We’ve opened all the presents, eaten all the mince pies, and the needles on the Christmas tree are starting to drop. Yes, the festive ‘big day’ is over and we are now hurtling towards 2026. But there’s just time for us to look back at our ten favourite features from this year. Here’s our review of 2025, in date order, naturally…

CROYDON’S OLDEST CULTURAL & SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY

We kicked off the year chatting with president of Croydon Natural History & Scientific Society, Carole Roberts. Founded back in 1870, the Society (abbreviated to CNHSS) explores our borough’s history, geology, archaeology, flora and fauna, by hosting talks, walks, and more. I had encountered CNHSS a couple of times over the years – I went on an excellent orchid walk on Kenley Common (yes, orchids), and also attended an interesting talk on the fire of Croydon Minster, both pre-Covid. But the society hadn’t been particularly active on social media so I didn’t really hear what they were up to. Over the last year CNHSS has been on a journey to broaden their audience and widen their membership. They are definitely worth checking out…

Read the original feature here.

PRIDE, PROTEST AND LIBERATING LOVE

Later in January we previewed a new exhibition that came to Croydon to celebrate February’s LGBT+ History Month. We had the pleasure of working with the curator Norman Mine (of Norwood JunkAction) to help bring to life the content. Called ‘Liberating Love: A Celebration of Pride Through Resilience and Activism’ the two-week exhibition and associated talks and creative workshops explored the history and impact of Croydon-based queer activists Ray Harvey-Amer and Clare Truscott, through archive photography and personal accounts. However it wasn’t just about Croydon’s queer history, the curator presented an art installation developed on site, incorporating the history with contemporary portraits of some of Croydon’s LGBTQ+ community, produced through an open call by photographer, Lucasz Izdebski.

Read the original feature here.

CRO CRO CRO: EDITION 3

Fast-forward to May, when we had just about recovered from the third edition of our music festival Cro Cro Land – bringing guitar bands back to the birth place of punk. Cro Cro Land took place at Stanley Arts over the weekend of 5 and 6 April, and festival goers (as well as guest writers) Richard and P delivered their verdict of the weekend…

Read the original feature here.

CONFLICT IN PAINT

Also in May, we visited the  Blue Door Gallery Space which was hidden above a dry cleaners, in the heart of Addiscombe a moment’s walk from the tram stop. Georgie, a local artist, had her gallery and studio space there. After meeting Georgie earlier in the year she invited us to come along to take a look at her current exhibition, Transcendence – which explored the themes of war, conflict and destruction.

Read the original feature here.

BISHOPS, CATS AND ABBA

In July we popped by Bishops Wine Bar to catch up with co-owner Angela Ferrara about the bar’s history and music nights. In case you don’t know Bishops, it is a local institution and possibly both Croydon’s most central and most hidden bar. If you are looking for a truly quirky place to have a drink this is the place to go… With an address that is 1129 Whitgift Centre, the bar actually sits just outside the first floor exit of the shopping centre (the Allders end) in the adjacent car park building.

Read the original feature here.

THE LIVING NATURE OF CLAY

Towards the end of July we caught up with local artist Stathis Dimitriadis about his group exhibition ‘Clay in vivo’, which took place at ASC Art House Gallery, Grafton Road in September and celebrated the transformative power of unfired clay. Clay in vivo went beyond the usual exhibition and offered visitors a hands-on creative experience with clay through workshops and performances, which unfolded clay’s capacity to connect, heal, shape and reimagine our world. We loved visiting the show and meeting some of the artists.

Read the original feature here.

A ROMANTIC GUIDE TO CROYDON

In August our anonymous guest writer Romantic Croydon shared their Romantic guide to Croydon.

We all know Croydon has a reputation; let’s not waste time on the same old tropes. Instead, what if we said Croydon is actually seriously romantic? There is so much more to this place which many of us – locals, visitors, lovers, and haters alike – miss or may not know about. This borough is one of the biggest and greenest of all the London boroughs, and some of our green spaces are famous for their high-quality biodiversity, uniqueness, and wildlife rarities. But it’s not just about our gorgeous green spaces, of which there are many. Croydon is full of contradictions and when you learn what to look for, you can find moments of romance anywhere…

Why not look at Croydon in a different light this festive season and read Romantic Croydon’s original feature here.

CROYDONITES IS DOUBLE DIGITS

At the end of August we caught up with Croydonites directors Anna Arthur and Katie Hurley ahead of their  theatre and performance festival turning ten. Their mission is to showcase local theatre makers, and bring some of the best contemporary performance work from around the UK to Croydon doorsteps. They definitely did in the Autumn, with their opening double-bill of magic from Tom Cassani and Norvil & Josephine being our highlight.

Read the original feature here.

WELCOME TO THE SOUND OF CROYDON

In October a new gallery opened at the Museum of Croydon, which doubled the museum’s public area on level 1 of the Clocktower. The launch exhibition, which opened to tie in with Black History Month, is called ‘The Sound of Croydon’ and celebrates the life of arguably Croydon’s most famous Victorian: the Black British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. 2025 was 150 years since Coleridge-Taylor’s birth and there have been a variety of music and art events running in his honour from the summer onwards. Through our day job, we had the pleasure of working with the Museum team and the curator Natalie Mitchell to bring the exhibition to life. ‘The Sound of Croydon’ runs until the end of January so there’s still time to catch it.

Read the original feature here.

CREATIVE CROYDON FOR ALL

In November the fourth edition of the Creative Croydon exhibition hit our streets. In case you’re new to Croydon, this is the exhibition we’ve been running with Croydon BID and our alter ego 31% Wool since 2022 where we curate the work of a group of local artists to be showcased on 40+ lamppost banners around the centre of Croydon.

Like in 2024, we ran a competition to find our 2025 artists, but this time we opened it up to Croydon-based creatives of any age. All the entries were judged by a panel of previous Creative Croydon artists and the winning artists were Alec Saunders, ​​Shirley Shephard and Alex Mouette.

You can still see their art around town. Read the original feature here.

So there you have it – our drive through twenty-five. We’d like to say a huge thank you to our readers, contributors and collaborators from 2025, and we wish you all a happy new year. See you in 2026…

Posted by Julia.

See original features for full photo credits.