Brixton Village last night (1 June) saw the launch of The Night Gallery, an event to showcase the range, depth and dynamism of Brixton’s creativity.
It also served to launch Brixton’s role in the London Festival of Architecture (LFA). Full details here. One forthcoming LFA event will see Atlantic Road closed for a street party.
Night Gallery is planned to run monthly throughput this year.
It began with a spectacular performance by dancer Valerie Ebuwa to Fela Kuti’s Lady, mesmerising passers-by and diners in the Village.
The event, organised by Brixton Project, took over the avenues of Brixton Village from early evening until 10pm.
Talented artists and performers put together evening of art, dance and spoken word.
Brixton Brewery has partnered the Brixton Project to fund the emerging artists for the rest of this year.
They include spoken word artists from Poetic Unity Lateshia Howell, Ehireme ‘Native’ Omoaka, Binta Yade, Remmel and Maia Ardalla who performed work commissioned to respond to the theme of this year’s LFA festival “In Common”.
Shops transformed
Shops in Brixton Village were transformed into art installations.
In one of them artists were creating architectural models which were based on workshops with pupils from seven schools in the the Brixton Learning Collaborative – a grouping of schools in and around Brixton.
They were working on Brixton Eco Village – a collaborative community artwork for LFA which will be launched later today at the Brixton Windmill.
It explores sustainability, connectedness and infrastructure through an architectural model imagined and made by Brixton residents.
The installation explores the festival theme of In Common, co-designed through model making workshops, to vision and produce a miniature Brixton where grassroots infrastructure supports a creative low-carbon wav of life.
The workshops explored the four pillars of permaculture: food, fibre, fuel and festival,” through the lens of what a community can produce for itself while regenerating its landscape”.
Sponsor
Brixton Brewery, a regular creative partner for Brixton and South London Artists, is the official sponsor of The Night Gallery and will expand this role this by offering mentoring opportunities beyond these events for all artists taking part.
Brixton Village general manager Diana Nabagereka said: “What a way to start our summer at Brixton Village by welcoming The Night Gallery to the covered markets!
“We understand the importance of fostering local talent and retaining creativity in Brixton.
“Together with our neighbours and friends, The Brixton Project and Brixton Brewery, we are creating a moment of celebration to showcase these artists and their work and offer them the opportunity to engage with the community, London and beyond.”
Bikini Taylor, partner at The Brixton Project, said: “We are beyond excited to host The Night Gallery in the iconic heart of Brixton Village.
“This event embodies our vision of bringing people together through art and creating meaningful experiences that celebrate our community.
“The Night Gallery promises to be an unforgettable showcase of talent, culture, and the indomitable spirit of Brixton.”
Jez Galaun, co-founder of Brixton Brewery said: “As an organisation, we understand how powerful it is to support individuals and communities within South London.
“That’s why we are partnering with The Brixton Project, providing funding to support the work they do to celebrate creativity around the area.
Valerie Ebuwa is a freelance dance artist, activist, writer and model based in London.
She started her training at Lewisham college before obtaining a BA Hons degree from the London Contemporary Dance School.
She has recently worked with Vincent Dance Theatre, Clod Ensemble, Eddie Peake, Protein Dance, Holly Blakey, Michael Douglas Kollektiv and Compagnie Thor.
As well as her blog and work for The Stage magazine, Valerie writes for I am Hip Hop magazine which champions hip hop culture.
