Our monthly round-up of the best crowdfunding projects with a London aspect turns next to the site with the no-nonsense name Crowdfunder.co.uk. How about helping out these projects with a bit of that cash you're not spending on alcohol this January?
Since 1979, Stepney City Farm has been welcoming thousands of people each year but they face the ever-present threat of funding shortages and have turned to crowdfunding for your help. Is there a better way to educate London's kids about nature and wildlife than a city farm? When all around you is metal and concrete, you'll certainly miss being able to feed farm animals and watch food being grown when it's gone.
Pledges start from just a fiver, and rewards range from special artwork to a giant bag of compost (oh yes). Please head over to their funding page to help keep a lovely east London institution up and running for the benefit of all.
The London Literary Fleet Street Trail
From the creators of the successful 'London Literary Pub Crawl with Dickens and Woolf (Deceased)' comes a new venture, based on the famous history of the venerable EC4. Part guided tour, part street theatre and part interactive performance, the company plan to shine a light on one of London's most famous streets with a brand new script from award-winning writer Nick Henneghan.
Pledge rewards include a production party invite and bound copies of the script. They have set a low funding target and with your help should have no trouble hitting it, so head over to the funding page before you miss the chance to bring some of London's literary and journalistic giants to life once again.
The Gospel According to St Derek
Derek Jarman is a hero among low-budget filmmakers, to the extent that he is sincerely nicknamed 'St Derek' in the video accompanying this project – a documentary about Jarman to be released on the 20th anniversary of Londoner Jarman's untimely death in 1994. This crowdfunding project is hoping to raise funds to complete post-production – the documentary itself is already largely filmed and the 400 Blows production team just need this final push to make it happen.
As well as celebrating Jarman and his importance to film-making, the documentary champions the '10 commandments of low-budget film-making according to St Derek'. Pledge rewards range from DVD copies of the end product to production credits and a one-off consultation to help you with your own low-budget film in the spirit of the man himself.
Now, we're not going to pretend the crowdfunding page for On Landscape doesn't leave us a little mystified. It certainly intrigues, with an opening line of 'Landscape is not a genre but a medium...' and a description of a project that would have many first-year arts students scratching their heads in bewilderment and as many third years nodding with approval.
It certainly involves a guided east London walk with renowned artist Minna Pöllänen, looking at the biodiversity of the local area through the prism of landscape art. The project is already a third funded, and rewards include posters, a review of your own portfolio and a studio visit and darkroom demo at Studio 10 in Hackney.
Splash Pilion Community Paint Service
Did you know you could recycle paint? Apparently you can, and the people behind this 'community paint service' based in Islington do just that. They offer cheap, recycled but good-quality paint (environmentally friendly of course) to schools, community centres, scout groups, night shelters and members of the public, and are now looking to raise funds for their own premises and a new van.
Not surprisingly, most of the pledge rewards are paint-based, though there's also a Splash Pilion baseball cap in a choice of colours, without which we doubt you could consider your life complete.
Photo by zorro from the Londonist Flickr pool.
