Garden City Arts Centre

Land of Promise is a words and music presentation journeying through three and a half centuries of radical thought, writing, and song about the connection between art, social justice, and the living environment. 

Through the words of radical thinkers and activists spanning William Morris and Edward Carpenter to Bruce Springsteen and Benjamin Zephaniah, Land of Promise explores that perpetual but urgent question at a time of global crises - ‘How are we going to live?

This year’s performances come at the mid-point of the ‘Tomorrow 125’ project, which is exploring the relevance and future directions of the Garden City model as we approach 125 years since Sir Ebenezer’s ground-breaking 1898 Garden Cities of To-morrow which outlined his goals to address inequality by creating conditions in which everyone can thrive.

Brought to audiences by the Town & Country Planning Association it is a celebration of the TCPA’s past utopian ideals to immeasurably improve the lives of millions of ordinary people. 

The performances will centre around narrations from TCPA Directors, Hugh Ellis and Katy Lock, as well as performances from musicians Chris Ellis and Rosie Toll.

Glastonbury: Sunday 26 June

Conway Hall, London: Wednesday 19 October

Hostry Festival, Norfolk: Wednesday 2 November

More TBC!

The pioneers of the Garden City movement put great emphasis on the role of arts and culture in improving wellbeing as part of a co-operative approach to society. The TCPA has been exploring its artistic heritage in the context of the Garden City movement and environmental education. An acute awareness of the power of art in the creation of places and thinking about social transformation has emerged from this process. 

The TCPA’s performance pieces ‘Love, Life and Liberty’ and ‘Land of Promise’ have demonstrated how the arts can provide a powerful tool for communicating these issues and for engaging new and existing audiences in the debate about the future and the places we create:

Love, Life and Liberty

'Love, Life & Liberty' is a celebration of the TCPA's past utopian ideals. These values were artistic, collectivist, cooperative and occasionally eccentric, but most of all they were practical; building real places that immeasurably improved the lives of millions of ordinary people. The readings and songs in 'Love, Life & Liberty' give a small taste of the debate about land and freedom which has raged in England since the 17th century.

Land of Promise 

'Land of Promise' is a words and music presentation featuring guest readers, and musicians. It journeys through three and a half centuries of radical thought, writing, and song about the connection between art, social justice and the living environment.