Under the Bridge

Under the Bridge is a new public art project taking shape beneath the railway bridge on Old Kent Road.

Southwark Council has appointed Black Blossoms School of Art and Culture to curate a series of temporary exhibitions to be displayed under the railway bridge on Old Kent Road.

The bridge, which is located next to Brimmington Park, marks the point at which New Cross Road becomes Old Kent Road and sits on the boundary between Southwark and Lewisham.

Over the next 12 months, Black Blossoms will run a series of art workshops for the local community in conjunction with a number of different artists and creatives, each of whom has a strong personal connection to the neighbourhood.

The first exhibition, scheduled for July, will feature art produced by pupils from Kender primary school who have been working with photographer, Bernice Mulenga and poet, Amanda Holiday.

The Year 4 pupils took part in several photography, poetry and collage workshops over a period of four weeks. These workshops used artistic techniques to help the pupils respond, creatively to both the council’s Southwark Stands Together agenda and the Southwark Food Action Alliance’s Food Security Plan.

The resulting artwork will go on display in July, alongside newly commissioned artworks from both Mulenga and Holiday. In the meantime, the space is being used by local resident, Nicola Hussein to showcase some of her own pictures.

The Under the Bridge exhibitions are a prelude to a bigger project to improve the bridge and the surrounding area using money from the Future High Streets Fund.

This will entail a much needed clean-up and makeover, including new lighting, repainting and a large-scale, permanent artwork to be installed on the bridge itself.

The council hopes the Under the Bridge exhibitions will act as a gateway for local people to get involved in the permanent improvements to the bridge, as well as other major projects in Old Kent Road and the renewal of the area as a whole.

For more information email art@oldkentroad.org.uk