A group of young people leaning on the riverside railing, looking out over the Thames
BLACK BLOX
A chalk map drawn across the ground of a yard, a person standing over it

THIS WAS
ALREADY HERE.

Two people walking up a high street, new towers rising behind the old shopfronts

South East London is changing.

A young woman photographing the river from the path, others sketching beside her

Young people should help shape
what comes next.

A young person running down a warehouse aisle strung with paper flags

YOUTH-LED
WORLD-BUILDING
IN SOUTH EAST
LONDON.

New riverside towers seen from the water

NOW

CHARLTON RIVERSIDE / 2026

01  WHAT IS BLACK BLOX?

What is Black Blox?

Black Blox is a youth-led design and learning platform born in South East London.

Rooted in everyday community spaces, we work with young people to explore what is already here and imagine what comes next.

Through design, making, storytelling and public projects, Black Blox creates space for young people to become authors of change in the neighbourhoods they already belong to.

As South East London continues to change through regeneration, we believe the people growing up in these places should help shape their future.

02  THIS WAS ALREADY HERE.

  • Culture.
  • Talent.
  • Memory.
  • Knowledge.
  • Imagination.
The words WELCOME and THANKS written in chalk on a warehouse floor
BB.017 — CHALK, WAREHOUSE FLOOR

Regeneration does not bring these things to a place.

We start with what is already here and build forward.

03  CURRENT PROGRAMME

NOW

CHANGING
NARRATIVES

CHARLTON RIVERSIDE  /  SUMMER 2026

Changing Narratives is the current Black Blox programme, bringing a new cohort of young people into Charlton Riverside at a moment of major neighbourhood change.

Rooted in a long-standing African grocery store and the wider riverside landscape, the programme uses walking, photography, mapping, conversation, design and making to ask:

  1. 01What is already here?
  2. 02What is changing?
  3. 03What should remain?
  4. 04What could come next?
A big public screen and bouncy castle in a park, construction cranes behind
BB.021 — WOOLWICH, UNDER CONSTRUCTION
A young person in a hi-vis vest drawing in a notebook on the river path
BB.022 — FIELD NOTES, RIVER PATH

04  OUR WORK

Black Blox began through workshops inside everyday spaces in South East London.

Young people have photographed their neighbourhoods, travelled the River Thames, designed speculative businesses, mapped places, built objects, developed games and presented their ideas publicly.

The work changes from project to project. The principle stays the same:

Two mentors talking with a group of young people in a workshop space
BB.001 — WORKSHOP, SE LONDON
Cardboard models mid-build on a green cutting mat
BB.002 — MAKING TABLE
A group lined along the riverside railing
BB.003 — TRAVELLING THE THAMES
A handwritten How To Play sheet on a red table with game pieces
BB.004 — GAME, HOW TO PLAY
A wall of drawings pinned above a table of models
BB.005 — PUBLIC PRESENTATION
A cardboard architectural model of a house
BB.006 — SPECULATIVE BUILD
Two young women laughing and dancing outside
BB.007 — BREAK
A white canopy strung between warehouse racking over benches
BB.008 — RACKING, REIMAGINED
Shelves stacked with found cardboard and materials
BB.009 — FOUND MATERIALS
A chalk map drawn on the ground
BB.010 — MAPPING
Drawing the river from the path
BB.011 — FIELD NOTES
Walking through town, towers behind
BB.012 — ON FOOT

Young people are makers, authors and participants in the future of their communities.

40+ young people  ·  10+ artists, mentors and contributors  ·  workshops, visits, making and public projects across South East London

05  WORK WITH US

We work with young people, schools, community organisations, cultural spaces, councils and regeneration partners.

If a neighbourhood is changing, young people should be part of the conversation early.

Invite Black Blox into a project.

START A CONVERSATION