‘Keep creativity alive’: Community cooperative champions as music venue saved from closure

A beloved music venue has been saved from closure after a year of uncertainty, and is now gearing up to reopen in the spring.

The Matchstick Piehouse in Edward Street, Deptford, announced its closure on January 4, as a result of trading issues caused by the pandemic which led to a “longstanding issue of rent arrears”.

Despite huge community support and a fundraising push before Christmas, the venue was not able to pay off its debt and became another name on a long list of independent music spaces put to rest.

Staff member George from Lewisham, who asked not to give his full name, said he was “heartbroken” when the closure was announced.

The 60-year-old said: “The Matchstick Piehouse saved my life.

“Dykes on Mics at the Piehouse was one of the first queer events I attended in London and I immediately felt at home. I met some of my closest friends there and have enjoyed every visit!

“It broke our hearts when we found out it had shut down.”

That same month, Music Venue Trust (MVT) released a report which revealed two grassroots music venues in London were closing each week.

Across 2023, 125 venues shut their doors for the last time. Of those that remained, 38 per cent reported making a financial loss despite seeing an increased demand for tickets.

Matchstick Piehouse staff member and artist, Rosetta Carr, 35 from Lewisham said: “As a touring musician trying to survive the current climate in the music Industry, having a place that allows me to work and have an income beside music and art is extremely valuable. 

“Seeing all these amazing venues shutting down has been painful in the past years. We need to keep creativity alive, and for that spaces like the Piehouse are needed.”

But, in a testament to community power, a group of ex-Matchstick staff, resident artists, and members of Lewisham’s first community owned music venue, Sister Midnight, banded together to create a new workers co-operative under the name Piehouse Co-op.

Now, after a year of negotiation and help from the MVT, Piehouse Co-op has agreed the heads of terms and looks set to reopen, rebranded as The Piehouse, in early 2025.

Liv Wynter, a 32-year-old Deptford artist and activist said: “Artists need spaces to foster communities, to start out, to try that idea that might not work, and to be able to do that in an accessible community space will be a dream.” 

The 150 capacity venue is one of a handful in London that is wheelchair accessible, and prides itself on being a space for everyone, with a particular emphasis on welcoming queer and underrepresented communities.

Previously, Matchstick Piehouse hosted the likes of BADBADNOTGOOD, Prima Queen, SteamDown, Charlotte dos Santos, Ezra Collective, and Peckham punk collective Goat Girl, as well as offering nights of theatre, poetry, music to workshops and meet-ups.

To aid its reopening, Piehouse Co-op secured a £20,000 grant from Lewisham council’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund, supported by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and part of the national UKSPF scheme from the Central Government.

But, the group says it is still in urgent need of an extra £15,000 before it can reopen.

Currently unfurnished, the cooperative is fundraising for lights, sound, and furniture, with a cost of £15,000 set to be raised by February 2025 to secure its future.

To offer your support visit: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-piehouse-returns-help-us-open-the-doors#start

Pictured top: Matchstick Piehouse packed out at an event before its closure in January (Picture: Jazz Noble)