Who we are

Emergency Exit Arts (EEA) is one of Britain’s pioneering outdoor arts companies, creating magical experiences in the places where you live, learn, work and play. We reinvigorate communities, give people a voice and challenge the ordinary.

Our History

Founded 1980, EEA began as an artists’ collective born out of a desire to radically transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. At a time of social and political change we aspired to make a positive difference to people’s lives, particularly those who have been discriminated against and those living in economically excluded communities across London and the UK. Now a registered charity and one of the Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisations, EEA has evolved into the reputable outdoor arts company it is today, still pioneering and still inspiring change through creativity.

We’ve been resident in Rothbury Hall in Greenwich, SE London, for over 30 years. It’s a building loaded with history and originally built for use by the community. We maintain this tradition and are proud to call it our home.

EEA are clear about what it is we want to achieve and how we are going to achieve it. Our vision is to inspire change through creativity. We will do this by:

We have identified three Strategic Objectives to guide us over the next five years:

Be impactful: Emphasise socially relevant work that brings people together and helps improve lives.
Be resilient: Put in place the resources and systems that enable EEA and the people connected to us to continue to thrive, deliver efficiently and have minimal impact on the planet’s resources.
Be recognised: Continue to build EEA’s distinctiveness, profile and reputation.

How we work

Our aim is to surprise, delight and exceed your expectations.

We do this by listening carefully to you: what you want to achieve, how you want your audiences to respond and of course, practical things like your budget and timescale.

We’ll open doors, push boundaries and make your project even better than you imagined. And we’re not afraid to take creative risks to achieve something extraordinary. As a result our work is challenging, exciting and has lasting impact on all those involved, making them feel inspired and part of a shared experience.

If you have an idea you’d like to bring to life please contact us or call us on 0208 853 4809.

CLICK HERE for more information on our Way of Working

Who we work with

We work with local authorities, festivals, event producers, communities, cultural organisations, education and heritage sectors. Our clients return consistently or are referred to us by other clients. They are enthralled by our work and respect our expertise, competitiveness and can-do attitude. You can read what they say about us below.

What our clients say

EEA provided an extraordinary fire and light production to help us celebrate Shakespeare’s 450th. They responded to our very particular brief and took our late requests in their stride.

Geraldine Collinge, RSC April 2016

I’ve always found EEA to be creative, responsive, resourceful and flexible with a highly skilled team. I consider them a great asset to the London outdoor arts sector.

Sarah Barrow, GLA Events for London, 2017

There are many companies who are able to fulfill commissions, but few of them are like EEA. Their openness to ideas and desire to connect with both partners and audiences make them a joy to work with – they are an asset to any project.

Justin O’Shaughnessy, Production and Event Manager

In my opinion, there is only one organisation I will go to for advice, collaboration and a huge skill set and that is EEA.

Shermaine Slocombe, Corelli College, 2017

You should be very proud of your work. You took our ideas and themes and developed them into a practical and inspirational show, which left the audience exhilarated and moved. Your amazing teamwork and professionalism ensured that it all went smoothly. We are in awe.

Charles Harper, Client

Support EEA

As an arts organisation we’re not fed by profit. Everything we do is free for participants and spectators. We have enjoyed greater longevity than many in our sector but we rely on funding and increasingly on donations. Through the generosity of our donors we would like to continue creating impactful arts events well into the future, reaching audiences annually of over 800,000 and delivering workshops to over 20,000 people every year.

Find out more about out Friends’ Scheme by logging on to Just Giving. We can claim Gift Aid if you are a UK tax payer, which makes your donation go further.

There are many ways you can help us and we’d love to hear from you. While we can’t promise you your name on a plaque or freebies, we can offer you the knowledge that you’re part of something meaningful and lasting.