The Deptford Stories Festival
Preview night: Friday 31st October, 5-9pm
Family open day: 1st November, 11-6pm
Anthology Deptford Foundry, Arklow Road Trading Estate, SE14 6EB
Deptford Stories, an arts festival celebrating the lives and legends of Deptford will launch on Friday 31st October & Saturday 1st November. It will then continue until 16th November by appointment only. Bringing together art, theatre, music and history of the past, present and future of Anthology Deptford Foundry, the festival will take place in the empty warehouses and workshops of the former site of Arklow Road Trading Estate.
Curated by experimental arts space, Harts Lane Studios, and created by Greenspace on behalf of Anthology; Deptford Stories will be an eclectic array of mixed-media installations, sculpture, prints, light displays, textiles and tiling. From James Capper and Katie Surridge’s imposing industrial and structural pieces to Cedric Christie’s iconic light-boxes and Margot Sanders’ site-specific painting portraying the frail beauty of human bonds, the artwork is varied and engaging. The event is organised in collaboration with Goldsmiths, University of London.
Liam Fleming’s immersive-theatre group, In(ep)trepid, will be performing throughout the weekend. On Friday evening they will perform a re-enactment of Christopher Marlowe’s last night, who was rumoured to have died in Deptford. A surprise finale will follow at 8.30pm. There will also be a soundscape over the course of the two days where visitors can experience the sounds of the old foundry, complete with sound bites from George Arthur, a local man who worked on the site in the 1960s.
Refreshments will be provided by Pig&Rig, who will be serving up a scrumptious hog-roast, accompanied by their own sound system. The Black Cab Coffee Co and Brockley Brewery will be supplying their own expertly brewed coffee and beer respectively. A limited number of drink tokens will be available to sample some of Brockley Brewery’s finest craft beer.
There will be a range of musical performances playing on both days. On Friday night we welcome Lit FM, a London-based ten-piece alternative jazz-funk band with influences of hip-hop, dub, soul, electronica and jungle music. Then on Saturday JD and the Longfellows will present their violin-driven folk followed by electro swing band, Booty Swing.
To find out more about specific acts or artists, follow our arts festival on Facebook: bit.ly/deptfordstories
