New funding for the creative sector will help artists and freelancers in Hackney Wick deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

‘Wick Together’ - funded through the Mayor of London’s Creative Enterprise Zone programme and managed jointly by Hackney Council, Tower Hamlets Council and the London Legacy Development Corporation - will support the local creative community to deliver training and courses that improve social cohesion, support local businesses and help residents develop creative skills.

Four new commissions are among the first projects to be supported by the fund. Together, they will create work for 20 freelance creatives who have lost contracts due to the crisis. The winning projects - which include creative workshops for local young people, and training in digital content and community co-creation for artists - will forge new links between the creative sector and residents in The Wick, engaging local people and teaching new creative skills.

Hackney Wick and Fish Island, one of London’s first Creative Enterprise Zones (CEZ), has been hit hard by the economic impact of coronavirus. While government support schemes have helped some, many freelancers and sole traders have been put at risk through loss of work. Each project supported by the fund will employ a minimum of four local creative practitioners, paid at London Living Wage, and will help unlock new revenue models to stimulate future growth.

To find out more about the successful ‘Wick Together’ projects, visit: hwfi.zone/wick-together.