WIILMA Founder & Creative Director JJ Khun and some memorable highlights from our WIILMA timeline
‘Regardless of who you are & what your background is we want you to feel welcome in our community.’
Photo credit: Luca J Sage
JJ Khun is a charity ambassador for the British Library’s Business & IP Centre, the Library of the United Kingdom. WIILMA in it’s role, supports the relationship between communities, charities, local authorities and businesses.
He is also the ‘Workforce & Volunteers’ representative’ for 7 North East London Boroughs & The City of London, on the NHS NEL VCFSE Collaborative (a voluntary & community sector collaborative) contributing to strategic leadership, partnerships with the NHS and ensuring community voices are central to shaping health and care across 7 boroughs of North East London.
WIILMA was started in 2019 by founder JJ Khun, as an experimental response to social problems.
A global disadvantaged majority led, grassroots community cohesion project, we have been piloting an extensive variety of community projects to build community cohesion & resilience whilst reducing isolation. All through the vehicle of community education projects celebrating our shared world music, arts, heritage & culture.
everything we set up to do have since become national priorities.
2019
Launch of our pilot London Borough of Culture Project funded by the Mayor of London.
‘Across the 7 seas - 7 languages , 7 songs’ - Multilingual community singing & community dance project designed & delivered by JJ in multiple community languages including Polish, Chinese, Arabic, Spanish, Turkish & Hindi.
Mental Health Fine Art programme centred around famous artists who struggled with Mental Health - Van Gogh, Schiele, Munch.
2020
‘Lockdown Christmas Day Live streamed International multilingual concert broadcast around the world’
‘All venues were in lockdown but through personal connections managed to get access to a historic venue where Led Zepplin played their first London gig & where Genesis & The Who also performed. With TV industry crew wearing masks & world class classical musician we did a historic concert to entertain isolated people at home, whilst meals were delivered to them with a smile.’
‘WIILMA international, intergenerational Covid-19 Lockdown Art Competition’ & Barbican supported exhibition, a local art competition that started receiving entries from around the globe, culminating in our first art exhibition supported by the Barbican.
‘Covid-19 Women’s Shelters Support Project’
‘Women were locked in with their abusive partners, shelters were inundated and at capacity and brave women escaping their partners were leaving with not even a toothbrush in the middle of the night.’
‘As volunteers we were expempt from lockdown rules so I picked up the phone and reached out to local shelters to find out what would help them. We then did a large collection drive and distribution of essentials from toiletries, sanitary products, plants, nappies, toys, food and soft furnishings to local shelters in East London.’
2021
‘Hong Kong Kung Fu Movie Posters Heritage workshop with the Barbican.’
‘Lost Cinemas of Leytonstone’ community architecture, history & heritage project. Supported by our partner the Barbican. Bringing back to life 7 lost cinemas of Leytonstone, with our community architects and 3D models. An area famous for being the birthplace of legendary filmmaker Sir Alfred Hitchcock.
2022
WIILMA Pets - launch of our pioneering creative pets beravement project.
‘WIILMA Anti-sinophobia intergenerational community resilience & awareness project’- using community education, arts, heritage and culture to tackle and educate our community on sinophobia (racism and discrimination against people of East Asian origin in response to hate attacks during Covid-19.
WIILMA African Tree of Life Pilot Community Resilience project - an alternative approach to western models of psychology which can be re-traumatising. Working with community educational psychologists Dr Showumni & D Hamiliton we developed a program to celebrated as a community, individuals’ lives represented by the conecept of trees with roots and branches.
2023
‘Windrush 75 - Caribbean Queen & Kings Project’ teaching 1500 school children & adults about Windrush through an intergenerational music project
‘Eurovision Union’ Innovative National Lottery funded - Eurovision East Meets West project helping European Refugees across East & West London integrate into our community through international music.
‘Christmas Day NHS Hospice support project’ to support patients, families & NHS staff support project.
2024
Motown Black History Month Heritage Project Educating on and celebrating legendary women of Motown including Diana Ross & The Supremes and many more.
‘WIILMA Women in Filmmaking, what they won’t tell you’
We brought together 5 women filmmakers to discuss on a panel and share with their community their experiences of navigating a male dominated film industry. (Supported by the Barbican.)
5th Anniversary Celebration event
‘WIILMA 5th Anniversary Pop-up celebration’
2025
During 2025 JJ on behalf of WIILMA, as a charity ambassador of the British Library has been running in a London wide advertising campaign across high streets and multiple platforms and busy stations across the London underground tube network, which has helped raise the visibility of our organisation.
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‘WIILMA One Community - All welcome here project’ Innovative creative solidarity & community resilience response project in East London after multiple hate graffiti attacks against a local primary school, medical centre and other sites.
Newham 60th Anniversary ‘Green Street Memories’ - Bollywood community singing, music, art, heritage project.