pullquote]“I just wanted to say how much he enjoyed the holiday project. He’s famous for not wanting to try new things and by…

Youth Voice group with JessThe Youth Voice group at Wac Arts had the chance to see Wac Arts Alumna…

My name is Elizabeth Hay and I’m a member of Hackney U3A. I’d never been to The Marx Library which has the material…

One of the exciting things about researching is that you stumble across all kinds of amazing stories. When I was trying to find…

The Spanish Republic and its supporters had warned that a world war would be inevitable unless Franco’s rise to power was stopped and…

In the Heights Review https://vimeo.com/347274402   Written by Anna Wilson, Marketing Intern In the Heights is a high-energy musical adaptation by Lin Manuel…

A selection of posters and leaflets from events that took place in Hampstead Town Hall. With thanks to Janet Potter and U3A London…

This is an image of the King’s dinner that took place in the main hall at Hampstead Town Hall.…

RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912. It was struck by an iceberg during…

U3A member and Wac Arts heritage volunteer Barbara Prynn interviewed Judith Ufland on her memories of war in Hampstead and at the Town…

Darius joins Wac Arts at an exciting time of growth as the organisation announces capital development plans and the annual arts and events…

If Lorca came to symbolise the poets and writers of Spain who opposed Franco and his intention to censor and destroy, Picasso’s cubist…

As well as the Spanish Civil War Exhibition, a celebration of the life of Lorca was held at Hampstead Old Town Hall. Federico…

The Spanish Civil war took place between 1936 and 1939. In 1936 Spain was ruled by a moderate, liberal government of Republicans, supported…

We’re delighted to announce that we’ll be taking part in the 2020 London Landmarks Half Marathon – the only half marathon to go…

This article was written by U3A as part of a Shared Learning Project with Wac Arts. Reading through the records of meetings of…

This article was written by U3A as part of a Shared Learning Project with Wac Arts. A group of nurses in the 1st…

Hampstead has produced numerous trail-blazers. One of the most notable was Reina Emily Lawrence. In 1907 Reina became the first woman to win…

[vc_column_text pb_margin_bottom=”no” pb_border_bottom=”no” width=”2/3″ el_position=”first”] Back for a third year, the annual 3 day festival of arts and events at the Old Town…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbfGBhHDNgA

Wac Arts is opening the first Belsize Beer Gardens, a new pop up onsite at the Old Town Hall. The gardens will be…

LGBT Youth Singing & Songwriting Project 27th June to 25th July 2019 Thursday evenings from 6:30pm-8:30pm Including a performance at the WAWA Weekender…

https://vimeo.com/337269805 Wac Arts presents In The Heights After a hit showcase season in which all of the final year students received offers of…

Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Suffragettes in 1903. Her aim was to fight ‘with deeds not words’ for women to be allowed to vote…

Hampstead Goes Gay – Hampstead Arts Balls and LGBT Hampstead – In Conversation with Chris Barlow Tuesday 13th November 2018 Between 1947 and…

We spoke to some of our young people to find out their connection to Wac Arts and why Wac Arts matters. Take a…

Our Heritage page is now live! Click the link below to explore the history of the Old Town Hall and Wac Arts, including…

Wac Arts believes in the infinite power of the arts to unleash the extraordinary potential of young people. Wac Arts offers inclusive performing…

We spoke to our Junior Wac Arts parents and carers to find out their connection to Wac Arts and why Wac Arts matters….

1878 Victorian Building completed. Called “Hampstead Vestry Hall.”The Old Town Hall has been the locus of a number of…

From the 16th to the 18th of April Wac Arts Ignite Easter project saw students thinking about the history of the Old Town…

Marie LloydT.S. Elliot One of the most notable early marriages conducted at Hampstead Town hall was that of T.S….

A lot of animals have passed through Hampstead Town Hall over the years – although sadly they’ve not always been alive. In 1972…

David Thomas Pitt (1913-1994), later Baron Pitt of Hampstead, was Britain’s longest serving Black Parliamentarian. A doctor by trade, he spent his adult…

Raising money has been high on the agenda for Hampstead Town Hall over the years. In 1881, almost as far back to when…

Hampstead Town Hall played an important part in helping protect civilians in the area during World War 2. Between 1939 and 1945 the…

Una Marson was a Jamaican feminist, activist and writer. She was employed by the BBC in 1932, and became their first black producer….

The Old Town Hall has been the locus of a number of exciting events throughout its 140 year history, from tea dances and…

The young people from Wonder Wac Arts (a Disability and Inclusion programme at Wac Arts) spent the afternoon with Dominique, our Digital Content…

On March 8th, our young people from the Diploma and Senior Wac Arts programmes had the wonderful opportunity to perform at Move It…

March was Showcase Season at Wac Arts, with young people from our programmes having the opportunity to share their work from the past…

Our amazing team of Wac Arts runners have raised a fantastic £8,000 so far with donations still coming in. Watch their journey and…

Bare Peas “Healthy is Wealthy” Award winning game is available for Camden Youth Organisations to test – for free! The young people at…

Grace Nicol’s choreography ‘I Only Laugh to Keep From Weeping’. Image credit: Woman SRSLY Photo by Henry Gorse Meet an Artist Happy International…

Rob celebrating after winning a round of ‘Bare Peas’ Less than three weeks till race day! To help with his training, we invited…

We are delighted to be launching our new Youth Voices Project, funded by Arts Council England, forming the beginning of our journey towards…

The Old Hampstead Town Hall opened in 1878 and operated as Hampstead Vestry Hall 1878, it was renamed Hampstead Town Hall in 1900,…

The Wac Arts Diploma in Professional Musical Theatre is an exciting programme that offers not only a traditional, classical and contemporary syllabus but…

Wac Arts Birthday Schedule Spring 2019 Wac Arts believes in the infinite power of the arts to unleash the extraordinary potential of young…

Anoushka Lucas is a singer, songwriter and composer for theatre. Her music has been championed on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 4 &…

At the start of Wac Art’s 40th Birthday celebration year we were overjoyed to be awarded an £86,400 grant from the Heritage Lottery…

Wac Arts believes in the infinite power of the arts to unleash the extraordinary potential of young people. Wac Arts offers inclusive performing…

Andrew just after he had finished his first practice Half Marathon There are now less than 40 days until the London Landmarks Half…

Drama and physical movement activities can elicit some of the most unexpected and profound outcomes when working with young people with SEN. It…

We are delighted to be taking part in the London Landmarks Half Marathon once again this year, with a team of fifteen runners…

The London Landmarks Half Marathon 2019 is fast approaching, and all our runners are busy training to make sure they’re ready! Team Member…

Looking back to look forward… It’s a brand new year, so we’ve been looking back at everything that happened here at Wac Arts…

Leon trained at the London Studio Centre studying Performing Arts. As a professional dancer, singer and actor, Leon’s theatre credits include: Showboat, A…

Welcome back to a new year at Wac Arts! 2019 promises to be an exciting year, with lots of amazing events coming your…

Tommy on stage supporting the young people at the Wac Arts Weekender. Tommy Edwards, graduate from the prestigious Arts University of Bournemouth, is…

We were delighted to once again welcome Che Walker and his ‘Revolutionaries’ last Sunday, for a Revolution event packed full of amazing performances,…

Wac Arts 3rd year Diploma student’s presentation of ‘Road’ directed by Ben Bennett was a production full of passion and dark, raw emotion….

Sunday saw the latest event in our 40th birthday schedule and our 5th annual fundraiser, the Wac Arts Cabaret! The fabulous evening was…

On 29 and 30 November, our 40th birthday celebration continued with amazing performances by our full time professional training students. They performed two…

Wac Arts was honoured to be selected as the featured organisation for the BBC Design and Engineering Creative Jam. Together, BBC and Adobe…

[pullquote]“You’d have thought it’s the performance stuff but it’s not… it’s the sense of family. It’s going back to the—I know we’re in…

Our neighbour Thornton’s Budgens is the first British grocery store to announce plastic free zones! In only 10 weeks, Thornton’s Budgens has replaced…

The perfect chance to win an amazing treat for you or your friends and family! Prizes include: Two premium Manchester United Football Match…

Monday 29th October saw a number of Wac Arts students from across programmes joining the Jack Petchey Foundation for the celebratory award event…

Get your tickets now to support our full-time students Tickets for our Diploma programme’s end of term performance at the Arts and Media…

Kandace Caine in Concrete Jungle Full of Wild Cars Alum Kandace Caine Shares Why Wac Arts Matters to Her “I need to write,…

 Wac Arts has launched a 40th Birthday logo creation project and we would love for you to be involved. You can create a…

This year Wac Arts is turning 40! We have just kicked off our year of events to commemorate the occasion with a fantastic…

From 15th to 19th October Durga Puja will be holding their annual festival at Wac Arts. Durga Puja, also called Durgotsava, is an…

40th Birthday Networking Breakfast Wac Arts is celebrating 40 years of providing transformational performing arts and media programmes to young people. “Wac Arts…

As Senior Wac Arts students returned for a new year of classes last Sunday, we opened our doors to the local community for…