Culture Cargo Open Call (featuring in The Totally Thames Festival 26)
Ahoy friends! Applications are now open for artists, performers, storytellers, writers, musicians, speakers and community voices to join the Raybel Charters ‘Culture Cargo’ project in September. This is a unique cultural voyage aboard the historic Thames sailing barge Raybel that will also interweave with the Totally Thames Festival 2026.
Applications are now open for Culture Cargo 2026, a travelling programme of performances, conversations and creative encounters aboard the historic Thames sailing barge Raybel.
During September 2026, Raybel will journey along the Thames Estuary into central London, stopping at riverside locations between Gravesend and London. At each stop, Culture Cargo will bring together artists, local communities, environmental thinkers and audiences to explore stories of place, ecology, trade, climate and change. The project will take place between 3rd and 21st September.
We are seeking eight creative contributors from communities across the Thames Estuary to help shape this unique cultural voyage.
About Culture Cargo
Culture Cargo will carry a cargo of ideas, memories, stories and social connections from place to place aboard one of the last surviving Thames sailing barges.
Alongside performances and discussions, the vessel will also transport sail-shipped produce sourced through the Fair Winds Collective, creating opportunities to explore low-carbon trade, regenerative land practices and the future of our rivers and estuaries.
The project invites audiences to consider questions such as:
How might trade and transport work on London's rivers in a carbon-constrained future?
How will climate change and sea-level rise reshape the estuary?
What can the Thames' history teach us about its future?
How can creativity help us imagine new relationships between people, place and environment?
Our ambition is to create events that inspire reflection, discussion and collective imagination, shifting perceptions:
From river as coloniser → to river as collaborator.
From trade as extraction → to trade as regeneration.
From climate anxiety → to collective agency.
Who Can Apply?
We welcome proposals from artists, performers, storytellers, writers, musicians, speakers, community groups, researchers, historians, activists and anyone with a creative practice or perspective to share.
We are particularly interested in work connected to:
The Thames and its communities
Estuary identity and belonging
Ecological change and environmental justice
Climate change and adaptation
Rivers, waterways and landscapes
Trade, transport and movement
Maritime heritage and working river histories
Migration and cultural exchange
Regenerative futures
What Could You Propose?
We're deliberately open-minded and welcome a wide range of formats, including:
Music and performance
Spoken word, poetry and storytelling
Talks and presentations
Workshops and conversations
Sound, visual and multimedia work
Community oral histories
Collaborative projects with local residents
We're looking for work that sparks meaningful conversations about the past, present and future of the Thames Estuary.
What We Offer
Selected contributors will:
Receive a £300 fee (inclusive) for one activity
Present their work as part of Culture Cargo and/or Totally Thames Festival 2026
Connect with artists, community organisations, environmental scientists and campaigners
Reach audiences in unique riverside locations
Help shape future cultural programming aboard Raybel and across the Thames Estuary
Contributions can take place either on board Raybel or alongside the vessel at riverside locations. We can accommodate performances, talks, workshops and other activities lasting between 45-90 minutes. Indoor and outdoor spaces are available, though capacity and layout can be limited by the unique nature of a historic Thames sailing barge.
We want Culture Cargo to reflect the diversity of the Thames Estuary and warmly encourage applications from people whose voices and experiences are underrepresented in arts and cultural programming.
Deadline: Midnight, Friday 10 July
Decisions by: Friday 20th July
Project enquiry:faye@raybelcharters.com
Culture Cargo is supported by Arts Council England. We look forward to welcoming new voices aboard Raybel for this journey along the Thames.
