Archive for March, 2010

We went along to a private view of an art exhibition for the South London Women Artists (SLWA) at the Dulwich Library last week. It was a bit surprising at first when we arrived as we could not see any paintings or photographs - just a convivial party of people drinking wine and eating nibbles amongs the bookshelves. But, rather like a treasure hunt, after a bit of nosing around and asking around for clues, we found the artwork hung on the ends of bookcases and tucked in amongst some book racks. The artists were on hand, too, so it was interesting to chat with them and find out more about how and where they worked.

SLWA was formed about 18 months ago by Jenny Sweeney, to offer a meeting point for women artists in South London to help them promote their work and also as a space where they can come together with other artists. Many of the artists I spoke to that evening told me how much they enjoyed being part of the group, especially for the opportunities it gave to hook up with other artists. There are now 100 members and a waiting list.

The group is run on a volunteer basis with members chipping in their time and skills. One of the artists designed the flyer, another member worked on marketing the event and still others organised and curated this exhibiton at the library as well as the one now also running concurrently at the Cafe in Dulwich Park. The Dulwich exhibtion is on till 27 March.

Their next exhibition is at the Bankside Gallery from 28 April to 03 May.

I find it fascinating how people use public spaces in urban landscapes. This is a video I grabbed of some amazingly talented young girls practicing a dance routine at More London Riverside. They told us their group is called Esteem and they were in a show at the Unicorn Theatre in March. (The ambient sound on the vid is from inside the restaurant where I was having lunch when I happened to glance round and see them strutting their stuff - for music, they were in fact playng tracks from their mobile phones!)

This is a post that I wrote for Dulwich OnView that may be of interest to you if you’re visiting London and fancy a semi-countryish walk in the big city.

The sprawling mass that we call Greater London is actually made up of lots of little villages, which is often easy to forget as we are worn down by trying to get around this built up metropolis. But every now and then, it’s nice to be reminded that there are in fact many green spaces and quaint little corners to enjoy - especially when you get out to the farther edges of the city when the original ancient villages still bear some traces of their rural origins.

Dulwich Village is of course one of those but if you fancy a pleasant walk to discover other villages in London, we did this good one is from Blackheath to Greenwich. It’s around 2 miles as the crow flies but you can extend it by taking meandering detours around either of the villages and exploring Greenwich Park.

Take the train from London Bridge to Blackheath (about 10 mins) and from the station, turn left and walk up the slope towards the heath. There are plenty of smart boutiques, cafes and restaurants to browse en route. At the heath, take the little path to the left of the church and aim for the rooftops of Canary Wharf across the open expanse where Wat Tyler gathered his men to invade London during the Peasants Revolt in 1381.

Cross the main road towards the ornamental gates of Greenwich Park. (There are toilets here for those of you who worry about that sort of thing - I do!) If you then head straight on down the avenue, you’ll get to a viewing point over the river but it’s much more fun to have a wander round the park first - heading right will take you alongside a charming flower garden, for example.

We found One Tree Hill where Elizabeth I apparently came to think and meditate. In her day, she would not have had the site of the Millenium Dome or the Maritime Musuem or Canary Wharf or the Gherkin to clutter up the view north across the river to London!

From here, you can head downhill to the University of Greenwich and it’s rather grand buildings before making your way into Greenwich village by the Thames path, via the Cutty Sark (sadly still under wraps for restoration). There are food stalls in the covered market and also restaurants and coffee shops, though the latter seemed less smart than the ones in Blackheath (no doubt primarily catering to tourists and students).

The train from Greenwich takes you back to London Bridge - again around 10 mins.

My verdict: A pleasant morning out, with gentle walking and great views. But next time, we’d do it the other way round - climbing the hill from Greenwich and ending up in Blackheath for lunch at one of the smarter restaurants there, good food being one of our priorities on such excursions!

Do you have a South London walk or outing you would recommend? Pls email us (dulwichonview[at]googlemail.com) with a description such as the one above and include any photos and map* and if it’s right for the blog, we’ll publish it!

* To create your map, use Gmap Pedometer, save the route of the map you create and send the link to us.