When Venice met Peckham
It was quite a sight. One hundred or so students and recent graduates of South London colleges Camberwell, Goldsmiths and Chelsea congregating at midnight in St. Marks Square, Venice.
Peckham Internationale started as a seemingly over-zealous idea for a summer stunt and evolved into a one hundred person heavy flash mob at this year’s Venice Biennale. Spawning from an idea of Chelsea graduate Ollie Hogan at a LuckyPDF meeting, the next steps saw involvement from fellow Peckham based groups Off Modern and The Sunday Painter. With initial plans to stage pop up exhibitions and curious events like a faux Watercolour Challenge, the mass holiday- dubbed Peckham Internationale morphed into an eventual displacement of swathes of South East Londoners to this (rumour has it) sinking city.
Riding the wave of the Hannah Barry Gallery’s success with the Peckham Pavilion, this group of student tourists in turn solidified the gallery’s own achievement. The large presence of local support was quite astounding. With a view to challenge misconceptions of London life south of the river, the surreality of the feat really hit when an elderly American tourist was overheard asking ‘so where is this Peckham?’
Spread out over canal-side apartments each sleeping double the permitted occupants, the group spent the opening weekend visiting the Biennale events and pavilions. Other activities were decidedly holiday-like. Indulging in the Venetian dream, the Peckham tourists whiled away afternoons on Lido beach, hosted late night dinner parties and consumed many a'Spritz- a cheap Italian tipple usually made up of Campari, Prosecco and soda.
Behind these holiday tales however, the questions remain- was the trip successful in putting Peckham on the international art scene map and has it shifted opinion on this previously stigmatised area?
At the turn of this century, Peckham was thrust into the public eye for the tragic murder of ten year old school boy Damilola Taylor. The South East’s image, tarred with the brush of gun and knife crime, has struggled over the years to recover from such notorious events. Surely then, any activity stirring up positive press for the area is worthwhile?
New events and happenings in the area have drawn mixed reception from the press. Frank’s Cafe for instance, among raving reviews, was in August awarded a scathing and unmistakably jaded write-up from sharp tongued Guardian journalist Matthew Norman who seemed to deem Peckham a leap too far south for him and his pals. Norman whined about the urine fragranced lift and difficulty in navigating Peckham high street - sadly there is no conveniently placed Starbucks for him to pop into for directions.
Snobbishness aside, Norman had few constructive words to say about the pop-up gallery space in Peckham’s multi-storey car-park. There was no mention of the fact that it’s a free space created in one of the poorest boroughs of the capital- open to the public to come and view art, enjoy some sun and gawp at that glorious panoramic view of the London skyline. Rant over.
The point I want to make is that one of the biggest challenges faced by young groups such as LuckyPDF is the double-edged sword of media coverage. Too much of a buzz could see the South East set upon by swathes of broadsheet weekend supplement readers and ‘Time Out tourists’. This process would over time, increase the cost of living here substantially, eventually pricing the current residents out of the market. The last thing this neighbourhood wants or needs is that all too common process of gentrification. Perhaps then, short-sighted reports such as that of Norman’s are, in fact, a blessing in disguise.
The challenge then, is to form the desired artistic district in harmony with the existing communities here in the South East. There is no gain in having two worlds running in tandem and never converging.
Social enterprise spaces such as Area 10 seem to be leading the way in this respect. Playing host to both evenings of bands, live art and audiovisual extravaganzas, as well as community-lead workshops and family days this warehouse space is a valuable asset to the area.
Stunts such as Peckham Internationale are a fun and innovative way of publicising Peckham’s potential as a home to the new artistic hub of London. However we must always keep an eye on the reality of the South East boroughs. Whilst massively underfunded Government projects struggle to support the disaffected youth growing up here, a glossy new-fangled facade for Peckham will do little to address this. All community based projects must indeed be commended- whether the community in question is that of young artists, gay and bisexual residents, faith groups or the group of regulars to be found at any of the Peckham boozers. The ideal however, would be to see dialogue and mutual beneficiaries across the board of these South East Londoners.
It is worth saying that when Venice met Peckham there was a love story captured in the hearts of all involved. I believe though that the real tale to be told is ongoing. Watch this space.
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