The New Gallery Peckham
Going to university in London when you have grown up in London is a strange experience. It is not like going to university in terms of freshers week or student nights. Unfortunately the universities of London do not offer a collective area for student madness. However what was was felt was an intense feeling of belonging to a youth culture devoted to the arts.
Obviously it helped that I went to the University of The Arts, however there is a distinct buzz in south London. It began a years ago but is finally culminating. I recently attended the opening of the New Gallery in Peckham and could not believe how successful it was.
I’m working now at www.figurines-ornaments.com, but was recently invited to a gallery opening in London by an old friend from uni. The opening started at 3pm, so I judged to arrive at about 7pm, therefore being early enough to introduce myself to the curator and see the gallery manager (a very good friend of mine). It was a rather strange experience being back in South London an area I lived in for three years, but have lived out of for two. So much had changed.
So I made my way to Pelican house, not knowing the exact where abouts of the gallery but knowing it was on Peckham Road. As I walked towards Peckham, there was a sudden change in the people I passed, there were business types, anti-social types and finally the arty type. Their bizare hair cuts, teamed with layers of material gave me a large clue that I was in the right place.
I found the gallery and was pleasantly surprised by what I found. A beautiful small gallery , with one of the best bars I have seen in my life. (I’ve worked in catering for 5 years) The art space was simple and small but wonderfully personal. The exhibition itself was pretty good too, the artist had explored a variety of different textures, so there were canvases covered in what looked like bubble wrap and dyed fleece.
The whole evening was unbelievable, it quickly filled to capacity, with spectators spilling out on to the street. The booze flowed and the food was passed around, pleasantries were exchanged. If the gallery has started like this I can’t wait to see what happens in the future.
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