Grow Entrance

CULTURAL HISTORY AND CONTEXT

Since 2014, Grow has collaborated with artists, musicians and collectives to plan; produce and share profits together. It’s an empowering process.

Grow is independent and grassroots with international impact. Local and emerging artists with zero budget are programmed alongside international artists. Young musicians have jammed with Abass Dodoo (Ginger Baker band), Japanese contemporary dancers and indigenous didgeridoo masters from Australia, to name just a few. Our artist partners credit the collaborations, regularity of exposure and payments as helping them hone their craft.

We’ve hosted 200+ free events each year with over 30,000 people through our doors. From masterclasses with an Afro-Latin Master Percussionist; Brazilian dancehall stars, Marimba workshops, Motherland club nights, reggae jams and open decks, and live cyphers, to the Hackney Wick locals; riotous punk with Hot Gog Grrrlll and the Sesame Buns, Fear of Fluffing with Butoh dancer Mai Nguyen Tri to live painting by street artist Run. We span genres and celebrate diverse culture from around the globe to down the road.

We’ve worked the National Trust at Hackney’s Sutton House, been part of the EFG London’s Jazz Festival, V&A Lates, hosted the London Short Film Festival on the floating pavillion ‘The Air Draft’, Hackney Wicked DIY Open Studios, seen legendary 9-hour sets by A Guy Called Gerald, hosted interactive evenings with students from the Chisenhale Gallery and the UCL School of Architecture - and everything in between. Live blues, experimental, psychedelic, dance, audio visual, spoken word, installations, socially engaged and artist residents. All ages, all backgrounds. All welcome.

Featured
2024 ROUND UP
2024 ROUND UP

We’ve always viewed Grow as a garden, taking time to mature and put down roots. Our 10th year was a chance to celebrate what’s been ‘grown’ with partners and patrons, old and new, and what we need to do to give us the best possible chance to thrive as we move towards our future.

It was also a year, to be honest about our financial challenges, and we are not alone. Stats show us that 1 music venue a week is closing in the UK at the moment. It’s true to say it’s not easy but also never boring! Take a look at just some of what we achieved in 2024. 

If you’re one of the thousands of people who came down to Grow to enjoy a birthday or work gathering or for the live music or dance the night away, we really hope you enjoyed it too. If you didn't manage to get down, we hope you'll join us in 2025 to see what we’re all about.

New Year’s Eve 2025 in Hackney Wick
New Year’s Eve 2025 in Hackney Wick

Join us for an unforgettable New Year’s Eve celebration that promises to be the ultimate party of the year! This is the place to be for a night filled with fun, electrifying live music, and the best of Hackney Wick's underground DJs—without breaking the bank.

As we come to a close on 2024, a year during which we’ve celebrated 10 years of having our doors open, we’ve decided to do something special to mark the end of our 10th year. This New Year's Eve, we want to honour our homegrown talent and musical community. We are incredibly excited to present a Grow event featuring artists we consider family—those who have graced our stage and DJ booth throughout our decade of being open.

Black History Season
Black History Season

For Black History Season, we ran several events funded by Hackney Council’s Black History Season with some of our collaborators and partners. The focus of this year was on the topic of reclaiming the narrative.

Join us for ‘Join-in January’ 2025
Join us for ‘Join-in January’ 2025

Following on from its monumental success last year, Grow once again hosts Join-In January, a month-long programme of free events and food/drink offers!

Grow Hackney Joins the EFG London Jazz Festival with Two Exciting Events
Grow Hackney Joins the EFG London Jazz Festival with Two Exciting Events

Discover two unmissable events at Grow Hackney as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival 2024. On Thursday 21st, rising jazz star Donovan Haffner leads an exciting jazz jam, and on Saturday 23rd, experience the vibrant Love is Everywhere #5 jazz dancefloor party, featuring Tina Edwards, Jazzy Sport London, and a live performance by Masumi Endo and Foot Notes.

Grow’s Crowdfunder
Grow’s Crowdfunder

At the beginning of 2024, our 10th anniversary, we found ourselves at a pivotal juncture. While we wanted to celebrate a decade of memories shared with partners and patrons, we also had confront a sobering reality: without immediate investment in our long-term sustainability, we may not survive our 10th year - this is why we launched a Crowdfunder

Open Studios, part of Open House Festival 2024
Open Studios, part of Open House Festival 2024

We had hundreds through our doors as part of 2024 Open House Festival helping celebrate London’s housing, architecture and neighbourhoods. Each year, we join the festival to explore Grow’s history, heritage and contemporary context.

Grow’s Live Jazz is part of London Fashion Week 2024
Grow’s Live Jazz is part of London Fashion Week 2024

We're part of a curated programme of unique experiences and activations open to the public during London Fashion Week spearheaded by inclusivity and consciousness. Come to jazz on Thursday 12 September to find out why!

Grow X Signature Brew
Grow X Signature Brew

We’ve worked with Signature Brew since 2017 and last month, we were lucky enough to bring some of the Grow team down for an in-person tour, to see how things work at their brewery, and discuss our most exciting collaboration yet - Grow’s own birthday beer!

Rohan Rakhit – The Emerging DJ Championing Marginalised Music
Rohan Rakhit – The Emerging DJ Championing Marginalised Music

As the sun shone over the canal on (one of the few) sunny days this summer, we sat with Rohan under the shade of our pontoon and explored the dynamic and passionate world of Rohan’s music and projects amidst the laid-back ambience of Grow's green outdoor setting.

GROW’S EVENTS

Please visit our events section to find out what’s coming up and Grow at Home for live streams and online archived event footage.

GROW’S BLOG