Pupils give creative boost to Peckham’s distinctive shops and their rich history

A drama college has given a boost to nearby shops with the help of school pupils.

Mountview has unveiled its Peckham Means Business Exhibition promoting the independent traders of Peckham in the foyer of its building on Peckham Square and in a pop-up gallery on Peckham Hill Street.

The exhibition is the result of a collaboration between Mountview, independent traders off Peckham’s Rye Lane and school children from Harris Primary Academy Peckham Park. The exhibition is a mix of portraiture in photography, drawing and audio-recorded storytelling.

The exhibition highlights the wide variety of independent traders along and around Rye lane today as well as looking back on the history of trading in Peckham through the eyes of one local, family run business.

The exhibition also features black and white photographs of the Surrey Canal and the working wood wharf site of Whitten timber yard marking the Whitten Family’s Centenary in Peckham (1919-2019). Included in the exhibition is a pop up shed and audio stories of Mr Whitten’s memories.

The first visitors to the exhibition were children from Harris Primary Academy Peckham Park, excited to see their own work on public display in the atrium of Mountview.

Ms S. Cael from Harris Primary Academy Peckham Park said: “Our students really enjoyed learning about the Peckham Rye shops and shopkeepers and trying out new techniques to create the drawings.

“It was a really exciting, proud moment for them to see their work in an exhibition when we visited on Monday. Many of the children have already returned with their families to see the fruits of the labour on display.”

The exhibition begins, on the corner of Peckham Hill Street and Theatre Walk, with Whitten’s Timber Yard’s archive of the Surrey canal, Eagle Wharf and the Whitten site through history.

The exhibition continues inside the building where portraits of 30 local independent traders are on display alongside a pop-up shed hosting audio-recordings from Mr. Robert Whitten about his family’s 100 years trading in Peckham. Stories include:

• The Whitten Family,
• The Canal,
• Working Dockside,
• Filling in the Canal,
• The High Street,
• Shopping & Trade,
• Now and Looking Forwards,
• Memories

Local photographer Katherine Leedale photographed 30 shopkeepers located on the streets and markets off Peckham’s Rye Lane.

The portrait series focuses on the characters and personalities of the shopkeepers as well as highlighting the eclectic emporiums, off Peckham’s Rye Lane, where it is possible to shop for a rich diverse collection of products from all around the world.

These portraits are exhibited alongside drawings which offer likenesses of each shop-keeper through the eyes of local children from Harris Primary Academy.

These art-pieces were created through workshops in which the school-children learned about the various local traders and their businesses, and discussed the global nature of the products on their local high street.

Lance Copeland from Copeland Caribbean Jerk said: “What I find great about working in Peckham is it’s very diverse, you get a lot of different people from different cultures.  It’s not just about food, it’s about customer service, how we look after our customers and show respect, and in return they respect us back. It’s about people, looking after them and making sure they are happy.”

Keeping Peckham’s shopping area firmly on the map, the exhibited traders also feature on an interactive map to further raise the profile of Peckham’s rich and varied selection of shops. Created using Google the map makes it easy to find and visit each trader, encouraging support for Peckham’s vibrant personality-packed high street.

Mountview Executive Director and Creative Producer on the Peckham Means Business Project, Sarah Preece said: “Mountview moved to Peckham a year ago and it is really important to us to contribute in any way we can to the neighbourhood.  This project has been a fantastic opportunity to make new connections as well as build on existing friendships in the local business community.  Independent traders are essential to fabric of a thriving town centre and I’m particularly pleased that this project and exhibition has allowed us to highlight the incredible history and present day variety of independent trading in Peckham.”
Thanks to:
Southwark Council for funding #PeckhamisOpen
Harris Primary Academy Peckham Park, Marmont Road
Ms S Caël Art specialist
The Children in year 4, 5 and 6 who took part
The Traders
Mr Whitten and the Whitten Family
Creative Team
Sarah Preece – Mountview Executive Director, Creative Producer, Workshop Facilitator and Artist
Katherine Leedale – Photographer, Workshop Facilitator and Artist
Celeste – Applied Theatre Practitioner, Director and Teacher, Mountview Alumna
Tigi Fadika – Events & Communications Practitioner, Outreach Assistant
Becky Shaw – Writer