Barking and Dagenham Council (LBBD), in partnership with Serpentine, will launch Becontree Broadcasting Station: Radio Ballads Legacy Project with a livestreamed programme featuring legendary music producer Brian Eno, LBBD’s Artist in Residence Joe Namy and Serpentine 2021 Summer Pavilion architect Sumayya Vally. The radio station is supported by Becontree Forever, a cultural programme celebrating the centenary of the UK’s largest council housing estate.

The Becontree Broadcasting station is another fantastic project as part of celebrations to mark 100 years of the Becontree Estate as with our Becontree Forever programme.

The programme will involve a live audience of community groups and residents of Barking and Dagenham. It will be broadcast live online at www.becontreeforever.uk on 6 November from 3pm to 5pm, making it available for anyone to listen to.

Taking place at Valence Library, this listening session run by Serpentine will feature a selection of tracks, archival recordings and sound works that suggest an alternative way to experience our changing cities through collective listening. Eno, Valley and Namy will each present a series of sounds comprising of music, different archives and broadcasts, to create alternative narratives of the city that unravel layers of sonic histories. Becontree’s DJ Tati will play sound mixes throughout the session.

Becontree Broadcasting Station is an online community radio station, serving the Becontree Estate and the whole of Barking and Dagenham. It will be an open and inclusive radio platform for the local community, offer free workshops, and give people a chance to develop their own radio show, with no experience necessary.

Serpentine and Barking and Dagenham’s inaugural Artist in Residence, Joe Namy will also be facilitating workshops with local communities to design and create the Becontree Broadcasting Station, which will have its home in Valence Library on the Becontree Estate, with programmes engaging in the diversity and complexity of the area. Joe is asking residents if they have an idea for a radio programme, DJing, podcasts, or are just interested in audio production and radio, to please contact him at: jnamy@lbbd.gov.uk to get involved.

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Leadership and Engagement, Cllr Saima Ashraf said: “The Becontree Broadcasting station is another fantastic project as part of celebrations to mark 100 years of the Becontree Estate as with our Becontree Forever programme.

“To have such great artists such as Brian Eno and Joe Namy on board is really exciting and getting involved will be a wonderful experience for our residents on the estate and beyond. I look forward to listening to the shows our local community will produce for the airwaves.”

The 2021 Pavilion Fragment and radio equipment for the station are being given to Barking and Dagenham by Serpentine, where they will remain as a legacy of the 2021 Serpentine Pavilion and Radio Ballads project.

Residents can listen in to the radio station on www.becontreeforever.uk where it will be streamed live.