Little Black Book of Art

There seems to have been a few articles in the newspapers recently about Peckham challenging Hoxton with regard to its ‘up and coming’ art scene, but to me this really is old tat…

East London once synonymous with social and economic deprivation and an outpost for budding enfants terribles, has long stopped resembling what it used to be.

I know the area is an established part of London’s gallery circuit, but property developers have taken advantage of its popularity and although the regeneration of the area is not a bad thing, its charm and character seem to be lost and Tracey Emin’s beloved East End has become the first port of call for tourists and a popular destination for post-work drinks.

 Now enter Peckham, a downtrodden South London neighbourhood with a very different vibe. An area which to most people means “urban dereliction, gun and street crime”, but it also happens to be a vibrant and culturally interesting place, not yet on the tourist trail where an alternative art scene has always flourished.

Historically Peckham has attracted artists due to its large studio spaces, trendy galleries and controversial street art.

A few years ago, Southwark Council invested millions of pounds into Peckham (believing it would revive the urban community) and commissioned a number of artists such as Zandra Rhodes, Andrew Logan and famous local residents Anthony Gormley, Tom Phillips and Sokari Douglas Camp to create works of art to improve the surrounding area – which they did with gusto.

At the moment however, the current focal point of the Peckham scene is situated behind a defunct Woolworths on top of a neglected 7-storey car park, set back from the main drag of Rye Lane.

This is temporarily home to Hannah Barry Gallery’s ‘Bold Tendencies III’ show and Frank’s Café & Campari Bar designed by Paloma Gormley and Lettice Drake.

The pop-up café/bar/restaurant sharing the location with a modern art exhibition, is actually one of the exhibits and it’s obvious that it’s the restaurant, not the art, which is the main draw.

When visiting Franks, it’s clearly the London skyline with breathtaking views including the London Eye, St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Gherkin which add to the place’s achingly cool vibe and its distinct sense of fun. When you’re there it feels like you’re a million miles away from the city centre and yet, this place is right in the heart of things.

To get to Frank’s you have to enter a rather gloomy looking car park off Rye Lane – I drove up to the 5^th floor then decided to take the lift up for the remainder of the journey – big mistake…

My first thought was not “I wonder what Frank’s Cafe is like,” but more, “I wonder if anyone will find me if the lift doors don’t open”…It turned out the lift wouldn’t go any higher and I walked the rest of the way pausing at the various art installations littered across the car parking space.

I reached Frank’s as dusk fell, the roof-top looked magical and the place was buzzing. Imagine the Shoreditch  House roof terrace without the pool or any of the five-star frills. Instead, you get the most spectacular view of the city and a chance to potter around the latest art installations provided by the stable of artists at Hannah Barry Gallery.

The collaboration with Hannah Barry Gallery, is the brainchild of rather glamorous offspring who look a bit like the cast members of ‘Skins’. The crew are made up of the eponymous ‘Frank’ grandson of famous foodies Mark and Arabella Boxer, Paloma Gormley (daughter of Anthony) who designed the bar’s tent-like structure, and design guru Stephen Bayley’s daughter Coco, who helps out in the kitchen. (The menu by the way, is compact, serving unpretentious, good quality, simple, picnic-type food that is just delicious!) Luckily, despite the huge success of the place it has not gone it the artist’s heads, and they’re all remarkably approachable, and quietly confident.

This whole idea and project came about when a group of south London art students took it upon themselves to set up their own shows. They felt divorced from the more established routes into the art world, with all the bureaucracies and systems that are in place, and decided to set up their own way of doing things.

Initially, they began holding a monthly ‘club night-meets-gallery space’ evening at Corsica Studios in Elephant & Castle, which began last November and have since put on a range of shows and an art-only exhibition,  called Frontiers, in the Elephant &  Castle shopping centre.

Having no money has had to force the students to think of a completely different way to get their work seen by the public, and with instant communication via social networking  sites, it has enabled the popularity of what they’re doing go from nowhere to somewhere.

The current Bold Tendencies III is a great exhibition, because its not just art on a wall in a gallery, but it forces you to interact and to become involved with the work. The sculpture park on the roof as well as the exhibits on the spacious floor below has helped Bold Tendencies III to become south London’s must-visit destination this summer.

And it’s not just in Peckham that these artists are causing a stir… Hannah Barry, the most established and influential of the Peckham set enterprisingly took local artists from London to her much publicised and very well received Peckham Pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale. Although it is outside the official competition the whitewashed studio beside a canal on the Via Garibaldi has attracted visits from some of the art world’s most influential players.

Hannah Barry is excited by the Peckham artists she shows (enthusiasm is key to being a good gallerist), with 22-year-old James Capper receiving the Jack Goldhill Award for sculpture at this year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.  His industrial-size works currently sit inside Barry’s London gallery, housed in premises called the Bussey Building – a hub of around 60 artist’s studios.

Peckham has historically always been a great place for artists to work because of the cheap studio spaces, however getting people down south has always been a bit of a problem. Poverty and the resulting crime are persistent problems in Peckham and many are cynical about what good art initiatives do, but perhaps the opening of the East London line next year which will link Peckham to Dalston, Whitechapel and Hoxton may open up a few doors. I just hope it doesn’t damage Peckham’s charm and ‘adds’ rather than takes away from this interesting area.

NB: Sadly the end of September marks the closure of Franks, open from Thursday to Sunday, 11am – 10 pm. Bring cash and don’t miss out…visit now and take in the stunning city vistas in the most unlikely of surround