Radical creativity sweeps across Brixton this weekend in the third year of its city festival

London’s newest weekender, Brixton City Festival is in its third year and promises to be bigger and better than ever.

The arts festival will take place in Brixton from Friday 14 – Sunday 16 September, featuring radical entertainment, pop-ups and sheds-galore.

Theatre makers, musicians, spoken word artists open up a world of digital dialogue, love letters and performance. And all for free!

Brixton will be Ovalhouse’s new home in 2020 – with the new venue providing a hub for artists, innovation and culture in the heart of Brixton.

Ovalhouse, in partnership with Brixton Design Trail celebrates the people, lives, styles and cultures of this eclectic part of Lambeth. With the run up to this move Ovalhouse have been hosting an annual festival in the heart of Brixton called Brixton City Festival.

This is an opportunity to work with and meet local people, uncover hidden artistic talents and offer opportunities to collaborate on a larger scale.

Stella Kanu, Executive Producer, Ovalhouse says ‘We are excited to bring radical entertainment to the outside spaces in Brixton. This year we are filing Windrush Square with sheds full of attitude and unusual things to do and we are doing it all with some of South London’s finest talent- past and present. It’s a packed weekend and there’s something for everyone and all for free, we look forward to welcoming you to Windrush Square. And grown-ups can join us for a drink and a chat in Dogstar, Coldharbour Lane.

The Programme sees three custom designed sheds hosting an array of dramatic performances in various forms at Windrush Square: Brixton Outloud – presents a magazine style radio station and podcast from Shed 1, playing tunes and chatting with Brixton’s finest icons and rising talent; Shed 2 is Virtual Theatre – which features 4 awesome plays and gives audiences the opportunity to experience sitting in theatre spaces through VR headsets. The plays include: Koko Brown’s White; Pecho Mama’s Medea Electronica; Little Soldier’s Derailed and Bella Heesom’s  My World Has Exploded A Little Bit. And Shed 3 sees Ovalhouse encouraging people to write Love Letters to Brixton using a specially designed post box in Windrush Square.

Potent Whisper uses Rhyme to create discussions about sociopolitical issues and performs Rhyming Guide to Grenfell Britain – a debut spoken word collection with bite and a message. Focusing on mobile phones, Coney presents a new digital game called Infiltration where people can log on to anytime and get involved. In the evening events include Joshua Idehen’s Oi Barman! At Dogstar in Coldharbour Lane, where visitors will see a site specific performance hearing secrets and anecdotes of the bar trade – and everyone gets a drink. There will be storytelling influenced by African and Greek mythology from Brixton’s very own Lara Lee as she returns to Windrush Square with a theatrical, funky, soulful performance of Wonders of Brixton/ Odyssey.

Ovalhouse teams up with SOCIETY × SW9, showcasing and podcasting talks, workshops and events all weekend that explore how technology, ecology, culture and protest can build a more positive future.

And Sunday will once again be Family Day, culminating in Windrush Square for workshops, music and fun activities for young and old.

BRIXTON CITY FESTIVAL 2018 starts on Friday 14 from 3pm-6pm, Saturday from 11am-10pm and Sunday 16 September from 11am-3pm.

ALL EVENTS ARE FREE. For full details log onto www.ovalhouse.com  @OvalHouse #BrixtonCity  #BCF2018

 

Residents can also feel welcome when families living in one street throw a yarn bomb.

From 15-23 September 2018, Refugees Welcome Lambeth and the residents of Trinity Gardens will welcome visitors to Brixton for this year’s Brixton Design Trail, with a hand-made installation in Trinity Gardens, that celebrates our diversity and the journeys that have brought us here.

Come to the square, see over 700 pom-poms, welcome banners and flowers made by around 100 people across the borough and take a moment to reflect on your Brixton journey – how you came to be in Brixton and what the area means to you.

• Welcome banners
  Handmade banners made that reflect our cultural identities, familial roots and over 30 languages spoken across the borough.

• The centrepiece
  A contemplative space where we can reflect on the journeys that we’ve taken here in Lambeth and that have brought so many of us here. We encourage visitors to read the thoughts of Lambeth residents and consider what Brixton means to them, whether they were born here or moved here later.

• Yellow roses and pompoms
  Yellow roses signify platonic friendship and new beginnings. Some are knitted, some crocheted or sewn – each is different, yet they all have so much in common.