LIVE BRIEF

Hope, a live brief set by the Innovation Hub that  involved the Lambeth Community in a ethnography project of story telling. 

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Brixton was our chosen location, asking locals to partake in drawing what Lambeth meant to them, which lead us to focus on one road in particular, Coldharbour Lane. We took these drawings and narratives and started to form a method of working - through craft. 

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We continued the drawing aspect and began a more abstract approach, using reggea regga sauce (Levi roots is from Brixton), exsiquiste corpse and other collaborative drawing techniques. However we wanted the stories to have a more direct link to the area and celebrate the smaller things, utilising the mundane.

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We used Coldharbour lane as our specific location due to its history of shootings and gentrification. Throughout the last ten years the shops have changed drastically with one of the last black pubs in Brixton (The Angel) closing down to make way for Mama Dough. Choosing this road we decided to use 'Caya' as a catalyst due to it being part of the gentrification, however it was a space that gave back to the community with work space provided, a book swap shop and a wonderful atmosphere.

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Opposite Caya there is a bold ‘prison looking’ estate called Southwyck House. Our new direction was to incorporate Caya but focused on changing the negative opinions on Southwyck; exploring the possibilities with craft and local people.

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We started to carry out an investigation into the block, exploring within the estate and engaging with residents and trying to gain access to the elusive house. We felt that it was important to do so in order to gain the same perspective as the occupants, and from talking to people we began to build a wider picture of peoples views of the estate, a surprisingly varied range of opinions. From this we unearthed the myths and legends surrounding the space and initially planned a narrative to create a draw to the building and its stories. However craft still stood out as a method for our group

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Solomon welcomed us to Brixton Soup Kitchen to bring the vibrancy we found throughout the community inside its walls. Focusing on engaging with Brixton’s creativity, we held a ‘Crafternoon’ as a vehicle for collecting this energy. Using craft as a catalyst to create the notion of hope through conversation, a unique method of storytelling arose. The crafts provided an opening where new relationships could be formed and skills learnt. The materials used to create the products of the Crafternoon acted as a common denominator between us and the crafters, an equaliser that all could engage with to form a document of our time spent.