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Our history
In 2001, Lewisham Council asked Charles Landry (author of The Creative City) to chair the Culture and Urban Development Commission. This Commission was made up of key organisations and individuals working in the creative sector in Lewisham.
The purpose of the Commission was to explore and recommend to the Council the step changes needed to transform Lewisham into a stimulating environment
so that it could become recognised, locally and nationally, as a more visible and notable centre for creativity, cultural development,the arts and urban design. The purpose was also to develop a strategic synthesis between arts, culture, economy, urban vitality, landscape and urban design and to provide suggestions for strategies, programmes and projects as well as how these filter down into mechanisms for delivery.
One of the key recommendations of the report was that an independent organisation be set up to be "a small, flexible, helpful, supportive device to
the stakeholders of Lewisham. This light-footed organisation should... not be to seek to accrue power, but rather like an impresario to generate ideas, to
assess feasibility, to trigger and help launch initiatives, to seek synergies and in doing so to devolve and sub-contract whenever possible."
Lewisham Culture and Urban Development Commission 2001
So in 2001, the Creative Lewisham Agency came into being. Funded by Lewisham Council, the Agency has formed partnerships, researched and written strategies, brokered deals between commercial developers and partners, raised sponsorship packages, successfully bid for funds and delivered projects.
In 2004, CLA became independent of the Council, setting up as a company limited by guarantee. CLA became one of the first Creative Hubs in London, under the London Development Agency's Creative Hubs programme. Over two years, CLA delivered a range of services to the sector, including Business Support, Employment Support, Skills Development and Knowledge Transfer. The Creative Network provided a focus for these activities and was consolidated around this time.
In 2007, CLA changed its name to Creative Process, in order to broaden its appeal and horizons and to respond to the ever-changing funding landscape. The initial core ideals of the Commission report remain at the heart of the organisation.
