Rich Mix

Rich Mix is a charitable cinema and multi-arts centre in Shoreditch, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It operates from a large former leather-factory building that was substantially redeveloped in the 2000s into a cultural venue serving East London. The organisation combines film exhibition, live performance, rehearsal and event spaces, exhibitions, and public cultural activity, with a particular emphasis on access, diversity, migrant communities, and opportunities for artists at different stages of their careers. The venue is organised across five floors and includes a three-screen cinema. Its programme has included both mainstream and independent films, allowing Rich Mix to function as more than a specialist art-house cinema while retaining a strong connection to international, independent, and culturally diverse filmmaking. Alongside film, its flexible spaces support performances, rehearsals, exhibitions, talks, workshops, and other arts activities. The venue’s model is designed to accommodate established artists as well as emerging practitioners, with programming and facilities intended to encourage participation by communities that are often underrepresented in cultural institutions. Rich Mix’s charitable objectives include advancing public education in art and culture and increasing understanding of the history of migrant communities and their contributions to economic and cultural life. The organisation also identifies the elimination of racial discrimination, equality of opportunity, and positive relations between different racial groups as part of its public-purpose mission. These objectives inform its identity as an East London cultural institution rooted in a socially and ethnically diverse urban area. The building’s redevelopment was a substantial East London regeneration project. A former industrial site was converted into a purpose-built arts centre through expenditure reported in public accounts and London political reporting as running into tens of millions of pounds. The project attracted scrutiny, including forensic accounting work commissioned in connection with London government oversight. Despite that complicated development history, the completed venue became a permanent cultural facility near Shoreditch’s growing creative district. Rich Mix also provides accommodation and support for creative organisations. Reference material describes around 20 creative organisations operating from the building, collectively associated with more than £23 million in annual turnover and more than 320 employees across a broad range of businesses. These figures describe the wider organisations connected with the building rather than Rich Mix’s own revenue, and they illustrate the centre’s role as a cultural and creative-industry hub. The organisation’s public-facing offer therefore spans cinema exhibition, live and recorded culture, artist development, community participation, and creative workspace. Its distinctive positioning is that of an accessible, independent, and multicultural venue: a place where film audiences, local residents, artists, cultural organisations, and creative businesses share a single East London facility. Rich Mix is best understood as a charitable cultural platform rather than as a conventional commercial cinema chain or entertainment brand.

Rich Mix occupies a substantial building in Shoreditch, East London, whose earlier use was as a leather factory. The site formed part of an industrial urban landscape that changed significantly as the surrounding East End developed into a major centre for creative, cultural, and commercial activity. During the 2000s, the former industrial premises were extensively demolished, rebuilt, and adapted to create a new multi-arts venue. The redevelopment was reported as a major public and cultural investment, with spending described in contemporary accounts as reaching tens of millions of pounds. The project was associated with the ambition to establish an independent arts centre for East London. Rather than concentrating on a single discipline, the completed building was designed to support cinema, performance, exhibitions, artist rehearsal, and other forms of cultural activity. Its five-floor layout and flexible spaces allowed the organisation to combine public programming with facilities for artists and creative businesses. A three-screen cinema became a central part of the venue, supporting a mixture of current mainstream releases and independent films. The redevelopment also generated public scrutiny. London newspapers and political oversight bodies examined aspects of the project’s costs and administration. Forensic accounting investigations were associated first with Deloitte in work connected with London Assembly members and later with PricewaterhouseCoopers in the context of the succeeding mayoral administration. The available reference material does not establish a single definitive financial conclusion or identify a final finding that should be treated as the organisation’s defining history, but the scrutiny forms part of the public record surrounding the building’s creation. Rich Mix was established as a charitable cultural organisation with objectives extending beyond entertainment. Its stated purposes include educating the public about art and culture and advancing understanding of migrant communities and their contributions to economic and cultural life. The organisation also aims to help eliminate racial discrimination, promote equality of opportunity, and foster good relations among people from different racial groups. These objectives reflect the venue’s location and its intended role as an institution serving a diverse East London population. Once operating as a completed cultural centre, Rich Mix developed a programme that brought together film screenings, performances, exhibitions, artist activity, and public events. It provided space for both emerging and established artists, giving practitioners opportunities to rehearse, present work, and engage with audiences. Its cinema enabled the centre to reach regular filmgoers, while its cross-arts activity broadened the institution’s function into a wider community and cultural resource. The building also became a base for creative organisations. Reference material describes approximately 20 such organisations using the centre, together connected with more than £23 million in annual turnover and over 320 employees. These figures relate to the wider group of creative businesses associated with the building, not necessarily to Rich Mix as an individual charity. They nonetheless indicate the venue’s role in supporting the local creative economy as well as presenting public culture. A reported example of the centre’s community reach is its provision of free arts and cultural events to more than 35,000 people during the 2014–2015 period. This illustrates the importance of access in Rich Mix’s operating model: the organisation is not simply a ticketed cinema and performance venue, but also a platform for participation and public education. Its history is consequently defined by the conversion of industrial premises into a multi-purpose cultural institution, the governance and financial scrutiny surrounding that conversion, and the continuing attempt to connect arts programming with social inclusion and East London’s diverse communities.

1. 2014Large-scale free cultural programme reported

   Reference material reports that Rich Mix provided free arts and cultural events to more than 35,000 people during the 2014–2015 period.

   Source
2. Former leather factory converted into an arts centre

   During the 2000s, the former leather-factory site was extensively redeveloped and rebuilt as Rich Mix, an independent multi-arts venue for East London.

   Source

A charitable, independent, and socially inclusive East London cultural venue combining cinema, cross-arts programming, public education, artist opportunities, and creative-industry infrastructure.

• Three-screen cinemaCinema exhibition

  Rich Mix operates a three-screen cinema within its wider arts-centre complex. The programme combines current mainstream releases with independent films, giving the venue a broad public cinema function while retaining its connection to independent and culturally diverse film. The cinema is one component of a larger charitable cultural offer rather than a standalone multiplex business.

• Live performance and eventsPerforming arts

  The centre provides flexible spaces for performances, talks, workshops, and other public events. These spaces are intended to accommodate both established and emerging artists and support a broad range of cross-arts activity. The programme contributes to Rich Mix’s role as a community-facing cultural venue rather than limiting the organisation to film exhibition.

• Artist rehearsal and presentation spacesArtist facilities

  Rich Mix includes adaptable areas where artists can rehearse, develop, and present work. The facilities are part of the centre’s support for creative practitioners at different career stages. They allow the organisation to connect production and presentation, bringing artists into contact with audiences through the same building that hosts cinema, exhibitions, and public events.

• Creative-organisation workspaceCreative industries infrastructure

  The building houses creative organisations alongside Rich Mix’s public cultural facilities. Reference material describes approximately 20 organisations using the site, making the venue part cultural centre and part creative-industry hub. This workspace function extends Rich Mix’s role beyond programming by providing a physical base for businesses and organisations working across the creative economy.

• Creation of a multi-arts cultural venue from an industrial siteStrategy

  The former leather factory was redeveloped to create an East London cultural centre combining cinema, performance, exhibition, rehearsal, and creative-industry functions.

  What changed. Rich Mix developed a five-floor venue with a three-screen cinema and flexible spaces for artists, audiences, community events, and creative organisations.

  Aftermath. The completed venue became an independent cultural and creative-industry hub in Shoreditch, although the redevelopment was subject to public and political scrutiny over its costs and administration.

  Source

1. Rich Mix
2. Rich Mix official website