our story

KOTG was initially set up by local youth practitioner zoe levack just hours after the fire broke out at grenfell tower. the grass roots project was an intended emergency response to what was unprecedented, abject chaos and horror that had left the community in north kensington traumatised and shellshocked.

i walked up the latimer road and saw kids with pictures of their missing friends sellotaped to their tshirts. i could not believe they had galvanised this themselves, in amongst all the panic and chaos. my heart was breaking for them, there didn’t seem to be anywhere for them to escape to and I knew we had to find a safe place for them, to distract them and comfort them, and just help them.

so we started under a tree with a bag of footballs, a box of felt tips and a guitar. it was a knee jerk reaction that was intended to be a temporary distraction and respite for north kensington children and teens. it was meant to be for a few days, it turned into five years and counting.

the project quickly became a life line for community recovery after the fire when statutory services were overwhelmed and failed in their response. by the end of that first week kids on the green had become a nationally known response to the fire and drew volunteers from all over the country who brought help in all forms such as arts, circus, counselling, hot food, and therapies such as reiki, homeopathy, massage and acupuncture.

it was an oasis of joy in a desert of sadness.

after delivering nomadically, on local greens and in an old warehouse, KOTG became a commissioned recovery service in 2018, in 2019 we moved into our latimer road centre. 

in almost 5 years of service in the north kensington community KOTG has rapidly and organically grown into an arts and wellbeing provision that is constantly shaped by our young service users feedback and need. 

KOTG delivers music production and performance, delivers large and small scale events, teaches aerial circus, parkour and other performance arts and media. our facilities include a fully equipped music studio, digital radio station and podcast room, dj skills suite and we are currently raising funds for a visual suite and our own tv channel KOTGTV. 

after the fire there was a lot of media interest in the area. everyone wanted to tell the communities story. that has inspired us to create these platforms so the kids can always tell their own stories, in their own words in song, in rap, in a piece of music or a piece of spoken word or even in movement.

this is ladbroke grove, a home to artists, activists, pioneers and masters of the arts.  ladbroke grove is a melting pot of rich culture and bore carnival and portobello market. it's a special place and unique place and KOTG wants to redefine any narrative that the young people who lived through grenfell might feel defined by. we are raising superstars but most of all we are investing in the wellbeing of the fabric of the community.

KOTG works with children and young people and is now an accredited arts awards centre.

our staff are trained in trauma informed approach and have all undergone mental health first aid training. our staff are youth practitioners and industry professionals who bring real life experience of the creative industries to KOTG.

we are nurturing the future of the creative industries and developing talent whilst re thinking what wellbeing is and always being led by our young people.