Stockwell Studios

An estimated 2500 people visited this event in Larkhall Park on Saturday 25th September. Art4Space ran a participatory workshop creating a sculptural giant birthday cake called ‘A Wish for Stockwell’ to celebrate the festival’s 10th anniversary. 120 candles and trimmings made by children decorated the cake, which was later taken on parade around the park. Stockwell Studios’ stand had documentation and information. Members Sara and Jack were on hand for any questions. We gained awareness and support for the studios. Thanks for your visit. Stockwell Studios would also like to thank the Elevate volunteers who painted all the colourful signs for the event.

Two bee keepers with the aid of a smoke machine which encourages bees to return to the hive and be productive, also the smoke calms them down. The bee keepers wearing protective clothing were from Yugoslavia, father and daughter who are in the business of producing honey in Yugoslavia.

Ernst & Young work day with all hands to the deck to clear the walled garden… What we found was a beuatiful red bricked Georgian wall, which Neel is busy repairing, also we are reyclying earth, wood, and found bricks and stones which Neel is using to lay a gentle meandering pathway around the pond area in the main garden. Raised beds and boxes were made by the Ernst & Young volunteers and have provided good quality soil for planting herbs. Still lots of work to be done and thanks to Adolpho who has been dutifully manning the gardens on Tuesday Open days.

Stockwell Studios is on the brink of being evicted. It has been on its current site for 22 years. Lambeth Council want to seal off the old Annie McCall Hospital building but have no alternative plans for the site.

Please help us save our artist run studios, its unique building and green space by signing this petition now.

http://www.gopetition.com/online/35386.html

Stockwell studios have 6 weeks to save the building and remain on site! We welcome messages of support, ideas and expressions of interest as development partners.

Stockwell Studios have learned that the studio supported regeneration scheme for the site has fallen through after eight long years in development.

The studios are again eager to find new partners who will help us develop the site’s potential for the future; to realise a fresh and innovative scheme to secure and protect this essential arts hub, wildlife garden and community arts space in the centre of Stockwell. Stockwell Studios aims to run high quality creative arts programmes, ambitious public programme of exhibitions, residencies, live events, etc at a local, national and international level. Stockwell Studios are committed to widening access to contemporary practice and will run an innovative and wide reaching education programme producing artist-led projects and activities for schools and diverse communities within the local area. Art4Space will use the community space and gardens to run outreach programmes for local school groups and residents.

We have detailed immediate plans to sustain and improve the building. We do all this in the face of mounting pressure from Lambeth Council to vacate the site. We are engaged in ongoing talks with the Council regarding our proposals to continue as custodians, while a new development partner and scheme is found, and a future for the site is created, rather than leave the building empty and vulnerable.

The studios passionately believe that remaining as on-site custodians is the surest way to continue to provide local artists and community arts workers with sustainable work spaces, maintain grassroots outreach activities in the local community and ensure the area receives the much needed, long awaited cultural hub it deserves. By remaining we will be able to ensure future development plans reflect the spirit of regeneration we and our many supporters and user groups in the community have long been committed to seeing come to fruition. Ultimately adding to the wellbeing of the local community.

You can also join our mailing list, by sending us an email, or find us on facebook.

Following a successful Big Draw project over October half term week, the film ‘A Sense of Place’ was launched at the Stockwell Resource Centre on 7th November. Led by artist Teresa Paiva, the project was a collaboration between Artery Arts Project and Stockwell Studios artists and the many local young people who attended the art sessions. Using drawing, photography and film, young people were encouraged to express their dynamics with the surrounding green spaces and local parks to create a short film. Special thanks to filmmaker Claudia Tomaz, Andrea Alves (Artery Arts) and Stockwell Studios artists Eli Seath and May Anderson for their contribution during sessions with local young people, to Julie Sullock (Stockwell Studios) for her assistance during the screening, to all the young artist collaborators, to Stockwell Resource Centre and Grass Roots Community Fund for their support.
Watch the film here.

Stockwell Studios will be participating in the Lambeth Open 2009, a borough wide open showcase for creative talent. A range of works by Stockwell Studios resident artists will be exhibited in the Flexi Space on 3rd and 4th of October 11.00am to 6.00pm. Please visit the Lambeth Open website for more information and full listings including a map.

Hundreds of visitors came to our stand for the Larkhall Park event, Stockwell festival on the 26th September 2009. We had documentation and information on display and the artists officially launched FOSS (Friends of Stockwel Studios) by making badges with our new badge making machine! Art4Space ran a participatory workshop for young people creating a Peace Tree to celebrate the end of Lambeth’s Peace month. The Tree is now on show at the Springfield Community and Health Centre on Union Road for a few weeks. It has profound messages about ‘Peace’ by the young people. Thanks for your visit and support.

Water loving wildlife is set to thrive at the studios thanks to a new pond. The latest addition to the community garden has been designed by Neel Bakhle as a haven for creatures that either live in or near water. It is hoped that the pond will become home to dozens of species. The pond has been created with the help from Ernst and Young and Southwark Volunteer Centre ‘Involve’. The next phase for the garden development will include further habitat towers, bird boxes, planting and a resident bee keeper. A recent addition are two huge fibreglass frog sculptures sited around the pond area created by QVC as part of Art4Space volunteer programme in partnership with WildinArt, promoting creativity, conservation and citizenship. Stockwell Studios have pledged to protect the garden with London Wildlife Trusts Campaign called ‘Garden for a Living London Campaign’ which aims to highlight the importance of London’s gardens to wildlife.
Julie Norburn from Art4Space who is managing the garden development said “The new pond adds another habitat to the garden making it great for wildlife and all to enjoy”.

Art4Space, Lambeth based community arts organisation has been bringing art into communities for 10 years, transforming dull playground walls into vibrant interactive mosaic and painted murals; reclaiming disused wasteland to create active community gardens and putting participatory creative projects into the public realm. The company is driven by three dynamic women and was initially formed as a direct response to the need for artwork in communities. With over 200 commissions in a range of school and community settings Art4Space pride themselves on their professional approach to project management believing this to be fundamental to the success of the business. With a £2000 business set-up grant from Princes Trust 10 years ago the women were able to form the company identity and put a cohesive marketing strategy together. With a lot of hard work and dedication Art4Space is now a robust not-for-profit organisation offering volunteer opportunities, advisory services and is an Arts Award centre. Art4Space specialise in mosaic using it to create vibrant textural surfaces for sculpture, seating, floors and walls for interior and exterior projects. We also work with communities to: decorate hoardings, re-landscape public parks and consult on new developments on behalf of clients. Our workshops aim to realise the creative potential in all participants and instil a sense of ownership and pride of the urban environment.
We look forward to a busy next 10 years! Please come and help us celebrate. We will be looking back over the past 10 years and exhibiting work, films and documentation at Stockwell Studios on the weekend of 12th, 13th and 14th June, 2009 in partnership with the Stockwell Studios exhibition. Thanks – Dan, Eli and Julie.

Nearly 200 local people of all ages came together to create this mural facilitated by Art4Space. Using re-cycled frames donated by the artists from Stockwell Studios to form a stunning collection of paintings and memory bricks. The title ‘Inside Out’ worked in two ways, bringing the art exhibition onto the streets and former Annie McCall maternity hospital as inspiration for our earliest memories which passes on heritage between generations.
Thanks especially to Lark Hall and Allen Edwards primary schools, Age Concern Art Class, Helen Omand who documented the project and produced a short film, Stockwell Studios artists, volunteers and Awards for All. October 2008. To watch a 10 minute film of the project follow this link. The film was also transmitted on the Community TV Channel on 11th May at 11.40am and 26th May at 11.15am, 2009.

Art4Space were finalists for Lambeth Business Awards and South London Press ‘Our Heroes’ Awards 2007/2008, and have been nominated again for 2008/2009. Art4Space has scooped first prize after trumping 100 other entries in a nationwide mosaic competition – British Association of Modern Mosaic 2008, sponsored by Topps Tiles. The mosaic was designed with St Bernadette School for the Weir Link Community Centre, SW12. Congratulations!

Stockwell Studios participated in the Lambeth Country Show this year – 19th and 20th July in Brockwell Park. Our stand was in the Charities and Communities section. Many of our artists exhibited work, alongside documentation of outreach projects and the Annie McCall archives. Photographs were displayed capturing the unique atmosphere of the building and garden. Thank you to all those who showed support. We were well attended!

Private Eye included Stockwell Studios in its ‘Nooks and Crannies’ feature of the October 2007 edition. These articles serve to highlight the plight of old buildings often allowed to deteriorate before being demolished to make way for new build. Mentioned is the earlier plan to use the hospital for social housing and the re-housing of Stockwell Studios’ artists after a survey that considered the building to be sound.

An article titled “Art hub doomed?” appeared in the South London Press on 31 August 2007 highighting the plight of Stockwell Studios’ current home of the former Annie McCall Hospital, which if sold by Lambeth Council to developers and their plans approved, will face demolition. Heloise Brown of the Victorian Society said “it’s a credit to the council that they have allowed such a valuable resourse to thrive for the last 20 years. We hope they don’t abandon it now”. A council spokesman said plans for the site included space for artists as well as community facilities and a green area.

Stained glass artists Kathy Shaw and Tim Cunliffe are showing new work in their exhibition ‘Dark illumine’ at the Cochrane Theatre Gallery in Holborn until December 2007. The exhibition is inspired by Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’, which interestingly connects with some lost paradises in Stockwell. Research on local history has revealed that the site of the studios is referred to in a map of 1598 as ‘Seven acres called paradise’, and in a later map there is mention of a Paradise Farm.

Another successfull year at the Resource Centre and Ashmole Community Hall for May’s drawing and painting classes. Some of the work done by local senior residents will be on display at Tate South Lambeth Library in October later this year. Classes are on holiday until mid-Sept hopefully we can all return to both venues in the new academic year pending support and funding. If you would like to know more about May’s popular class please email m40anderson@btinternet.com.

Wednesday 27th June 2007

Stockwell Studios was the venue for this year’s INURA conference party (www.inura07.org.uk).

INURA (International Network for Urban Research and Action) is a network of people involved in action and research in localities and cities. The Network consists of activists and researchers from community and environmental groups, universities, and local administrations, who wish to share experiences and to participate in common research.

We were fortunate to have the opportunity to share this experience and gain some insight, knowledge and find solutions which may help Stockwell Studios work towards securing the success of an agreed artist lead urban cultural development project.

Watch this space for more information.

Free admission
Café in the garden throughout the weekend.

Stockwell Studios opened the doors of the old Annie McCall Maternity Hospital to welcome close to 900 visitors for three days of art, music, performance and installation. This was an opportunity for the entire family to not only visit the building and garden but to see behind the closed doors of the artists’ workplaces.

To coincide with the Open Studios, we took part for the first time in theOpen Garden Squares weekend. This is the one weekend in the year when many of London’s private gardens open their gates to welcome visitors.

We also participated in Arts Unwrapped, the London-wide artists open studio event which is supported by the London Development Agency.

List of all artists below.

Events and entertainment:
Spectacle video workshop
Poet Chris Tutton
Opera Singer Jane Whittaker
Bureau of Silly Ideas throughout the weekend.

Featured at our successful Summer Open Studios was a crazy golf course created out of scrap, with the theme of futuristic buildings for Stockwell Studios. It was a recycled community arts project involving more than 40 youngsters from the local community. There were five courses, taking two weeks to construct prior to the show. During the show the young people managed the crazy golf handing out clubs and instructions to visitors who wanted to have a go. It was a busy activity and kept everyone amused for hours! The courses have now been dismantled and the main buildings are displayed in our front courtyard rockery for all to enjoy. This was an Art4Space commission and funding secured by the Local Network Fund. Please visit www.art4space.co.uk for further documentation.

Stockwell Studios were delighted to have acclaimed poet Chris Tutton perform his work for visitors in our wild garden during our recent show. More info about Chris, whose workshops and performances also featured in Lambeth Readers and Writers festival in May 2007, can be found at www.christutton.co.uk.

The Studios have provided a community arts space for hire for groups and workshops at reasonable rates. Past regular workshops / events have included:

Capoeira for children
Painting classes
Avalon in London
The Singing Group Tango classes
Improv workshops
Art exhibitions
Queer Spirit Circle