VAULT Festival is the UK’s leading independent showcase of live performance and artistic talent; featuring thousands of sensational performances across Theatre, Comedy, & Live Entertainment, made by the most exciting and boldest artists of our time. Set in bespoke venues across the heart of Waterloo, VAULT Festival bursts to life for eight glorious weeks of joyous creativity; adding vibrance and colour to the otherwise dreary deep winter months. We’re the most accessible, sustainable, affordable, and welcoming performance festival in the UK.

We value art and entertainment equally, creating an environment where artists and audiences feel welcome, surrounded by culture created by, and for, them.

VAULT Creative Arts are creators of extraordinary cultural events & unique creative opportunities for new & established artists throughout the UK and internationally. We exist to inspire people to fill their lives with creativity, and to use the arts as a catalyst for positive change. Our flagship event is the critically-acclaimed VAULT Festival, the UK’s leading independent showcase of live performance and artistic talent, which marked its 10th anniversary in 2022. We are also creators of The Glitch, a vibrant, artsy café, bar & creative space in the heart of Waterloo. Through our work, we aim to make the world we live and work in more accessible, more sustainable, more inclusive, and more creative for everyone.

Click here to visit the VAULT Creative Arts Website.

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Our Ethos

We strongly believe that culture is the heart of any community which seeks to thrive. The growth of VAULT Festival is testament to the fact that a huge number of artists and audiences share that belief, and seek to expand their cultural horizons as creators, participants and beneficiaries of live performance in all its forms.

Collectively, we call our Purpose, Vision and Values our “ethos”. These core elements of VAULT Festival are the guiding principles by which all of our decisions are made.

Our Purpose

Our Purpose is to inspire people to effect positive change through creativity.

Our Vision

Our Vision is for a society and industry that is open, accessible, inclusive, and nourished. We believe that creativity can effect change, challenge us, and bring joy to our lives. We believe in creativity that is engaged in society, community, and politics and relevant to our times. We believe creativity is a source of discovery, growth, expression, adventure, and delight. We believe that participation in creativity must be relevant and accessible to everyone, creating a safe-space environment where artists and audiences feel welcome, surrounded by culture created by, and for, them.

Our Mission

To achieve our mission and vision, we will:

• Inspire people to fill their lives with creativity, adventure, and vibrance; we will encourage everyone to grow, nurture, and celebrate their imaginations and ideas.

• Create the most accessible, inclusive, and sustainable platform for people to create, innovate, discover, collaborate, explore, express, and achieve; we will work to remove historic and present day barriers; we will support the bravest and the boldest to push boundaries and redefine conventions.

• Support people that truly represent the communities we serve; we will champion everyone’s individuality as well as the importance of communities and connection to create safe spaces where everyone feels welcome, respected, valued, and supported.

• Effect positive change in the world and community we live in; we will work to make our community, industry, and world more accessible, more inclusive, more sustainable, and more welcoming through the work we do and present.

• Act always with honesty, respect, kindness.

Our Core Values

• Honesty: being transparent, fair, and having courage in everything we do.

• Respect: valuing and celebrating everyone’s individual perspectives, goals, and needs.

• Kindness: supporting & helping people with patience, love, and understanding.

VAULT Festival only exists because we believe that it has the power to make people’s lives and the opportunities available to them, better. We believe it has the power to effect positive change through creativity.

We’re not regularly funded so every pound that’s invested into making VAULT Festival happen is at risk of being lost every time we do it.

We endeavour to make VAULT Festival as economically efficient as possible. We run all of the venues and bars, set up and manage the box office, and create and sell our own merchandise ourselves to ensure that the whole thing stays afloat (just about).

We’re also a not-for-profit and charitable organisation, so every pound and penny we generate at VAULT Festival through tickets, drink sales, is reinvested into arts and community projects, including future iterations of VAULT Festival.

Our total income projections for the VAULT Festival 2023 breaks down as follows:

We rely heavily on our box office and bar takings to bring in enough income to cover VAULT Festival’s costs – which have grown just as quickly as the size of our audiences & artists! So, next time you’re enjoying a pint in one of our bars, you can feel assured that you’re supporting VAULT Festival and the artists by doing so. So – why not have another? (Please drink responsibly…)

The first VAULT Festival in 2012 cost £43,200. By comparison, the 2020 VAULT Festival cost £1.1 million. So, when we commit to doing another festival, we’re effectively starting at minus £1.1 million, and are trying to get back to £0 from there in order to breakeven. Every penny we generate above that is reinvested back into arts & community projects, including future iterations of VAULT Festival.

Our total expenditure projections for VAULT Festival 2023 breaks down as follows:

We want to be the most sustainable, accessible, and welcoming space possible. We’ve created these policies for staff, artists and audiences to make it clear what we mean. Click on each of the links to find out more.

Safe Spaces Policy
We’re committed to ensuring our Artists, Audiences, Staff and Collaborators feel welcome, supported and inspired, whilst engaging with, and visiting our events. Click here to read the policy.

Anti-Racism Policy
We recognise that racism exists, in society as well as within the arts and cultural sector, and are committed to be part of implementing long lasting change. VAULT Creative Arts and VAULT Festival should be a place where everyone feels welcome to tell their stories and for us collectively, to change our world for the better. Click here to read the policy.

Sustainability Policy
We’re committed to and actively working towards an environmentally sustainable industry. Click here to read the policy.

Accessibility Policy
We recognise the importance of all aspects of our operations being accessible. We’re committed to continuing to develop our access provisions in collaboration with our staff, artists and audiences. Click here to read the policy.

Diversity & Inclusion Policy
Culture needs diversity. Encouraging and giving a platform to artists & staff from all backgrounds to create exciting, responsive and culturally diverse work is at the heart of VAULT Creative Arts’ purpose. Click here to read the policy.

Programming Policy
Our goal is to create broad programmes which are stylistically and narratively varied, from diverse and underrepresented voices, and which will attract the widest range of audience interests and demographics possible. Click here to read the policy.

Terms & Conditions of Sale

Privacy/Data Protection

VAULT Festival would not be possible without the continued support of our supporting partners, sponsors, and our venue partners.

If you or your business is interested in supporting our work and exploring sponsorship and partnership opportunities, please contact us on [email protected] or visit our Business Packages page. We’d love to hear from you.

Supporting Partners

WeAreWaterloo

WeAreWaterloo is co-sponsor of VAULT Festival 2023 and is the Business Improvement District (BID) for Waterloo, which works with over 400 businesses in the area to make Waterloo a great place to work, live and visit. Waterloo is a vibrant, dynamic and lively area, steeped in fringe culture and independent eateries with an undeniable sense of individuality, community and collaboration at its core. WeAreWaterloo actively promotes the neighbourhood’s unique character, while creating a safe and pleasant trading environment for businesses and visitors alike.

South Bank BID

Co-sponsor of VAULT Festival 2023, South Bank Business Improvement District (BID) operates on behalf of local businesses to improve and manage the area and promote South Bank as one of London’s leading destinations. Members of South Bank BID’s Board are drawn from local organisations and employers, to reflect the collective interests of businesses in the South Bank area. South Bank BID is delivered by South Bank Employers’ Group (SBEG), a unique not-for-profit partnership of major employers in South Bank, Waterloo and Blackfriars, with a long-term commitment to improving the experience of the area. Destination marketing for South Bank, and its venues and attractions is managed through southbanklondon.com.

White Light

White Light is the complete production solution specialist operating in a range of markets such as theatre, corporate events, broadcast, concert touring, leisure, education and trade.

Steeldeck

Steeldeck Stage Rentals have been providing creative, flexible and safe portable staging hire and tiered seating solutions to a wide range of events and productions for over 25 years. Whether small stage hire for a private party, camera risers for film sets, or bespoke stage structures for festivals, we are the experts at providing staging for hire and tiered seating that’s right for you.

Stage Sound Services

As a major independent supplier of sound and video equipment SSS provide a fully integrated service and technical expertise across the UK and internationally.

Nick Hern Books

Nick Hern Books is the UK’s leading specialist performing arts publisher with over 1,000 plays and theatre books in their catalogue.

Charity Partners

VAULT Festival exists to try and make people’s lives better. So every year we partner with different Charities and Not-For-Profit Organisations to raise money and drive engagement with the causes they’re working towards. In the past, our charity partners have included Help Refugees, HeforShe, The Passage, Child.Org, and Crew for Calais. Our partners for 2022 are:

The Green Earth Appeal

The Green Earth Appeal is a Not-For-Profit Social Enterprise, changing lives of some of the planet’s poorest communities through tree planting, in partnership with the United Nations.

Charity Partners

Pleasance Theatre Trust

Since 1985, Pleasance has been providing opportunities for fringe theatre in Edinburgh, and is now one of the best known and most respected venues at the Fringe. Joined by their Islington theatre in 1995, the Pleasance Theatre Trust provides a launch pad for some of the most memorable productions and renowned practitioners of the past decade and staying true to its mission of providing a platform for the talent of the future.

Summerhall

Summerhall, a vibrant cultural village in the heart of Edinburgh. A place where things happen, all kinds of interesting, wonderful and downright inspiring things.

HOME, Manchester

HOME works with international and UK artists to produce entertaining, extraordinary experiences, creating an exciting mix of thought-provoking film, art, drama, dance, and festivals, with a strong focus on new commissions, and talent development. HOME’s ambition is to push the boundaries of form and technology, to experiment, have fun, take risks and share great new art with the widest possible audience.

Fourth Monkey

Revolutionary Actor Training Company. Fourth Monkey training encourages connections between disciplines, practices and activities within the field of performance and creation. Fourth Monkey will present work as part of Generation V, with brazen and original work of the next generation of performance makers.

East 15

For over 60 years, East 15 has produced actors, directors, producers, theatre practitioners and technicians for the international stage, TV, film and radio. East 15 will present work as part of Generation V, with brazen and original work of the next generation of performance makers.