BASSTONE PLAYGROUND by Linett Kamala
13 and 14 June 2026, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Overview
BASSTONE PLAYGROUND will be a welcoming space for people of all ages that includes an interactive light and sound installation with performance and relaxation spaces that respond to themes from V&A East’s The Music is Black exhibition. This installation is the 2026 commission from the Culture Within Newham Children’s Board of local 8-11-year-olds.
Audiences can expect a musical play environment that offers both communal engagement and moments of calm, with hidden speakers playing dub, low-fi and chilled instrumentals curated by the artist. At the centre of the installation will be BASSTONE MAYPOLE, the world’s first LED and sound maypole which premiered at the Light Up Kilburn Festival in February 2026 (pictured above).
Locals are invited to take part by signing up for DJ guest spots, with the opportunity to join the LIN KAM ART Sound System Futures Programme, which could lead to performing at Notting Hill Carnival on a sound system.
BASSTONE PLAYGROUND will open at The Music is Black Festival on 13 and 14 June 2026.
About The Music is Black Festival
The Music is Black Festival is a celebration of sound, culture, and community across an eight-month series of events. BASSTONE PLAYGROUND will be available to visit during ‘The Music is Ours’ weekend (13 and 14 June 2026), which celebrates London's soundsystem legacy in the birthplace of grime.
Join for line-up full of east London and the UK's finest artists and MCs. Saturday 13 June will be curated by grime legend Footsie, and Sunday 14 June will feature music curated by double MOBO award-winning artist YolanDa Brown OBE DL, and Soul Mama.
Explore the programme for ‘The Music is Ours’ weekend on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park website.
About the artist
Linett Kamala is an interdisciplinary artist, educator and carnivalist born in London who works across a range of media including paintings, installation, murals and DJ soundscapes.
Kamala is known as the ‘Sound System Queen’, credited as one of the first female DJs to perform at the Notting Hill Carnival on a static sound system in the early 1980s at the age of 15.
Learn more about Linett Kamala in this recent article published in The Guardian.
About the Children’s Board
Children aged 8-11 were given the opportunity to choose what kind of artwork they would like to commission on behalf of Culture Within Newham.
The Children’s Board said they were looking for a ‘play zone’ that was also ‘a relaxing space’ where ‘you can express your feelings through singing or dancing… and if it gets too loud you can chill out in our quiet area with fun activities’.
After working for months to refine their brief and vision, the children met with multiple artists who pitched their vision – and BASSTONE PLAYGROUND by Linett Kamala was selected.
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