Artists' opportunities in London

London is one of the cities with the most commercial establishments for selling art, which adds to many challenges for art buyers and creators. The challenges the art industry faces are the funding, fees and the acessibility for the consumers. Fair business practices are disputable because of the considerable influence of privatization in the industry. In the most commercialized cities, where can the art community find the best space for their work? It turns out London also has several locations that is educationally driven with the commercial aspects. Peckham Platform and Turf are one of the many organizations in London that offer not-for-profit benefits for artists and consumers.

Located in Croydon (South London), Turf supports the artist community by offering communities events, talks/panels, and free exhibitions. For upcoming artists, their organization offers affordable workspace. The workspace facilities includes an artist profile on their website, lighting, mail & reception service and wifi. An additional bonus to workspace is opportunity to showcase artwork at Turf. They also supply talks, one of which is called "Artist Lunchtime Crits." Every last Saturday of the month a featured artist from Turf's exhibition will lead a discussion about the group's work. It's a great way to network and learn about the residents of the art world. One of the perks to attending is their free hot drinks.

But the benefits do not stop there. Are you a graduate of Croydon School of Art? Turf is providing residency to the graduates of 2015 an opportunity to display their new art work in their gallery, as well as assistance and support along the way. 

"Stones of Croydon" is a workshop event by their organization, where they will provide the Croydon community with drawing tours. This tour is in commemoration of Croiydon's 50 years as a London Borough. The event will begin every Saturday from December to summer 2016. The workshop will be based around John Ruskin's principals from 'The Stones of Venice.'

For more information:

http://turf-projects.com/

Location:

TURF PROJECTS Gallery & Workspace 

Keeley Road, Croydon

CR0 1TF

Hours:

Open Tuesday – Saturday 11:00 – 17:00 (during exh​ibitions)

Or by appointment

"Connecting art, people and place," Peckham Platform is an organization that provides the Peckham art community with a platform and voice for their developing work. They state that their mission "is to create meaningful and accessible social arts practice for Peckham and beyond." Peckham Platform was given Arts Council National Portfolio funding momentarily after they were independent. Their organization offers many things such as exhibitions, events and learning activities. Their current exhibition "Doing Nothing is Not an Option," by Michael McMillian is showing now until November 22nd. It is an installation that explores the memory of Nigerial writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. They also have a Youth Platform and Arts Award programme that embraces local schools. Their aim for this opportunitiy is to promote and develop accessibility of the arts and higher education.

For more information:

http://www.peckhamplatform.com/

Location:

89 Peckham High Street 

London

SE15 5RS

Hours:

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