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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

20

LONDON DNA