Wednesday, 22 October 2014

Deptford stories

AN arts festival which celebrates and explores the lives and legends of Deptford will launch next week.
Deptford Stories brings together art, theatre, music and history of the past, present and future and presents an account of the lives and legends of the neighbourhood, interpreted by performers and artists.
Organised in collaboration with Goldsmiths, it will take place from October 31 in the empty warehouses and workshops of the former site of Arklow Road Trading Estate.
Curated by experimental arts space, Harts Lane Studios, and produced by Greenspace on behalf of property developer Anthology, Deptford Stories will be an eclectic array of mixed-media installations, sculpture, prints, light displays, textiles and tiling.
From James Capper and Katie Surridge’s industrial and structural pieces to Cedric Christie’s iconic light-boxes, Tisna Westerhof’s Delft Blue tile work which depicts scenes of London, to Margot Sanders’ site-specific painting, the artwork will be varied.
It will also include a unique community quilt on display, which features designs from Childeric Primary School in New Cross.
As well as the performances there will be a soundscape over the course of the first two days of the festival where visitors can experience the sounds of the old foundry, complete with sound bites from George Arthur, a local man who worked on the site in the 1960s.
Anthology managing director Mark Dickinson said: "As property developers we certainly see great potential in the land at Arklow Road and believe that a tired run down industrial site can be reinvigorated to provide new jobs in the local area as well as new homes.
"We feel strongly about respecting the industrial heritage of the area and Deptford Stories will celebrate and build a legacy for the site through art, performance and archived history.
"We hope future communities will know that they’re not living in a faceless development - we want to be able to preserve the spirit of the area.
"It’s really exciting to be working with established artists and also students at Goldsmiths University to bring this event to life."
Refreshments will be provided by Pig&Rig, who will be serving up a hog-roast, and the Black Cab Coffee Co and Brockley Brewery will be supplying their own brewed coffee and beer.
The festival will run until November 16. Visit bit.ly/deptfordstories for listings.



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