Million Pound Moves & Hidden Gems

Quote of the Week - “Lucid dreams are your treasures.” - Michael Johnson

Good Afternoon, London. This week, in The London Palette you’ll see how power moves and hidden treasures intertwine across the capital in ways that redefine sophistication itself. From Kerry James Marshall's $21 million artistic revolution transforming the Royal Academy's walls to LED lights preparing to resurrect the ghost of the River Fleet beneath Holborn Viaduct, every corner pulses with the tension between heritage and innovation. If you want something more soothing head to the British Museum and take in the splendour of sacred Buddhist shrines.

Snatched highlights from this edition:

1. Clapham's Literary Secret Weapon

2. Victorian Tunnel Gets LED Makeover

3. The Startup Disrupting Big Chocolate

4. Live Music - Burna Boy, MF Robots & lots more!

Let’s dive in.

—Bybreen Samuels

COUNCIL CANVAS

The City's £300,000 Lighting Gamble

Like a Victorian clockmaker carefully illuminating the delicate mechanisms that keep time itself moving, the City of London Corporation is orchestrating a lighting transformation that will reveal the hidden heartbeat of one of its most historically significant arteries. The proposed Holborn Viaduct lighting project, fully funded by Fleet Street Quarter BID to the value of between £150,000 - £300,000, represents more than architectural development. It’s more like urban archaeology with LED bulbs, designed to resurrect the ghost of the River Fleet while addressing modern concerns about pedestrian safety and wayfinding.

The Fleet Street Quarter's Era of Change vision has identified the Viaduct needs an upgrade. This Grade II listed Victorian masterpiece currently feels more like a forbidding tunnel than a gateway to the Square Mile. With the Museum of London's relocation to Smithfield there will be more pedestrian traffic, which calls for more lighting. This cost is an investment in infrastructure. Walkers will feel more comfortable because the current unattractive environment will become something approaching civic pride.

From a policy perspective is the initiative’s collaborative funding model and historical resonance. The Viaduct was home to Thomas Edison's first coal-fired power station in 1882, making it the birthplace of London's electrical grid. Now it's becoming a showcase for sustainable LED technology connected to the City's smart lighting network. The Fleet Street Quarter BID's willingness to fund both installation and long-term maintenance creates a template for how business improvement districts can drive infrastructure upgrades that align with statutory objectives while reducing public sector capital.

The project's March 2026 delivery timeline coincides perfectly with wider Fleet Street regeneration initiatives. They include the £9 million public realm transformation programme that's reshaping this corner of the City into a cultural and business destination. By highlighting the Viaduct's metal beam architecture and commemorating its original function as a River Fleet crossing, the lighting scheme promises to transform a utilitarian Victorian bridge into a landmark. It will provide a feeling of safety particularly for women and girls. Once the regeneration is complete it will showcase how heritage and contemporary urban planning goals can illuminate each other beautifully.

The genius lies in recognising that some of London's most important infrastructure improvements happen not through grand gestures. More often they’re through thoughtful improvements to existing assets, turning everyday journeys into moments of civic connection and historical awareness.

Find out more here - https://www.fleetstreetquarter.co.uk

CITY PALETTE

The $21M Artist Rewriting Art History

When Black bodies become the centre of Western art's grandest traditions, something revolutionary quietly unfolds on Piccadilly. Kerry James Marshall's The Histories at the Royal Academy doesn't just hang paintings on walls. It rewrites the very DNA of who gets to be heroic, beautiful, and historically significant in the visual language that has shaped European consciousness for centuries.

Kerry's 70 works span five decades of artistic archaeology. He excavates Black figures from art history's margins and places them front and centre in compositions that would make Manet weep with recognition. His nine-foot-tall School of Beauty, School of Culture transforms a beauty salon into a masterclass in visual literacy. A place where Chris Ofili exhibition posters hang alongside classical artistic techniques borrowed from the likes of Holbein and Velázquez. All showing how contemporary Black culture has elegance and sophistication.

The exhibition's eight new paintings incorporates Africa's own complicity in the transatlantic slave trade. As you take in the images you’ll no doubt grapple with historical complexities that resist easy moral categorisation. Kerry’s work is the kind of unflinching historical honesty that made him one of Barack Obama's former arts advisors. And, he’s the artist whose Past Times shattered auction records at $21.1 million.

What Kerry achieves here goes beyond representation politics into something more fundamental. He's teaching the Royal Academy's own walls a new visual grammar where Black Power poses can coexist with classical life drawing tradition. Alongside, the decorative richness of Afrofuturism meets the compositional rigour of Old Masters. This is cultural diplomacy disguised as a birthday party. Finally, London's art establishment is ready to learn a new language.

Book tickets here - https://www.royalacademy.org.uk

Ancient Buddha's Modern London Moment

Sometimes the most profound spiritual encounters happen in rooms you've passed a thousand times. The British Museum's Ancient India: Living Traditions transforms familiar galleries into something approaching a sacred space. A place where 2,000-year-old devotional objects still pulse with the energy that drew millions of pilgrims across ancient trade routes. And continues to shape the daily rituals of nearly two billion people today.

This showcase is a multi-sensory pilgrimage through the shared blueprint of three world religions that most visitors assume have nothing in common. The exhibition's specialty lies in revealing how Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain imagery emerged from the same ancient nature spirits. Think of those powerful Yakshas who governed fertility, prosperity, and the raw forces of the subcontinent before organised religion even existed.

The star attraction quietly sits in a corner, the oldest image of Buddha, a small gold container from around 70-100 AD that survived nearly two millennia because devotees believed it held actual relics of the enlightened teacher himself. As you move through the exhibition you’ll be captivated by the fact that Buddha wasn't always depicted in human form. For centuries, he was represented only through symbols like footprints and empty thrones, until artistic workshops in ancient Mathura revolutionised religious iconography forever.

What gives this show a distinctive edge is the blend of scholarly ambition and the collaborative spirit of practising Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains. Together, they helped shape everything from the ethereal lighting design to the vegan paints used on display cases. The result feels less like cultural appropriation and more like cultural conversation, where living traditions aren't just preserved in museum cases but actively practised in Britain's temples, from Neasden to Southall. All of this proves that spiritual art's most powerful journey isn't from past to present, it's from heart to heart.

Book tickets here - https://www.britishmuseum.org

UNDISCOVERED GEMS

Clapham's Literary Secret Weapon

While literary giants like Hay and Cheltenham dominate the festival calendar with their marquee names and corporate sponsorships, Clapham's nine-year-old book festival quietly operates on an entirely different frequency. Genuine literary conversation is prioritised over celebrity worship. This grassroots celebration proves that the best bookish discussions happen when passionate readers gather in intimate spaces rather than giant venues.

The Festival's uniqueness lies in its hyper-local approach. The signature Clapham Literary Walk reveals that this corner of South London has hosted everyone from Nobel Laureates learning their craft at kitchen tables to bestselling authors who penned their breakthrough novels around the Common. Crime fiction writer and Festival trustee Julie Anderson leads these literary pilgrimages that transform mundane street corners into sacred spaces where literary history unfolded. Participants realise they've been walking past invisible monuments to British letters their entire lives.

Founded by the charity, Clapham Writers, they understand community engagement better than most corporate event organisers. As a result the Festival operates with the kind of authentic grassroots energy that makes conversations feel spontaneous rather than scripted. The Omnibus Theatre provides the perfect intimate setting where you can actually engage with authors rather than merely observe them from a distance. This format helps create the kind of meaningful literary dialogue that transforms casual readers into lifelong book evangelists.

What elevates this from a neighbourhood hobby to a genuine cultural discovery is the Festival's commitment to year-round programming. They offer online talks and literary walks that keep the community engaged beyond this annual celebration. In an age where literary festivals increasingly chase commercial success, Clapham Book Festival remains free of the commercial mindset because it’s a place where books matter more than book sales. And where the simple pleasure of discussing great stories with fellow enthusiasts feels like the most subversive act imaginable.

Find out more here - https://claphambookfestival.com

LONDON BUZZ

Fashion Week's £165,000,000 London Boost

The curtain fell on London Fashion Week 2025's Spring Season 26 edition, earlier this week. After the final bow at the Burberry show, there’s a ripple of economic energy that continues to flow through the capital. This September's iteration proved that London's fashion ecosystem isn't just surviving after the turbulence of Brexit. In fact it's thriving with the kind of cultural confidence that generates real money, real jobs, and real international prestige. All in ways that remind everyone why our city remains fashion's most unpredictable playground.

The numbers tell a story of economic resilience disguised as creative expression. For instance, the fashion and retail industries now contribute over £67 billion annually to the U.K. economy while supporting more than a million jobs. London Fashion Week serves as the crown jewel that amplifies this impact globally. This year's event drew over 5,000 international visitors from over 50 countries, who pumped an estimated £165 million into London's economy. Money poured in through orders, hospitality, and tourism. Consequently, proving that Laura Weir's first season as the CEO of the British Fashion Council has delivered both artistic credibility and commercial success.

The significance of this show was the calibre of the cultural ambassadors on display. H&M's first runway show in seven years transformed 180 Strand into a celebrity-studded spectacle featuring Romeo Beckham, Lila Moss, and a show-stopping performance by Lola Young. While eBay's pre-loved fashion showcase proved sustainability can generate serious social media buzz and commercial interest. Parliament even held a Westminster Hall debate to celebrate London Fashion Week's cultural contribution. MPs acknowledged its role in attracting international investment and showcasing British creativity on the global stage.

Across the board the shows managed to seamlessly thread heritage and credibility with emerging talent. Established names like Simone Rocha and Burberry shared scheduling space with breakthrough designers like Conner Ives and Paolo Carzana. These agenda’s laid the kind of creative ecosystem that generates media impact value worth hundreds of millions of pounds. In addition, they proved that London remains fashion's most democratic stage. As international buyers placed orders and global media coverage amplified British design talent worldwide, September 2025 demonstrated that London Fashion Week is a cultural event with an economic engine. Together, they transform creative vision into tangible prosperity for the entire capital.

LONDON SOUNDSCAPE

Cecil Sharp House - October 1

Seven centuries of storytelling traditions flow through your fingertips when Suntou Susso places his hands on those 22 shimmering kora strings. You'll discover this isn't just another world music concert, but an intimate encounter with living history at Camden's folk headquarters, Cecil Sharp House. Born into Gambia's ancient Griot lineage, Suntou carries the heart of West African oral tradition, by weaving love, peace, and resilience into Afro-jazz melodies that'll transport you straight to sunshine-soaked savannas. His debut album Kanéfonyo translates to, never give up, the perfect anthem for life-affirming energy that critics celebrate across Europe.

Book tickets here - https://www.efdss.org/cecil-sharp-house

Islington Assembly Hall - October 4

At 70 years young, authentic storytelling flows through Robert Finley's veins like bayou water through Louisiana cypress roots, carrying tales no algorithm could ever generate. You'll witness raw blues history in the making when this Bernice-born carpenter-turned-bluesman brings his juke joint gospel to Islington Assembly Hall. His collaboration with Black Keys' Dan Auerbach has already produced four critically acclaimed albums including the recent Black Bayou, earning five-star raves from MOJO who declared it "the album Finley was put on Earth to create." Here’s your chance to witness one of America's last true bluesmen.

Book tickets here - https://islingtonassemblyhall.co.uk

Pryzm - October 2

Burna Boy descends upon Kingston's underground cathedral where 2,500 souls gather to witness the closest thing to a musical revolution happening in South London right now. You'll experience his eighth studio album No Sign of Weakness in its full, visceral glory, complete with Travis Scott’s collaboration TaTaTa and Mick Jagger's Empty Chairs, delivered through a sound system that recreates a pulsating Afrofusion temple. Burna showcases his meaning of a cultural statement that bridges Lagos streets with London vibes, proving why this GRAMMY winner earned 2.5 billion YouTube streams.

Book tickets here - https://pryzm.co.uk

Southwark Cathedral - September 26

Medieval stones echo with Bohemian Rhapsody harmonies while ABBA's Swedish pop melodies dance through gothic arches, creating musical alchemy that transforms Southwark Cathedral into Europe's most atmospheric concert venue. You'll discover what happens when City String Ensemble's classically-trained musicians reimagine We Are the Champions and Dancing Queen as intimate chamber pieces. Since 2016, this collective has revolutionised classical expectations, performing everywhere from Bridgerton premieres to celebrity events with half a million Spotify streams proving their innovative work. Bask in this cinematic grandeur where candlelight transforms familiar anthems into something almost sacred.

Book tickets here - https://cathedral.southwark.anglican.org

The Exchange - September 27 and October 3

Two virtuoso guitars weaving stories like master storytellers around a campfire, creating magic that transcends linguistic barriers. Discover Antonio Forcione's legendary fusion of Latin, jazz, and flamenco rhythms meeting Giorgio Serci's evocative Sardinian melodies in Twickenham's intimate Exchange venue. Critics call Antonio "one of the greatest guitarists" while Giorgio collaborates with international orchestras from Berlin Philharmonic to BBC Concert Orchestra. Their September 27 partnership promises passionate improvisation, unexpected humour, and moments that'll make your heart skip beats. This world-class duo transforms acoustic guitars into orchestras of emotion.

Five decades of Joni Mitchell’s musical evolution crystallises into pure reverence when Hattie Whitehead takes the stage with her extraordinary seven-piece ensemble, on October 3. You'll experience the legendary Shadows and Light tour reimagined, it’s the one where Joni collaborated with jazz titans Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, and Michael Brecker for an artistic pinnacle that many consider her greatest live performance ever. Hattie channels Joni's distinctive open guitar tunings while BBC Kent's Adam Dowling declares her voice "one of the most perfect" he's heard, creating an authentic homage that honours both the original's jazz sophistication and emotional intimacy. Witness this musical archaeology performed by world-class musicians who understand that Joni's late 1970s period remains unmatched for artistic complexity and emotional depth.

Book tickets here - https://www.exchangetwickenham.co.uk

The Jazz Cafe - October 3

Former Brand New Heavies maestros Jan Kincaid and Dawn Joseph weaponise their decades of acid jazz mastery to deliver what Mixmag calls "intergalactic jazz-funk disco" at Camden's most legendary venue. They’re debuting their third album performed live by musicians who literally invented the U.K's acid jazz movement. Jan's legendary drumming launched a thousand hip-hop samples while Dawn's vocals have graced stages with everyone from Phil Collins to CeeLo Green. Their chemistry sparked instantly when they met in 2013, creating MF Robots as their liberation from musical constraints and industry expectations. You’re in for an unforgettable night of sonic innovations.

Book tickets here - https://thejazzcafelondon.com

Troxy - October 3

Passion ignites between Spanish strings and East London's grandest art deco cathedral when Tonino Baliardo brings his legendary rumba gitana to Troxy's gilded stage on October 3. Enjoy, as the founding father of modern flamenco fusion performs classics like Bamboléo and Djobi Djoba alongside his sons Mikaël and Cosso. They maintain a 30-year musical dynasty that's sold 20 million albums worldwide and earned Grammy gold. Tonino's revolutionary white Gibson Chet Atkins guitar continue transforming traditional rumba flamenca into something universally transcendent, evidenced by recent platinum collaborations with artists like Tangana. From Saint-Tropez busking to Radio City Music Hall grandeur, this virtuoso guitarist promises an evening where gypsy tradition meets contemporary fire.

Book tickets here - https://troxy.co.uk

BUSINESS SCENE

The Startup Disrupting Big Chocolate

Beneath the glass ceiling of Fidelio Café, Spencer Hyman is orchestrating what amounts to a quiet revolution in how Londoners think about chocolate consumption. The Cocoa Runners Craft Chocolate Fair running from October 10 to 12 represents the culmination of a decade-long mission to democratise an industry worth £4.5 billion globally. More than 70% of the world's cacao is still traded through exploitative commodity markets that leave farmers earning less than £1.50 per day.

Spencer's business model cleverly sidesteps traditional retail markup structures by working directly with over 100 artisan makers across 40 countries. The outcome is a transparent supply chain that's virtually unprecedented in the confectionery sector. The Fair's free entry strategy is altruistic and a smart customer acquisition plan because it converts curious browsers into Cocoa Runners Club subscribers. They pay £29.95 each month for curated selections. The business model is strengthen because of the recurring revenue that funded the company's expansion from a Clerkenwell startup to the U.K's largest craft chocolate curator.

This year's programming reads like a masterclass in elite leadership marketing. Professor Tim Spector will be discussing polyphenols and gut health. While coffee legend James Hoffmann explores flavour science. And Chocolat author Joanne Harris examines sensory connections between chocolate and perfume. These brand-building exercises position craft chocolate as an intellectual pursuit worthy of wine-level sophistication. Along with this comes premium pricing where single bars can cost £12-15 compared to £2 supermarket alternatives.

The timing couldn't be more strategic because by launching the U.K. Chocolate Week, Cocoa Runners is positioned at the centre of a movement that's seeing 23% year-on-year growth in premium chocolate sales. There’s a rise in ethical consumption trends that are driving younger demographics toward brands with transparent supply chains. As mass-market manufacturers face increasing scrutiny over sustainability and fair trade practices, Spencer's decade of relationship-building with small producers has created an almost unassailable competitive moat in the luxury market segment.

Find out more here - https://claphambookfestival.com

LINGUISTIC TAPESTRY - WORDS OF THE WEEK 

English Word:
Promontory
Pronunciation: /ˈprɒmənˌtɔːri/
Definition:  A high point of land or rock projecting into the sea or other body of water beyond the line of a coast. A headland or elevated ridge that juts dramatically into water or lowland.
Cultural Note: In literature, promontories symbolise isolation, contemplation, and the meeting point between civilisation and the untamed natural world. Appearing in works from Romantic poetry to maritime adventures as places of dramatic revelation and solitary reflection.

Ancient Indian Word:
Anicca (अनिच्च)
Pronunciation: /ah-NEE-chah/
Definition:  The fundamental Buddhist concept of impermanence, acknowledging that all conditioned existence is in constant flux as everything arises, changes, and passes away. Anicca represents the philosophical understanding that impermanence is an inherent characteristic of all phenomena.
Cultural Note: One of the three marks of existence (tilakkhana) in Buddhist philosophy, anicca forms the foundation for understanding suffering (dukkha) and non-self (anatta). Anicca demands intellectual recognition of impermanence as liberation from attachment.

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