Brixton Village has caused a stir since its creation in 2011 as it gave “local producers, makers and entrepreneurs the chance to show off their goods” and sell them to the public. This caused issues between the newer, white middle class entrepreneurs and the traditional market holders, the locals who were steeped in history and had grown up in the area.
This is an issue that is still developing today, four years later. It is seemingly a constant battle between the historic markets and the newer, Shoreditch-esque independent cafes and shops selling an array of interesting and handmade goods.
This is a battle that Studio73 knows all too well. Adrian Gould, the founder of the studio, originally came to the space in Brixton to set up a photography studio as “the Afro-Caribbean community throw a lot of money at portraits, so I thought it would be a great place to be”. This sounds typical, a business grasping at any hope of making some money. This is the portrait that local market traders attempt to paint of these new businesses; they come into the area and charge excessive amounts for what they are profiting off, driving out the original markets. But surely, like the traders, he is just trying to get by too?
Studio73 has also, similarly to the markets, had to deal with the changing population. The studio has changed from a photographers studio into a space where local artists can display their work, and local residents can purchase prints. How has this effected the shop? “From a business point of view, we had to adapt and we’re doing okay now so that’s fine. It just came as a bit of a shock that the change came about so quickly.” This shows the struggle that Studio73 and Gould, as well as the other businesses nearby face, including new and old ventures alike.
Gould is passionate about his work, the space and art, and felt his place was in Brixton not only for the potential business opportunities but due to the “exciting buzz that swarms around the area”. He believes it is a hub for creativity, both within art as well as music and even within the community.
When faced with the difficulties of gentrification around Brixton, Gould joked that: “From my shop, I can see champagne and fromage. We’re in Brixton! Gentrification is extreme.” However, is this necessarily a bad thing? “It’s London isn’t it? It’s forever changing as a landscape. I don’t think it’s a good or a bad thing, it’s just the way it is.” Gould makes an interesting point, is gentrification an issue or is it just an inevitable part of life? He comments that the major problem is not really the changes occurring, but the rate in which they are happening. “If you lived in the countryside change doesn’t really happen that quickly but if you live in London you should be fairly conditioned to change, and if you’re not then what are you doing in London?”
As for the future of Studio73, there are many exciting exhibitions coming to the small, yet intimate and cosy, space from many local artists, including Kerry Eggleton and Martin Grover, as well as bigger works coming from a collaboration between Tony Margerrison, a Brixtonian, and Terrenceo Hammond, a resident from Harlem, New York, about the rapid change of both areas. In Gould’s words: “My only real fear is that, in time, we will run out of space completely, so perhaps a new shop altogether. Away from Brixton Village. To think. What would we eat at lunchtime? Sandwiches? You are kidding.”
Studio73, Brixton Village
