The last exhibition I went to was at 354 Coldharbour Lane, Brixton, in a disused pub called The Angel. The art group affiliated as ‘The Brick Box’ have temporarily occupied the pub, and a couple of weeks ago hosted a gala show called ‘Exhibition SW9’ Including a diverse selection of artworks, installations and performance theatre created by artists from all over the world as well as locally.

I guess the relevance of the exhibition was underlined by the fact that HRH Prince Charles himself visited with numerous other local luminaries.

The Open Doors art group have a statement.

‘Open Doors is a nomadic gallery that curates art exhibitions based around the postcode the gallery is in. Open Doors was set up in June 2011 with two aims in mind: promoting artists and making more people interested in art. By curating exhibitions inspired by the area we aim to encourage more people to come in and be interested by what they see on the walls.’

A noble intention, in practice the whole affair was lot of fun, paradoxically highlighting the fact that although community issues can seem serious, the general idea is to enjoy life.

The theme for the third postcode gallery ‘SW9’ was the game of consequences, with several artists creating text-based art and poetry.

Access to the yard in the pub meant space for installations. Local student Morris Wild, built a hidmo out of re-cycled materials (bricks and beer kegs) and created an Eritrean hut, which Betty, supplied with proper Eritrean coffee and njira, a delicious meal  for everyone to sample a taste of Africa. .

Other refreshments were available and Sibylla Macgregor created an ice cream sculpture with free ices for the public. In fact the mood of sharing and supporting each other permeated the whole three day extravaganza.

The feeling that the whole was greater than the sum of the many diverse parts.

My studio in the barn contained paintings of Brixton, Jacob Joyce also exhibited paintings with an African narrative and will soon be curating his own event ‘Ori’ on the first weekend of August.

One other important artists involved is Quincey Garcia, a local filmmaker whose media company ‘Roadworks’ made a film about the family of mark Duggan, the unfortunate young man whose death sparked the London Riots last summer and the disharmony that followed in their wake. Roadworks Magazine Launch will take place at The Brick Box on the 9th of August.

Running Open Doors as a postcode project has brought communities to the forefront of our minds. In London a community can mean so many different things; ideas, beliefs, routines, jobs and hobbies. The Riots highlighted that communities need to be recognised and celebrated and we aim to start that through art.’

This reflects the main character of the group. So many people in responsible positions of local council working hard, volunteering, sincerely concerned with the future world state of affairs. I think I felt lucky to be sponsored by the group as an older person.as the youth come to terms with the world around them

Thanks to Eleanor Barrett, Rosie Freeman, Imwen Eke and Jessie Curnow at The Brick Box.

For a full list of the artist’s in the SW9 Exhibitio please look at the open door website page on blogger.