What artistic treasures are hidden behind the doors of southeast London?
Over two weekends in May, Artists' Open House, part of the Dulwich Festival, offers the chance to find out. From Peckham to Crystal Palace, more than 200 artists open up their homes to exhibit and sell their work.
The artists include ceramicists, painters, print-makers, photographers, jewellers, sculptors, designers, furniture-makers and more.
Part of the joy of this event is the sense of what goes on behind closed doors. A Victorian terrace tucked away on Grove Lane in Camberwell, for example, may not seem the most likely an art gallery, but the doors open to reveal the jewel-coloured, unfurling landscapes of Sorcha Rooney; the vast reconfigured old Admiralty maps of Terry Ryan such as Another Time Scale, which explore and challenge our concepts of time and space, and the subversive landscape paintings of Laura Moreton-Griffiths.
Moreton-Griffiths is one of the founding members of South London Women Artists, which has played a major role in organising Artists' Open House. Much of her current work is inspired by 18th-century Staffordshire pottery, whose apparently whimsical nature belies the realities of a time riven by war, famine, restricted civil liberties and urbanisation.
And, if you are inspired by the flourishing renaissance of art in South London, you can also take advantage of late openings on the last Friday of the month at a number of venues, including at The Arches in Blenheim Road in Peckham, or find more information about art venues and events all over southeast London at the recently launched South London Arts Map.
Artists' Open House, 11am-6pm on 7-8 and 14-15 May; Open houses are advertised by a bill board outside, although not all venues are open both weekends.
