I’m delighted to share some exciting news — Art4Space was recently named a finalist for the Climate and Green Spaces Award at the 2025 Lambeth Civic Awards, a borough-wide celebration of changemakers held at Lambeth Town Hall on Tuesday, 22nd April.

It is a huge honour to be selected from over 480 nominations across Lambeth and to stand among just 45 finalists. This award recognises individuals and organisations making a meaningful environmental impact and improving green spaces in our community. That mission has been at the heart of Art4Space for over 25 years.

When I founded Art4Space more than two decades ago, I believed deeply in the power of creativity to connect people, raise awareness, and create sustainable change. That belief has only deepened over time. This recognition is a celebration of how we’ve interwoven art, community, and sustainability into every aspect of our work.

We give new life to discarded materials through upcycling, recycling, and reusing. Using textiles, pottery, and mosaic, we run intergenerational workshops that teach traditional crafts and reuse techniques — specific methods or skills to take materials that would otherwise be thrown away and incorporate them into new projects or products:

• Preserving heritage crafts, ensuring traditional skills stay alive and relevant in a diverse, modern Lambeth
• Sustainable practice, from eco-friendly sourcing to thoughtful waste reduction
• Circular economy principles, giving new life to old materials and encouraging creative reuse
• Community-led change, putting local people at the heart of environmental action

We’re also proud to support Lambeth Council’s Climate Action Plan and to play our part in the borough’s journey toward net-zero emissions by 2030.

This nomination reflects the countless hands, ideas, and hearts that make our work possible. So, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to:

• The dedicated Art4Space team and our volunteers
• Every participant in our programmes — your collective creativity is at the heart of it all
• Our funders and supporters, who believe in our vision
• And the Lambeth Civic Awards team, for recognising the powerful intersection of art and climate action

After 25 years on this journey, this moment reminds me why we started — and why we continue. Creativity can be a powerful catalyst for building healthier, more connected, and more sustainable communities.

With gratitude and excitement for what’s ahead,
Julie Norburn
Founder & CEO, Art4Space