On 26^th November the Peckham Multiplex showed a one hour film called ‘Consume Peckham’, which consisted of 18 short films, each focusing on a different business based in Peckham town centre. The work of film students from Chelsea, the film wove together a tapestry showing the many sides to Peckham’s Rye Lane, and beyond. Its aim was to show the link between cultures and commercialism. There was a great turnout - the cinema was full - and a terrific buzz, to see the collection of short student films about some of the businesses in the town centre.

It was a very good show from first year students. And it was recognisably the place we know! It showed the people of Peckham in a true light, and that the town centre does have a lot of life in it in its various forms, though with lots of space for improvement. For those there, many really interested in the revitalization of the town centre using all our assets – people, buildings and commerce – it will have stimulated further thoughts on how to do this and about the nature of thecommercial dynamic, and its potential. Click here for more reports. http://www.laurieeggleston.org/2009/11/consume-peckham-culture-commercialism.html   and here  http://helengraves.co.uk/2009/11/ozzies-cafe-peckham/

There have been a number of requests for another showing and the producers are looking into that. So if you couldn’t make it there may be another chance. Email info@peckhamvision.org if you want to join the mailing list.

Special Report: Contemporary Art New York Times  By Alice Pfeiffer: October 14, 2009
Peckham, a run-down district of London, south of the Thames, is said to have the capital’s highest concentration of knife crime, hairdressers and gospel churches.
Now, add up-and-coming artists: in easy reach of some of the capital’s leading art schools, the area’s low prices and vast, empty industrial spaces are attracting experimental avant-garde collectives, studios and galleries — a countercultural challenge to the established North-of-the-river world of the Frieze art fair and the gentrified East End.
“Peckham is the land of the free. It’s like a blank canvas,” said Hannah Barry, an enterprising 26-year-old who founded her eponymous gallery last year in a warehouse of a former cricket bat factory.  At the end of an industrial road populated by factories and faith groups, Ms. Barry and her co-director Sven Mündner, 31 — both graduates of Cambridge — put on 15 to 20 shows a year, showcasing young emerging artists. Ms. Barry and Mr. Mündner have also put on an annual sculpture show since 2006, on the roof of an abandoned parking garage nearby. “We felt there was room for an ambitious sculpture park in London,” Ms. Barry said. In June, she and Mr. Mündner took Peckham to a global audience, with a show, the “Peckham Pavilion,” on the fringes of the Venice Biennale.  read more …

The summer with Frank’s Café & Campari Bar with its fabulous views from central Peckham comes to an end on 26^th September 2009. Let’s hope the huge success encourages Frank to start a permanent café in Peckham. In the meantime, see these splendid views by Nick Woodford and a few of the many photos and comments over the summer.

The first ever South City Radio broadcast from the Bussey Building was recorded in July 2008, with a panel and a participating public audience in a lively debate on Peckham’s contribution to London’s cultural life, and the natural organic growth of the cultural life in that part of the town centre in and around the Bussey building. Read more…

As Southwark Council begin (October 2008) consultation on the Peckham Area Action Plan, highlights of the broadcast are now available to listen here in the South City Radio programme ‘Primer Public Forum: The Future for Peckham’