Canal Dream Connect
We connect with cross-sector partners to explore projects beyond the arts, co-creating a waterway-based social innovation network.
Selected Work
Research & Academic • Service Design • Canal Regeneration
Canal Dream × Royal College of Art MA Service Design Industry Partnership
Cohort 2024–25
October 2024 – February 2025 · RCA & Regent’s Canal
Cohort 2025–26
October 2025 – January 2026 · RCA & Regent’s Canal
Originally initiated as a student project at the Royal College of Art, Canal Dream returned to the MA Service Design programme as an industry partner. Over two academic years, we supported two cohorts of MA Service Design students through canal-based research and practice.
Working with waterside partners including Floating Classroom, Global Generation, and Word on the Water, we collaborated with over 35 emerging service designers and tutors to explore multiple dimensions of canal regeneration, including floating business models, boaters’ wellbeing, sustainability, community engagement, and digital intervention.
Through site visits, boat trips, story walks, and workshops, the partnership connected academic research with lived experience, supporting the next generation of service designers in rethinking and repurposing London’s hidden canal infrastructure.
Community Workshop • Wellbeing • Ecology
Earthfest 2025:
Reimagine Canals — On the Water, with Water, Dream the Water
Canal Dream × Canal & River Trust
7- 8 June 2025 | Boat Jena, Kings Cross, London
As part of Earthfest 2025 and the King’s Cross canal-side activation programme, Canal Dream collaborated with Canal & River Trust to deliver a community watercolour session aboard CRT’s community boat Jena.
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Through guided watercolour painting, gentle music, and shared time on the water, participants were invited to slow down and reflect on their relationship with the canal environment. Working with imagined waterways, plants, and animals, the session supported creative expression and ecological awareness through hands-on, accessible making.
Community Workshop • Wellbeing • Ecology
Angel Canal Festival:
Drop-in Art Workshop
Canal Dream × Canal & River Trust
7 September 2025 | Boat Jena, City Road Basin, London
Founded in 1986, Angel Canal Festival is a long-running community celebration along Regent’s Canal. As part of the festival, Canal Dream collaborated with Canal & River Trust to deliver a drop-in watercolour workshop focused on canal plants and wildlife aboard CRT’s community boat Jena.​​
Accessibility • Waterway Inclusion
Accessible Waterways Day 2024
5 October 2024 | UCL East​
​Canal Dream was invited to exhibit at Accessible Waterways Day 2024. Organised by the Accessible Waterways Association (AWA) and hosted at UCL East, the event brought together waterways authorities, charities, cultural organisations, and individuals to explore how the UK’s inland waterways can become more inclusive and accessible to all. Through stalls and talks, the day fostered conversations around access, equity, and creative engagement with water.
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