T100: Explore, Talk, Create
Our free cultural programme that invites you to connect with Thurrock and its surroundings in new and unexpected ways
Presented by Kinetika, T100 is a free cultural programme that invites you to connect with Thurrock and its surroundings in new and unexpected ways. By exploring local places, sharing stories, and getting creative, we bring people together and celebrate the voices that make our communities unique.
T100 has developed in collaboration with a wide range of local partners including Thurrock Council, Thurrock CVS, The Complete Commedia Company, Thurrock International Celebration of Culture (TICC), Tilbury On The Thames Trust, Port of Tilbury, One Community Trust, Royal Opera House (ROH) Thurrock Trailblazers, High House Production Park and Purfleet Centre Regeneration Ltd (PCRL).
T100 Young Ambassadors from East Tilbury Primary School with their coastcards, created as part of Our River, the 11th annual festival
“T100 has surpassed project ambitions in so many ways. It is an interwoven web of community relationships, informing and supporting the artistic response instigated and guided by Kinetika and local community leaders.
The depth of the T100 festivals proves how embedded and established it is within the local landscape and how listening is pivotal to artistic integrity and co-creation. The future is bound to be colourful, richly layered in exciting content.
Thank you for shining a light on Thurrock in ways beyond words.”
Dulcie Alexander, Arts Council England
Images from Our River, T100’s 11th Annual Festival in 2025.
How it all began
In 2015, Kinetika was invited by the Council’s Public Health Department to develop a Thurrock walking arts festival to change people’s attitude to walking, reveal accessible footpaths across Thurrock and get people talking to each other.
What began as a 100-mile marathon across the borough, has developed into a year-round programme and festival that starts and ends in Thurrock and stretches along and across the estuary, into Southend and over to Kent.
The concept of T100 is simple. In response to a theme selected for the year, a programme of walks and community-led activities is devised by local groups.
The festival takes place in towns and villages across an area over 3 weeks each summer, with a series of walks connecting the events together.
Leading up to the festival, activities are undertaken in libraries, schools and community spaces and have included writing, drawing, cooking, painting, researching, dancing, audio recording and acting. The results add colour to the walks which have incorporated heritage talks, shared community meals, outdoor theatre, soundscapes, silk flags reflecting local stories, singing and performances.
The magic of T100 is its simplicity as a framework. It enables groups to come up with their own ideas, develop them as separate projects then showcase and share them to the wider community as part of the ten-day festival.
Finale event of Goes Wild, T100’s 10th annual festival, 2024
Find out more
Explore the year-round programme and latest news.
Can we co-create a walking festival with you?