Open Forum on Art & Gentrification
Old Tidemill Wildlife Garden
Deptford Art & Gentrification Walk, May 2018
Recording by Paul Clayton
Please see below for a summary of the discussion

In May 2018 we visited Deptford for a day of discussions on art and gentrification. We went on a tour of galleries, studios, community spaces and landmarks along the streets, waterways, green spaces and new developments to meet artists, curators and activists and explore how they are resisting or overcoming the displacement of communities and the shrinking of public and creative spaces.

We held an open forum with artists, activists and local residents in the Old Tidemill Garden about its history, its impending demolition and the campaign to save it. We discussed the measure of responsibility that artists have in the process of gentrification and what alternatives there are to partnering with developers in pursuit of affordable space. For more details on this event please see: https://artandcritique.uk/art-crawl/#14

Summary

The Old Tidemill Garden was Deptford’s best kept secret, a wildlife oasis with more than 70 mature trees in the middle of Deptford, where the level of air pollution is six times higher than the limit recommended by the WHO. By handing the garden to property guardians, Lewisham Council withheld this public resource from the community. But now the secret it out! The Save Reginald Save Tidemill campaign is trying to raise awareness of the garden’s existence and encourage its use by members of the community in an effort to save it from demolition.

Are artists the “shock troops of gentrification”, or are they victims of a process, are they cannon fodder? How culpable are they? Although artists are used as ‘vehicles’ or ‘fronts’ for gentrification and displacement, ultimately it is capital and not culture that drives the process.

Artists seek out studio and exhibition spaces that are cheap and accessible. Many artists have made use of cheap meanwhile spaces offered by local councils and developers, they serve a purpose until they are priced out or displaced when they are no longer useful.

“It was different back in the 80’s, from Brixton, Peckahm, to Nunhead, New Cross and Rotherhithe, there was terrible poverty, real deprivation - dangerous places to be, really dangerous.” The first wave were 'mountain men and women'. This first wave of artists integrated into the area, causing no changes; squatting enabled the incoming artists and musicians to find places to live. 

Computer based creative businesses are replacing studios, workshops and maker spaces. These new studios are like reservations for artists, the development proposed for 1 Creekside is a grim vision of the future of Deptford.

Developers have a clear strategy and artists are used by the developers. Artists have some responsibility and should be aware of the politics and economics of the partnerships they enter into.

Artists can squat residential spaces and use them as studios or exhibition spaces - to get around the law, the legal gap is that you cannot live in residential properties – but you can stage an exhibition or a protest. We can all get together and address the issues collectively.

https://www.facebook.com/savetidemill/
https://achillesstreetstopandlisten.files.wordpress.com/2018/04/tidemill-factsheet.pdf
http://www.eastlondonlines.co.uk/2017/12/lewisham-residents-fighting-save-homes-demolition-accuse-council-social-cleansing/

videomole.tv