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artists and a gallery, it was founded in 1995, when Harold
Works was put on the market in the early 90s and group
of artists from the Greenwich Artists Studio Association
(GASA) negotiated to buy it.
For more of an insight into what is happening in SE8
and beyond, SLAM – The South London Art Map –
www.southlondonartmap.com/tours– organises walking
tours of the key galleries and venues in the area, led by a
local artist or creator.
Apart from its art culture, the fact that Deptford is
home to so many communities gives it a diversity and
vibrancy that is increasingly rare in London. It is impossible
to walk through the market in Deptford High Street (home
to Bearspace, another very exciting gallery working with
emerging artists, and around the corner from Enclave, an
experimental artist-run infrastructure that aims to promote
contemporary critical art practice) and not be blown away
by the sheer range and depth of what is on offer.
There is some sign of gentrification at Deptford Market
Yard, but SE8 still remains a determinedly rough and ready,
take-it-or-leave-it place, which will hopefully retain its
identity while continuing to be an independent beacon for
culture and the arts.
O
ne criticism that is sometimes made of London is
that as it has become a global city, its different areas
have lost their identities as they have become colonised
by outsiders, and gentrified in what legendary American
film director Spike Lee has called (referring to Brooklyn)
as “Christopher Columbus Syndrome” – where the young
middle classes “discover” an area that has in fact been
home to large communities for years. “Good Neighbors:
Gentrifying Diversity in Boston’s South End” by Sylvie
Tissot is an excellent study of the issues surrounding this
kind of rapid gentrification.
But Deptford has so far managed to hold on to its
identity and retains a gritty reality that makes it very
attractive, while enjoying some of the highest-calibre
cultural offerings London can boast. On its doorstep is
Goldsmiths, whose alumni is a roll call of British culture
– Lucien Freud, Antony Gormley, Sam Taylor-Johnson,
Damien Hirst, most of Blur and Vivenne Westwood all
studied here – and six Goldsmith’s alumni have gone on
to win the Turner Prize in their later careers.
The influence of this hotbed of talent is significant – some
highly interesting artistic and cultural venues have sprung up
in the immediate area. Cockpit Arts goes beyond art and into
the realms of craft and maker culture – located on Creekside
which is a creative and cultural focal point in itself, it is
described as an “incubator for craftspeople.”
The Art Hub (also on Creekside), is a cultural beacon;
it is a Community Interest Company (CIC) and was started
by two artists, Deborah and Adrian Morris-Thomas, who
in the late 80s were running Framework Picture Framing
in an industrial warehouse in Deptford and recognised the
need for affordable creative studios in the area. From 1999,
they started to provide artists’ spaces, along with a gallery,
under the name of Framework Studios. This later became
Art Hub, which evolved to supporting and promoting its
100+ artist members. It is hugely well-loved.
Art in Perpetuity Trust, (again, based on Creekside)
also known as APT, is a London-based charity focusing
on developing visual arts. Made up of 37 studios for visual
LONDON DNA
Deptford
has so far
managed to
hold on to
its identity
and retains
a gritty
reality that
makes it very
attractive
Apart from its art
culture, the fact that
Deptford is home to
so many communities
gives it a diversity
and vibrancy that is
increasingly rare
in London
Deptford Market
His and Hers, an artwork on Deptford High Street
CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD
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LONDON DNA