5 things to know about Heart n Soul

Heart n Soul is a community where everyone is valued, and where people are free to work together to make great art with imagination, love and trust.

Since the 1980s, they’ve been harnessing and showcasing the artistry of people with learning disabilities in Deptford and beyond. And if you’re a regular visitor to the Southbank Centre chances are you’ve encountered their work before, possibly at Imagine, or out on our Riverside Terrace, where you’ll find them again on Saturday 29 August throwing out the summer vibes at their Let It Be Awesome Party.

But if you haven’t been lucky enough to encounter Heart n Soul already, here’s a quick introduction to them and their ever impressive work.

Their vision is for a more open, creative and equal world

And who can argue with that? Heart n Soul are long term champions of the power and talents of people with learning disabilities and autistic people. From their base in Deptford, South London, they offer a place for young people and adults to connect and help to lead change through creativity. Their regular creative activities, both in person and online, offer a space for people to explore new things and express themselves while discovering their own path through music and the arts. And within that space they also support artists to develop, perform and exhibit their work.

They’re celebrating the big four-oh

Yep, 2026 marks four decades of Heart n Soul making cool things happen. In fact their origins stretch a little bit further back, to 1984, when musician Mark Williams started running creative sessions in Lewisham with a group of people with learning difficulties, one of whom was Pino Frumiento. In 1986 the group moved to the Albany Theatre in Deptford, and things became more official; Frumiento joined with Williams and theatre practitioner Alix Parker and together they formed Heart n Soul.

In the years since they’ve gone from strength to strength, including establishing an inclusive club night The Beautiful Octopus Club followed by The Squidz Club for young people. Impressively, Williams and Frumiento are still involved today, Williams as Artistic Director and Frumiento as both a trustee and a key member of countless Heart n Soul projects

They’re named after a song

Why Heart n Soul? Well, their name actually comes from a song written by co-founders Frumiento and Williams. The song in question, (called ‘Heart n Soul’in case you hadn’t guessed), became the organisation’s anthem and in 1990 they even released it as a double A-side 12” single along with the theme for the BBC television show ‘One in Four’ – also written by Frumiento. Both tracks featured backing vocals from Heart n Soul members, while ‘Heart n Soul’ – the single – even had this accompanying video, filmed at Deptford’s Albany Theatre, with additional footage from an event in Covent Garden. Hit play, you won’t regret it. It’s a banger.

They’ve helped change perceptions of people with learning disabilities

And not just through their many projects, shows, events and performances, they’ve also helped shape and guide scientific research. From 2018 to 2021 Heart n Soul took up a residency with the Wellcome Collection which saw them not only deliver live performances and workshops, but also led a research project exploring ‘productivity, difference and what it is to be ‘normal’’. As a result of this research project, Heart n Soul received funding from The Health Foundation to take this work further and help guide a radical redesign of health services for people with learning disabilities and autistic people.

And they’re no strangers to the Southbank Centre

We’ve welcomed Heart n Soul to the Southbank Centre a great number of times over the years, so this August bank holiday’s Let It Be Awesome Party is the latest in a long line of appearances across our venues. Perhaps the most notable one came in 2012 as part of Unlimited’s Paralympic Cultural Olympiad, tied to the London Olympic and Paralympic Games. For just over a week that September, Heart n Soul took over several floors of our Royal Festival Hall with The Dean Rodney Singers, an interactive installation featuring music performance from artists in seven countries.

But Heart n Soul’s reputation extends far beyond the south side of the river. Since the early 1990s they’ve toured shows across the country and internationally too. And they’ve collaborated with a host of notable names and venues too, including Jeremy Deller, who they worked with as part of last year’s celebration of 200 years of the National Galley.