Exploring the Past, Present, and Future of London's Heritage
Heritage of Tomorrow departs from the past and looks to the evolving future of London’s cultural landscape. As travel becomes more accessible than ever to young people, an understanding of heritage is fundamental in ensuring we participate in a positive cultural exchange when we move around the world. At Trippin we believe heritage shapes who we are and how we experience and impact the world around us. It allows us to open our minds to other people's realities, which in turn has the power to reconstruct our own. This transformative experience is what inspired us to start Trippin and help celebrate and platform a different type of travel.
Saturday the 21st September saw a cultural collision of heritage viewed through the lens of the past, present and future. Presented by Nike Shox and Trippin the day saw everything from immersive films curated by BBZ, Pxssy Palace, Church of Sound and Azeema Mag to a photo display communicating the legal action being taken to Save Latin Village. The series of initiatives presented blended technology, visuals and sound creating a 360 immersive experience.
We collaborated with who we believe are London’s most progressive thought leaders, those who are challenging the cultural dialogues of the status quo. The event was powered by Nike Shox - a daring shoe from the beginning of its existence and a style for innovators and those pushing the boundaries of culture forward.
The venue, an empty Mail Centre in Vauxhall, was transformed into a heritage hub. It was an intentional space for young people and communities to come together and learn about heritage from 9 of London’s most progressive thought leaders within the Trippin community - Azeema Mag, BBZ, Church of Sound, Digi Gxl, Home Team Project, Muslim Sisterhood, Native Mag, Pxssy Palace and Save Latin Village.
Welcomed into this futuristic space, guests were never without a doubt that heritage stood as the foundational pillar to the day’s proceedings. Learning about other people’s heritage is important and we at Trippin believe it to be the basis of socially sustainable travel. It encourages us to be more conscious of our actions and cultural exchanges whilst abroad, considering both the past and present. We want to inspire more people to adopt this understanding and attitude, whether home or away.
We took a deeper dive into the musings of Muslim Sisterhood and Home Team Project's workshops on sustainability, heritage and their relevance and impact to the world we live in now.
“Heritage will continue to become the meeting of different intersections of our identities. Heritage is no longer about bloodlines and lineage but it’s about the meaningful and impactful connections we make and want to pass on."
Muslim Sisterhood are capturing all the identity intersections for womxn and non-binary Muslims in London. By embracing the sense of race, religion and community it meant Muslim Sisterhood were the perfect members to project their output and host a workshop that focusing on cultural heritage.
Their workshop included zine making centred around London heritage, using polaroids and London maps, allowing guests to make their own Trippin style guides. They also allowed the customisation of a Nike hijab at their workshop, and held an intentional moment with attendees from their community.
“Understanding heritage is important when traveling the world because the people make the place, show respect to it by taking public transport, talking to local people and taking every experience and opportunity to learn.”
Home Team Project is a grass roots project offering a series of free creative workshops for young people in Grenada and Carriacou with aims to push a culture of collaboration, ignite a DIY spirit and encourage creative play.
You haven't visited a destination until you've got on the public transport. Not only is it a method of sustainable travel, but it's where you see the city in its realest form. Home Team Project’s workshop invited guests to personalise their Passport Holders and Nike Shox with playful fonts and phrases inspired by those that individualise the primary Grenadian transport, buses.
Erin Corrian-Alexis, the founder of Home Team Project, pays homage to her Grenadian heritage offering a series of free and sustainable creative workshops in the Grenadines. These free creative workshops provide young kids the necessary skills to develop opportunities and dictate their own narratives and despite only being annual, their legacy project ensures there’s aftercare and legacy for young people.
Home Team Project For ‘Heritage of Tomorrow’ invited guests to a 2 part workshop where they were able to customise Nike Shox and Trippin x Nike passport holders with materials, techniques and imagery inspired by Grenada. Guests personalised their Trippin x Nike Passport Holders or Nike Shox with playful fonts and phrases inspired by the sticker art used to individualise Grenadian buses. spray paint and stencils inspired by the slogans and artwork across Grenadian transport were used.
We spoke to each provocateur to understand what heritage means to them and it’s importance when travelling before we got the celebration party started.
“The future of heritage is more sustainable, understood and shared…. understanding heritage is important when travelling to recognise and respect other cultures”
“Heritage to us is all the things we have inherited from the communities, ancestors, resistance and resilience that came before us. We have explored the theme of heritage in this visual film with archive footage and collaborating with Digi Gxl to counteract feelings of loss as a result of colonialism and diasporic displacement. With the use of celebratory and spiritual imagery we want to remind you of whence we came.”
“We think that when travelling, it’s incredibly important to have heritage on your mind. To be aware of the ground you're walking on and who came before you, how it stands today and who it belongs to."
“The future of heritage is diverse and inclusive. We believe it’s going to be a mixture of different traditions as the world becomes a smaller place and we have a global market”
The Latin Village is a community formed in Seven Sisters Market, Tottenham to cater to a diaspora of Latinx people who wanted a sense of home. Latin Village is predominantly a Latin American and ethnic minority-run market which houses the largest concentration of Latin American business in London. Paying homage to their culture and community through the arts and food made Latin Village important contributors to an event surrounding heritage. Save Latin Village describes the on-going campaign raising awareness and fighting the demolition of the UK’s second largest Latin community space. Support their campaign here.
