As Great Britain celebrates Peckham’s Kye Whyte, after he became the nation’s first ever BMX medallist at the Tokyo Olympics; Peckham Festival returns next month to celebrate the diverse creativity, culture and people that characterise this unique and quirky enclave of London.

After a year off due to the pandemic and with the arts having suffered tremendous hardships, Peckham Festival 2021 will play its role in showcasing SE15’s creatives and organisations, bringing the community together again at the free event. 

Made in Peckham, the Festival’s open spaces event, will see over 60 artists and creatives open their studios, factories and work spaces across the neighbourhood, providing the public with a unique personal insight into their work.

From the ceramics studios in Blenheim Grove and fine art painters in the Bussey Building; to the factories on the Old Kent Road, there is something for everyone. Take a tour of the Kaymet factory, which produces 15,000 colourful aluminium trays each year, including some for the royal household, or pop along to new winery, Leisure, sample their first ever Chardonnay and get involved in the pressing process.

Exhibitions will be on across Peckham, including photography exhibitions at the AMP Gallery on the Old Kent Road, ‘This Is It’ and ‘Thalassic’ at ECAD Gallery on Bellenden Road; and graphic collage at Peckham Platform.

At the heart of the Festival, Copeland Park will become a vibrant hub of activity with artists opening up their studios; live music, workshops, performances and street food stalls.

Copeland Park will also host the Community Hub, where over 35 local organisations, groups and charities will offer up taster sessions, talks, workshops and activities for all the family. Drop in to try your hand at many activities including crochet, hand lettering, screen printing and sketching. Dulwich Picture Gallery will be offering a workshop and animation on their latest exhibition, Journeys, which questions the nature of migration and Taste of Southern Africa will be running a Zimbabwean Mbira playing tutorial. For young creatives, Beatriz Nuno, senior designer and trend lead at Made.com will run a mood boarding workshop in partnership with the AMT Youth Programme.

Sketch the London skyline from a Peckham rooftop; have a go at hip hop yoga; pop in to The Peckham Conker Club for a game or two and check out their conker-related swag or make koji at Kanpai, London’s first sake brewery. Jiggy Creationz is providing a rollerskating workshop and Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts is offering taster sessions for their Generation N*xt programme.

Kids can enjoy the musical freedoms of the Lyceum music bus, harmonica workshops from Southwark Foster Care and a host of drop-in creative workshops.

Over the Festival weekend there’ll be a diverse and exciting lineup of entertainment at Copeland Park. Harris Academy Peckham will perform ‘The Endz’, an original music piece based in Peckham, with the Multi-Story Orchestra.

There will be open mic spoken word poetry; African drumming and drag artists from the London LBGTQ+ Community centre as well as a DJ set from Black Obsidian Sound System.

Live musical performances include 8 piece spiritual Jazz ensemble; Teotima, who draw on the music of West Africa, Cuba, Brazil and classic American funk and soul; Senegalese Kora virtuoso and singer Kadialy Kouyate and Congolese singer, Juanita Euka, who formerly worked with London Afrobeat Collective. With African and Argentinian roots and as the niece of rumba giant Franco, Juanita boasts a unique music palette, fusing her African and Latin heritage to become one of the mainstays in London’s vibrant live music scene. Peckham-based Electric Pedals will provide the sustainable power via bicycles. 

Over on the Old Kent Road, the Neutral Zone will present an evening of music at AMP Studios, including some members of Alan McGee’s latest signing The Gulps. 

Peckham Festival is supported by Southwark Council and several local businesses. The festival is 100% non-profit and a Community Interest Company (CIC).

For further information please contact Jules Hill, Festival Lead; [email protected]; 07958 397 935

Photo credit @NgadiSmart for @_AMTYP.