‘We are still here’: The impacts of street music and street art during the 2020 London lockdowns

This article documents the work of one community music organisation during the two national lockdowns resulting from the Covid 19 pandemic in 2020. It describes musical and other creative activities confined to just 8 streets in a diverse and deprived part of London and the responses from 20 members of the community. The article ends with questions for arts, education and social science researchers about what those in community education can learn from the experience of lockdown. These questions include: • What have we learned about characteristics of cohesive and supportive communities? • What role have schools and nurseries played in bringing communities together? • Have arts organisations and initiatives built bridges between school and community? • Where are children’s voices represented in post-Covid-19 education planning in what has become known as ‘the recovery curriculum’? • Does government language about ‘catch up’ and a ‘lost generation’ accurately represent the experience of children? • What is the role of arts in constructing cohesive, supportive communities? • What are the links between the arts and positive emotions in children and young people? • In what ways is positive emotion related to resilience? • How can the arts be used to build new cultures? • How do we make community projects more inclusive?