Dec 12, 2017
Peckham, London 2017
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Peckham, London 2017
Mark Pearson Exhibition Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th May and Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th May 11:00am - 6:00pm Enquiries/Press: [email protected]
Peckham Rye, 1963. Artist: Norman Janes
New gallery opens
Two artists have converted a former video shop into a gallery.
Dido Hallett and Jo Dennis (pictured) are the duo behind AMP, a new exhibition space located in the old R&B video store on Meeting House Lane.
Dennis, whose office is also based at the gallery, said: “We had to do quite a lot of work to the shop – it had false walls, a false ceiling and asbestos tiles on the floor. We gutted the whole thing.”
AMP stands for Asylum and Maverick Projects, Dennis’ and Hallett’s company that is the booking agent for Asylum chapel and the Aquarius golf clubhouse. They also organise exhibitions and events at the Safehouses, two semi-derelict buildings on Copeland Road.
The new gallery is a multi-disciplinary space that will display work by artists at different stages of their careers – from students to older, more established names. It will showcase art including photography, sculpture, painting and film.
A solo show by Jo Dennis will run from May 14 to June 5 (private view May 13, 6-9pm). It’s part of Peckham 24, a mini-festival celebrating SE15’s contemporary photography scene.
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AMP is at 1 Acorn Parade, Meeting House Lane. It will open to the public on Thursdays to Saturdays from 12-5pm and at other times by appointment. Peckham 24 runs from 6pm on May 20 for 24 hours. Maverickprojects.co.uk
Peckham Rye, 1828. Artist: John Brompton Cuming
Secret studios
Tucked away beneath the railway arches in Blenheim Court are the Arches Studios, which house a cluster of creatives from sculptors to screen printers. We meet some of the artists from this unique community as they celebrate 25 years in Peckham
Words: Katie Allen
Photos: Lima Charlie
Walk down Blenheim Grove and underneath the railway arch that sits between Beta Autos and Blenheim Motors, and you will discover a creative community known as the Arches Studios.
The small yard, called Blenheim Court, is framed by arches that are each home to different artistic endeavours. There are ceramicists, painters, sculptors, cabinet makers, metalworkers, screen printers, an etcher and a knife maker.
On a wet October Wednesday, with all the grills shut, it’s hard to see what’s going on behind – but a glimpse through the studio doors reveals shelves of creations, artisans hard at work and even a snoozing dog or two.
Radios are burbling, and from the forge at the end of the yard comes a loud banging and crashing. Every now and then artists emerge, some clad in overalls splattered with paint or grease.
Twice a year this special community opens its doors to the public. It’s a chance for local residents and others from further afield to meet the makers over some tasty food and drink. Last summer the bladesmiths from Blenheim Forge spit-roasted a whole pig in the yard.
“At the Christmas weekend we have mulled wine and it’s a lovely atmosphere,” says ceramicist Loraine Rutt. Carolyn Tripp, who also makes ceramics, adds: “Increasingly the local community knows we’re here. People like finding out how things are made.”
This year, to coincide with the studios’ “silver anniversary”, the artists are planning to hold a special raffle. There will be 25 prizes to celebrate each year they’ve been based in Blenheim Court.
It’s been a long and creative journey since 1990, when “six girls from Central St Martins and six boys doing metalwork at Camberwell” simultaneously set up their studios in the arches. Loraine jokes: “It was like Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.”
Unlike the plot of the classic film, the artists didn’t all pair up, but gradually founded a creative community that ebbed and flowed as more traditional businesses tried to open in the arches, found the “lack of access” a difficulty and closed again.
Meanwhile artists, many from the local colleges, recommended the empty spaces to each other and kept taking them over. Today there are 25 artists and makers filling nine arches, most of whom are making a full-time living from their work.
Carolyn and Loraine, who have been friends since college, were two of the original artists to set up their studios here. Their conversation often weaves faster than I can write.
When they first arrived in Blenheim Court they found it neglected and largely abandoned. “It was full of junk, damp and mould, but we’ve sorted out the problems and we’ve maintained it,” Carolyn says.
Loraine adds: “One arch got squatted and there was a burnt-out car.” She recalls how there were a couple of doctors living in one of the arches, who rebuilt an old army tank.
Jane Muir, who went to Central St Martins with Loraine and also studied at the Royal College of Art, says: “A civil servant lived in my studio [previously]. He used to put on his suit to go to work but he lived in this hovel! There’s quite a bohemian lot here.”
Jane joined Blenheim Court in 1997 (“I was the seventh bride!”) and eventually took over an entire arch herself, which is arranged with her idiosyncratic, hand-painted clay figures and architectural designs.
She painted the walls of the arch herself and put in a window. “Being in an arch helps the creative process, and the space is beautiful,” she says. “Although, with this amount of room, there is always pressure to make and sell to pay for it.”
Carolyn has seen Peckham change a lot over last 25 years. “It has become a destination, audiences will travel here now.” She says that back in the 1990s, the area was “very mixed”.
“When we moved in there were artisans everywhere and pockets of people making things, not just artists. There were engineering workshops in Choumert Mews. I really liked that.”
The artists all love the Peckham area, with Loraine talking about the arches’ “proximity to Rye Lane, where you can buy anything you need”. “Except clay!” they all chime in unison.
Looking back over the years, Loraine and Carolyn speak of two-and-a-half decades of hard work and fun, including parties, impromptu games of football and dancing to the radio “to warm up” when it’s cold.
Even on a mild autumn day, there’s a noticeable chill from the concrete floor and all the artists are wearing thick shoes or boots. Every few moments comes the dinosaur-like rumble of a train running overhead.
“It is noisy,” Carolyn admits. “Work falls off the shelves.” Loraine recalls the time she was standing in Blenheim Court and the Orient Express came through: “All the people on the train were waving. It was like The Railway Children.”
Over the years the artists have formed a close-knit community. When Loraine married her husband Steve Tomkinson (who runs joinery One Tree Cabinets from the yard) in 2001, the wedding reception was held in artist Mark Folds’ studio.
Mark, who founded the I Love Peckham art project in 1996, also met his wife, ceramicist Justine, at the Arches Studios before they moved to Wales with their daughter.
There’s a warm, welcoming atmosphere about the arches and everyone knows each other. Carolyn confirms: “There are lots of studio kids, lots of studio dogs and we’re all friends as well.
The result is what artist Geoff Lang, who studied at Camberwell and four years ago returned from a decade living in Australia to work in the studios, describes as “a supportive environment”.
“It’s hard to work by yourself, you need that feedback to keep going,” he says. “Plus there’s the pleasure of talking to people, who pick you up when it all goes wrong, and who you can borrow tools and equipment from.”
The arches’ unique atmosphere is one of the reasons why the artists fear losing this special environment. When Network Rail started eying the site in 2012, all of a sudden “there were people in fluorescent jackets and hard hats” measuring up the arches.
The artists received a letter informing them that there were plans to include the arches in the redevelopment of Peckham Rye Station. It was a “difficult time” for the community, says Geoff.
Nevertheless, the artists fought back, enlisted the support of local campaign group Peckham Vision and urged local people to write to Southwark Council explaining why the studios should be saved.
An inspector came round and wrote a report that stated: “[At Blenheim Court] there is a marked degree of interdependency and cooperation which… has fostered the development of a thriving and coherent creative community.”
The plan was later scrapped, but with so much development happening in Peckham the future is never certain. Carolyn says: “It’s really important that we hold onto the heritage. People won’t want to live here if it’s all Starbucks and Costas.”
Geoff adds: “It’s a huge issue – studios are being lost all over London”; while Loraine says: “Rents are going up and up, it would be hard to find somewhere else. How long are we safe?”
The artists tell me they sign only three-month leases for their studios. Loraine says: “Because I’m more established now, my sales go up, but then the cost of rent and materials goes up too. So you’re always not quite making enough.
“I am conscious that [Network Rail] may have an agenda that’s beyond the control of Southwark Council. But there was so much support for us. Thanks to Peckham Vision, we do feel more confident about our future here.”
They all admit to getting better at marketing their work, with Open Studios becoming more and more popular since the first event in 1990, which was covered by American magazine Ceramics Monthly.
The artists’ work spreads into Peckham in different ways, from the chimney pots and railings they’ve designed to the eye-catching Bellenden Map terrace for Petitou café that was made by Loraine.
She also created the café’s tile sign and planters in collaboration with Andrew Grant of Creative Metalwork. Andrew moved out of Blenheim Court when redevelopment of the arches was originally threatened.
Loraine used to be a cartographer and still uses maps in her work, including her ceramic Peckham postcards that grew out of a project to trace the course of the lost River Peck.
She remembers the time a councillor came to Blenheim Court to inspect her studio during the Network Rail negotiations, while she was teaching ceramics to a class of children.
She beams when she recalls the moment he spoke to 10-year-old Ellie, who gave him short shrift. “Ellie said, right off the bat, ‘There are lots of places to shop in London, but there are not enough places to make things.’ And I was like, ‘YES! Thank you!’”
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Follow the Arches Studios on Twitter @arches_studios. www.the-arches-studios.com
Cashpoint kids/Peckham pounds