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How Artists Can Work Against & Be Critical of Gentrification

Southwark Notes | 02.01.2012 19:19 | Free Spaces | History | Social Struggles

At Southwark Notes website, we have been writing a lot about the gentrification of Southwark in London for over ten years. As part of our active research project, we have spent some time looking at the role of art, artists and notion of the 'creative class' as it fits into the different models of gentrification.

We have slowly over the last few months been extending the content of the Southwark Notes website to include archival material (flyers, books, texts, posters) that we feel is useful in explaining some of the past successes and failures of the diffuse movements against regeneration and gentrification that have happened locally. You can find these here:

 http://southwarknotes.wordpress.com/archive-resources/

Although we remain critical of the notion of 'the artist', we do also believe that within this artists can work against and be critical of gentrification and not just be incorporated into development or just go along out of naivety. We have also spend some time making short summaries of groups around the world who have been active in local struggles against regeneration - New York, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Barcelona, Milan, Pula. We have also put up links to useful texts and books on the subject.

You can find this page here:
 http://southwarknotes.wordpress.com/art-and-regeneration/

We would also be interested in finding out about artists working in London against regeneration. So far we have not come across much that excites us. Please contact us with projects, graphics etc if you feel it fits what we are talking about on the website

As part of our active research, we have in the last year been spending time organising walks around the sites of gentrification in North Southwark. The idea of the walk being an excellent way to bring people together at the very public and private sites of the local area to discuss and organise against what is happening.

There is a report here of our recent Dec 18th 2011 walk (with audio)
 http://southwarknotes.wordpress.com/2011/12/18/southwark-notes-in-real-time-real-life/

Southwark Notes
- e-mail: elephantnotes@yahoo.co.uk
- Homepage: http://southwarknotes.wordpress.com