The Brixton Exchange 2 will be a day of workshops and exchanges, using creative approaches to discuss Brixton’s community heritage – what it is, how do we hold on to it, and what can we learn from others. The aim is to explore whats happening in Brixton in the context of current changes in London and across the world.

THE EVENT IS NOW FULLY BOOKED. If you would like to go on the waiting list for tickets, please email us at anchorandmagnet@gmail.com

Speakers & Facilitators:

Nick Beech, Architectural historian, Queen Mary University, on Stuart Halls thoughts on metropolitan heritage

Michael McMillan, Artist & Curator, creator of The West Indian Front Room project http://www.thefrontroom.org.uk

Nabeel Hamdi, Emeritus Professor of Housing and Urban Development, Oxford Brookes University

Nazneen Ahmed, Research Associate at UCL and community heritage worker

Barby Asante, artist, on thinking about internal colonialism and the possibility of decolonising heritage

Ashvin de Vos and Daniel Fitzpatrick, Variant Office architects, on mapping tales of contested spaces http://variantoffice.com

Fan Sissoko, designer and cook, on the tastes of Brixton and how they are changing https://whatfanlearns.wordpress.com

Katy Beinart, artist, making traces of objects for the Brixton Museum http://www.katybeinart.co.uk

Roger Gor-Hartley, artist at Bureau of Silly Ideas http://www.bureauofsillyideas.com

Assembly SE8, Critical Practice Research Cluster and public works on building solidarities across housing struggles http://www.criticalpracticechelsea.org/ http://www.publicworksgroup.net

Gianmaria Givanni, architect, on social housing and community memory

For full bios and workshop & exchange session outlines check our website: http://www.anchorandmagnet.org/#!current-exchange/zaru3

This event follows on from Anchor & Magnet's first Brixton Exchange in 2013, which brought together over 100 local residents, community activists, artists, academics and others to discuss questions of urban regeneration and community ownership in Brixton and elsewhere.

The past 3 years have seen incredibly rapid change in Brixton and the beginning of major initiatives which will bring further changes. Community activism has also been on the rise. As a 5-year council heritage project begins, we want to ask: what (and who) is being lost, what to hold on to and how, what is the experience of other community/activist groups past and present, and how these stories should be represented and shared more widely? How does heritage become the inheritance of future generations and how can it serve present and future communities?

Taking heritage as the starting point, The day sets out to explore different kinds of memory and memorializing; sharing of stories, the meeting of ‘old’ and ‘new’ Brixton; contested notions of heritage starting from the context of central Brixton; the commodification of ideas of heritage’ as a tool to brand Brixton, while parts of the community are edged out; the politics of preservation and impermanence, objects and the idea of the community museum. It will also be an opportunity for others from similar areas in London and elsewhere to share their experiences and build connections.

Speakers and facilitators will include artists, historians, architects, activists and academics, who will create spaces for dialogue. Workshops and exchanges include mapping contested spaces in Brixton, decolonising heritage, using objects to tell and record personal memories, a food treasure hunt & cooking, and more.

Come prepared to speak up, and contribute your voice and your hands.

Who is it for?

Local residents of Brixton past and present; community activists, local workers and business owners, archivists, those with an interest in heritage, planners, architects, artists and those with personal perspectives to bring to the dialogue.

Tickets: please book through eventbrite. If you have any questions please email us at anchorandmagnet@gmail.com

Tickets are free but spaces are limited so please make sure you book. You will be asked to contribute towards the cost of lunch/refreshments (approx £5.00 - flexible if on low income)

more info at anchorandmagnet.org

This event is funded by Arts Council England