“It felt like home every time I was in Peckham” Fox stands proudly beside her recent painting at Peckham Levels. Photograph: Emma Bogue
Thursday night, Rye Lane, Peckham. As the street lights brighten, Shauna Fox opens her art exhibition ‘Peckham is beautiful! What?’ at Peckham Levels. The 26 year old artist, originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland moved to Peckham 7 years ago to study Painting at Camberwell College of Arts and instantly became infatuated with the beauty within the community. The artist tells South London Lines: “As soon as I arrived in Peckham I was so intrigued with it. Just because it was so different, so different from Ireland… I was so interested in the diversity and the vibrancy and the many different cultures.”
The artist displayed 25 6ft paintings on Thursday evening with images depicting real life snapshots of Rye Lane. Banners pinned alongside the paintings tell the story of how Fox turned her ideas into real life works of art: “Peckham street life is at the heart of this exhibition, exploring how multiculturalism at its most potent has shaped the Rye Lane of today. English, Irish, Afro Caribbean and Asian cultures mixing together for 60 years, cross pollinating and exploding into the dynamically creative community we see today.” You can find Fox on Instagram under @shaunafoxart.
One of many art pieces displayed at the exhibition this week showing the beauty within Peckham Rye. Photograph: Emma Bogue
Tucked away on Peckham Rye, neighboring the train station, you can find The CLF Art Lounge, a vintage style speakeasy bar showcasing some of the finest upcoming talent in London today. Thursday evening welcomed ‘The Sam Tunnicliffe Quintet’ as part of ‘Grass Roots’, a monthly Jazz night dedicated to bringing young performers to the forefront.
Illuminated by tiny LED lights, standing proudly on a huge rust coloured rug is Sam Tunnicliff, leading the quintet on Saxophone. With a contemporary flair and ‘Bebop’ undertones, the band lights up the room with its unique sound.
Accompanied by his friends he met while studying Music at Trinity Laban, Greenwich, Tunnicliffe and his band debuted ‘Grass Roots’ in April 2023. The artist spoke to South London Lines about his passion and dedication to Jazz music: “It’s everything really. It’s my life to be honest! It’s the best thing, the most powerful thing. It makes you feel, in a way that a lot of things, other than music don’t.”
Musicians Sam Tunnicliffe (left) and Cassius Cobbson (right) smile after finishing their performance at The CLF Art Lounge, Peckham. Photograph: Emma Bogue
Drummer for ‘The Sam Tunnicliffe Quintet’, multi instrumentalist and London native, Cassius Cobbson has big plans for the future. His latest album ‘SANKOFA’ released in August this year has had quite the successful launch with tunes inspired by genres like Jazz, AfroBeats and R&B.
“What the beauty of playing music and playing music here is the community… We’re all just here to serve the purpose of giving music to the masses. I feel like what’s really important is us having to spread what music has to offer, and that’s peace, love, harmony, quality… Music is that one thing that you can forget all your worries and you can be inside. That’s what I say at all the gigs, y’know… is everyone inside?”
A snapshot of ‘The Sam Tunnicliffe Quintet’ in action on Thursday evening. Photograph: Emma Bogue
Reflecting on Cobbsons words, it’s clear that Peckham continues to be one of London’s most diverse and exciting areas today, raising up the voices of marginalized communities and bringing young talent to the forefront. Monday to Sunday, there is something for everyone in Peckham.
