Brixton Blog

14/08/2025

Critical Art Theory sees art as a product of, and a window onto, the economic, social and political power structures of the day. So it’s a fitting title for Ben Sakoguchi’s new show in the Gasworks gallery. Born in California in 1938 of Japanese ancestry, he and his family were considered a threat to national security and were incarcerated by the US government in an internment camp throughout the second world war....

14/08/2025

Coin Street neighbourhood centre in Waterloo tomorrow (15 August) presents three powerful free textile exhibitions on Victory over Japan (VJ) Day 80. Tapestry of Black Britons, Voyage to the Islands Quilt, and Faces and Fabrics of Coin Street Community Quilt celebrate inclusive histories, community creativity, and intergenerational storytelling through the medium of textiles. The public is invited to view the works on Friday 15 August 2025, from 1pm to 4pm....

14/08/2025

Two local musical powerhouses, the Brixton Chamber Orchestra (BCO) and Pegasus Opera are getting together to bring world-class live opera to South London The Brixton Opera Gala returns on 23 and 24 August with Pegasus’ outstanding soloists alongside the full 50-piece BCO. Two free performances will showcase powerful excerpts from some of the world’s most celebrated composers, including Mozart, Verdi and Gershwin....

14/08/2025

Brixton’s Van Gogh House is organising the Festival of Encounters, a large, free-to-attend event featuring up to 40 talks and other types of encounter, by artists, writers, activists, musicians and thinkers in venues across North Brixton. These will include not only Van Gogh House itself, but also galleries, parks and community centres and non-traditional spaces like cafes and a co-operative workshop space....

14/08/2025

Brixton-based a ca****la choir Electric Belles is looking for new members. Belting out pop and folk classics in Brixton for more than a decade, the low-cost community-run and non-profit choir is for women and non-binary people. It does not make people audition and you do not need to read music to join. “It’s very friendly. You just need a love of singing,” say Electric Belles....

Brixton-based a ca****la choir Electric Belles is looking for new members. Belting out pop and folk classics in Brixton for more than a decade, the low-cost community-run and non-profit choir is for women and non-binary people. It does not make people audition and you do not need to read musi

10/08/2025

Fears for the future of Tulse Hill’s Queen of the South pub eased after the Mirror newspaper reported that landlord Clement Ogbonnaya’s bid to buy the freehold of the community-based venue had been accepted. Clement had launched a campaign to save the Queen after the giant Young’s pub company bought its freehold without his knowledge and gave him a short deadline to buy it from them....

Fears for the future of Tulse Hill’s Queen of the South pub eased after the Mirror newspaper reported that landlord Clement Ogbonnaya’s bid to buy the freehold of the community-based venue had been accepted. Clement had launched a campaign to save the Queen after the giant Young’s pub company ...

08/08/2025

Brixton Rec’s three new tenpin bowling lanes open today (8 August). The £330,000 installation is part of Lambeth council’s plan to attract more visitors to the leisure centres it took in-house in 2023. Other changes at the Rec include virtual reality multi-sports like mini-golf, a new reception area and café, and repairs and refurbishments to the pool and sports hall....

Brixton Rec’s three new tenpin bowling lanes open today (8 August). The £330,000 installation is part of Lambeth council’s plan to attract more visitors to the leisure centres it took in-house in 2023. Other changes at the Rec include virtual reality multi-sports like mini-golf, a new receptio

08/08/2025

The landlord of the Queen of the South pub in Tulse Hill has launched a crowdfunder to save it from a takeover by a multi-million pound pub group. Clement Ogbonnaya, who founded the popular Prince of Peckham, opened the Queen in 2023 after it had been closed for years and brought it back to life. Now, he says, a giant pub group has bought the freehold and given him a deadline to buy it back or risk losing it forever....

The landlord of the Queen of the South pub in Tulse Hill has launched a crowdfunder to save it from a takeover by a multi-million pound pub group. Clement Ogbonnaya, who founded the popular Prince of Peckham, opened the Queen in 2023 after it had been closed for years and brought it back to life.

06/08/2025

Plates & Stories, a collaborative documentary photography exhibition of The Big Caribbean Lunch, opens on 8 August in Photofusion. This vibrant project brings together three young emerging artists - Ryanna Allen, Kadeen Brown, and Dejanae Dickenson - who documented The Big Caribbean Lunch in Windrush Square, this summer. Capturing the energy and heart of this lively public celebration, this photography and moving image exhibition offers a reflection on Caribbean culture, identity, and community through the eyes of the younger generation....

03/08/2025

More than 160 writers, illustrators and publishing professionals have signed an open letter criticising cuts to Lambeth’s library service. It was compiled by award-winning illustrator Dapo Adeola (Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2020, Illustrator of the Year, British Book Awards 2022), who has also designed a poster for campaigners. He grew up in Brixton, Lambeth. Signatories range from well-known local figures to national names such as Adam Mars-Jones, Stella Duffy and Francesca Simon....

More than 160 writers, illustrators and publishing professionals have signed an open letter criticising cuts to Lambeth’s library service. It was compiled by award-winning illustrator Dapo Adeola (Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2020, Illustrator of the Year, British Book Awards 2022), who has

02/08/2025

Tracey Gregory, acting char of the Brixton Society, points out Norma Williamson, who was the society’s treasurer for 16 years, on the Brixton’s Local Heroes banner at the exhibition For 50 years the Brixton Society has been the heart, soul and muscle behind the ceaseless struggle to retain many of those things that make Brixton unique and special. Even a quick stroll around its anniversary exhibition – open in Brixton library until Saturday 9 August – will remind old timers and astonish newcomers with the number of issues that have been tackled....

Tracey Gregory, acting char of the Brixton Society, points out Norma Williamson, who was the society’s treasurer for 16 years, on the Brixton’s Local Heroes banner at the exhibition For 50 years the Brixton Society has been the heart, soul and muscle behind the ceaseless struggle to retain many ...

02/08/2025

Scores of pots and pans protesters demonstrated for an hour outside Lambeth town hall in Brixton yesterday (1 August). The great actor Vanessa Redgrave was in the crowd that frequently won approving honks from passing drivers. Vanessa Redgrave The protest was part of a day of action – Stop Starving Gaza – organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) in towns and cities across the UK....