Kenyan Appointed as Trustee of Shoreditch Town Hall

Kenyan professional Kwame Otiende has been appointed as one of five new trustees of Shoreditch Town Hall, a historic arts and cultural venue in east London.

Otiende joins the governing board as the organisation expands its leadership with trustees from cultural, commercial, civic and community backgrounds. Shoreditch Town Hall, a Grade II listed building on Old Street, was opened in 1866 as a centre for local administration and civic life. 

It served the community through much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries before its role changed as local government structures evolved. The building later accommodated a range of activities, including entertainment, performances and sporting events. It also operated as a boxing venue for many years. Its history includes a major fire in the early twentieth century and the disruptions caused by two world wars.

The venue is also linked to the British women's suffrage movement. In 1913, campaigner Sylvia Pankhurst was arrested on the steps of the Town Hall during a period of intense campaigning for women's voting rights.

Shoreditch Town Hall's motto, “More Light, More Power”, reflects the area's role in the early development of electric street lighting. The building's history is therefore closely connected to both London's civic life and its industrial and technological development.

By the latter part of the twentieth century, however, the building had fallen into poor condition and was placed on the Buildings at Risk register. There were also discussions about commercial redevelopment, raising concerns about the future of the historic site.

The establishment of the Shoreditch Town Hall Trust in 1997 provided a new framework for preserving the building as a community asset while developing a sustainable use for it.

The Town Hall has since become an arts and cultural centre covering more than 48,000 square feet and containing dozens of rooms. It hosts theatre, music, dance, circus performances and public discussions, while also providing rehearsal spaces, creative residencies and workspaces for artists.

Shoreditch Town Hall does not receive regular revenue funding and relies significantly on income from commercial activities and venue hire. Its financial model includes tenants such as the two-Michelin-starred restaurant The Clove Club, helping to support the charity's cultural and public programmes.