After 160 years, the vibrant arcades and markets of Brixton Village are a testament to the Windrush generation, and space-making methods
Brixton Village now, from BBC
Great piece from BBC News on the vibrancy of Brixton Village in South London. It opens this way:
Turning left outside Brixton Tube station you would be forgiven for thinking you had stepped back in time to the 1960s.
As the greengrocers bellow out the price of apples, chefs whip up a feast for eager diners, and the young and old gather together talking, dancing and shopping for everything from vinyl records to vintage clothes.
The thriving epicentre of culture, community and commerce that is Brixton Village is nothing short of electric, and the fiercely independent market has been at the heart of this multicultural community for over 160 years.
The long history of Market Row and Granville Arcade, now known as Brixton Village, has borne witness to everything from world wars to destitution and regeneration.
The place started to flourish when the Windrush generation started to settle in the Brixton area in the 50s and 60s, bringing enterprise and different demands for food and culture to the arcades and markets. This tale from Etta Burrell, nine years old when she arrived in Brixton with her family from Jamaica - gives the spirit of the place:
Every Saturday my mum would put the soup on the stove in the morning and then we'd make our way down to the market… There was everything going on down there; there were enough theatres to rival the West End, David Bowie lived across the road, the famous Jamaican singer Alton Elllis owned the best record shop that played reggae music and the community feel was so strong…It felt like the market itself had a soul.
The BBC News story relates a history of decline for the market, and various faltering attempts to revive it, over the 90s. Pat Kane, co-initiator of the Alternative Global, remembers an intervention into the Granville Arcade by Dougald Hine’s Space-Makers project (Spacemakers still a going concern, calling themselves a “utopian regeneration agency”) in 2009. A group of young creatives, local and otherwise, were encouraged to occupy the empty (but beautifully Victorian) shop outlets (this memoir from one of the producers involved is illuminating).
As the BBC News story says:
It was not until 2009 when the market had a relaunch, renaming itself as Brixton Village and providing a new offering to businesses - three months free rent on any of the units - that its fortunes changed.
Since then Stafford Geohagen, a restauranteur in the Village, says the transformation of the area has been "incredible".
"This village is a melting pot of culture, people of all walks of life come together here and it has this wonderful sense of belonging and acceptance."
The 53-year-old, who is celebrating 20 years of his restaurant, Healthy Eaters, said: "In this market we tell a story, a story through our food, music and culture. I don't see my restaurant as a place to just eat, but a place to have a experience."
As the piece relates, there are problems with the demographics currently attending (Etta, quoted above, now feels that "The area has lost its soul, things aren't the same and no one is quite as friendly anymore. It doesn't feel as warm as it did back in the day.”).
But as the piece concludes:
While some may say that the sense of community the market provided in its heyday is long gone, the investment into its development has never been greater.
The vibrant arcades now house more than 100 independent vendors, representing over 50 nationalities.
As Stafford sets about cooking the curry goat he will serve up this evening, he tells me that the "village has never been busier". Although it's constantly changing and is perhaps unrecognisable to what it was 70 years ago, he added: "This is my home and I will always want to be a part of it."