DIY Space for London
The front of DIY Space For London on 27 July 2017.
Map
Location96-108 Ormside St,
London
SE15 1TF
United Kingdom
Coordinates51°28′57″N 0°03′20″W / 51.4824°N 0.0555°W / 51.4824; -0.0555
Capacity160
OpenedSeptember 2015
Website
diyspaceforlondon.org[dead link]

DIY Space for London was a volunteer-run social centre, music venue, rehearsal space, and creative hub formerly located at 96-108 Ormside Street in South Bermondsey, London.[1][2]

History

The space opened in September 2015 after the founding collective at first struggled for two years to find a suitable location.[3][4]

The collective, started in 2012, raised £20,000 through benefit gigs, events, and community grants to secure a five year lease.[5]

Inspired by other social centres such as 1 in 12 Club in Bradford, their goal was to, "create a sustainable, collectively run space to put gigs on, hold meetings and building a communal infrastructure" that would be "run by its members and open for anyone to get involved in."[4][6] It had ten interlinked volunteer collectives taking care of running the space.[4]

Whether volunteering or attending, the space was both functionally and legally a members' club. As of June 2017 this was over 5000 members.[7]

Volunteers of the space hosted a radio show showcasing the type of musicians to appear there on NTS Radio between 2016 and 2017.

From 2016 to 2019 the space was the venue for First Timers, a yearly series of workshops culminating in a two day festival that encourages "new faces and voices in bands", in order to "do something about the lack of diversity in the music community".[8]

Over the weekend of 2-4 June 2017, DIY Diaspora Punx (a collective started by Stephanie Phillips of Big Joanie, and also containing other London musicians such as Ray Aggs) put on the first Decolonise Fest at DIY Space for London. Decolonise Fest is the UK's first music festival created by and for people of colour.[9] The second edition of the festival (again mostly held at DIY Space) occurred from 22 to 24 June 2018, with a third over 29 to 30 June 2019.

On 12 June 2020 the collective announced due to temporary closures enforced due to the COVID-19 pandemic they had been unable to renew their lease on their current premises and would be seeking a new location.[10][11]

Notable performers

Artists that have performed at the venue include:[12][13]

References

  1. ^ "DIY Space for London Things to do Peckham". Time Out. 7 January 2016. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  2. ^ "BFI Neighbourhood Cinema DIY Space For London". BFI. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  3. ^ Mumford, Gwilym (6 December 2014). "Eagulls, Hookworms, Joanna Gruesome: how UK music scenes are going DIY". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  4. ^ a b c Welsh, April Clare (23 December 2015). "How DIY Culture Is Thriving In The U.K." The Fader. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  5. ^ "DIY Space For London finds venue". The Wire. 18 June 2015. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  6. ^ Jones, Shelley (9 October 2013). "DIY Space For London Why I Do What I Do". Huck. Archived from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  7. ^ Amin, Tayyab (15 June 2017). "DIY in 2017: How Leeds, Bristol and London's scenes are striving to survive". FACT. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  8. ^ "The events and workshops where women can kickstart their metal career". Team Rock. 13 February 2018. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  9. ^ Phillips, Stephanie (31 July 2017). "The Bands Taking British Punk Back to Its Multicultural Roots". Noisey. Vice Media. Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  10. ^ "Goodbye Ormside Street- DIY Space Is Looking For A New Home". diyspaceforlondon.org. 12 June 2020. Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  11. ^ Cartledge, Luke (15 June 2020). "Out of place – why community venues like DIY Space For London need our help". Loud and Quiet. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  12. ^ "DIY Space For London Past concerts". Songkick. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
  13. ^ "DIY Space for London Events". Facebook. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
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