The Guardian makes a pitch for Deptford as the next opportunity in the London gallery scene:
The heart of London’s contemporary art scene remains in the East End: between them Hoxton, Dalston and Bethnal Green contain some 50 galleries. Yet the credit crunch has taken its toll. Landlords who were once happy for artists and galleries to inhabit their empty buildings for nominal rents cannot afford to make such concessions these days. Studios in Hackney have been demolished to make way for the Olympic Park, and there has also been an exodus of established galleries moving to the West End, lured by the international buyers who haunt the Frieze Art fair in Regents Park. Publicly funded spaces like The Showroom have also left in search of new parts of London.
Julia Alvarez of Bearspace Gallery, situated on Deptford High Street, suggests that an area like Deptford, with its abundance of warehouses hugging the Thames along Creekside, is a tempting alternative to more established artistic centres in the East End. Property prices are still relatively affordable, for one thing, and nearly all the galleries in the area own their own buildings. “Many of us are ex-Goldsmiths graduates who know the area well, and few of us could have afforded the rental prices in Hackney,” Alvarez says. “There’s a huge advantage to buying your own gallery space.”
Destination Deptford: In Search of London’s Newest Art Scene (Guardian)
