Deptford Does Art — Attraction in London

Whether Deptford needs another bougie hang out is debatable. Their choice of name is offensive to every long time artist living here. The gallery space is well lit, the art (I use the term loosely) was displayed well. One guy seemed to really like the art or was it the artist? The exhibitions change often - I'm not really sure how well that would work with the stated aim of helping the artists make money. There were no prices displayed by the art on the walls, only on the pieces in a rack. I found the prices there incongruent. The upstairs is well designed and decorated I liked the window scene painted on the wall. It has a feeling of space (which in reality it doesn't have so much of). They've managed to fit in more (mediocre) art and a jewelry display case. There is a range of seating, at tables 2 bars. Looking up is the best thing about the place. It is to a mixture of real, plastic and painted plants. We came to see someone play there. One of the many disappointing things is that their (shall we say) 'devoted' commitment to veganism, is much more clearly visible, (especially in responses to reviews) than the stated commitment to supporting local artists and various other seemingly 'community aimed projects' they advertise themselves as doing. e.g. There was not one decent light on the stage area. It's not like they don't have good lights or enough places to put one, which is all it would take to create much needed visibility for performers. Also, despite the fact there was a performance booked and scheduled to start at 20.30 (on a Thursday night) Google maps still said it was closed as we sat there!! Not much commitment to supporting performance in either case there. We were (of course) the only people of colour and (real) local residents in the space, which I have to admit is a bit distressing given how commonplace that is now on Deptford High St., which I moved to because of the visible diversity previously glaringly apparent, in terms of colour and class. Obviously I do not and (probably) cannot blame the owners for that. As we sat outside we were asked a few times by various locals if was OK and if we thought they would enjoy it or be welcome? I did get a really good tip from the owners (utter contempt and the assumption we were derelict) to change some wording I'd been working on! The prices are current standard new Deptford. The menu is cocktails, craft beers, and cider. Apparently there's vegan food and teas in the day. The wine selection was disappointing (I am so very sick of Merlot - it's ubiquity is the clearest indication the Brits are still not a wine nation) and two Australian...

I've seen Deptford change over the past few years and I genuinely think a lot of the new places that have popped up have demonstrated a positive change, giving some colour and variety to what was once a bit of a cultural wasteland. A few are probably not so welcome and unnecessary e.g. Costa. However, the key word that came to mind when I visited this place was "nondescript".

Upstairs you have what is now a fairly standard vegan/vegetarian cafe/bar. I don't want to inspire another slightly unhinged rant like the one below so I'll just say it's fine and I appreciate the relatively late opening times and leave it at that. Downstairs you have a small gallery showing - judging by what I saw - some fairly typical, worthy, but not particularly interesting comic art about boxing clubs, which seemed committee approved to avoid criticism about gentrification. Maybe I've been spoilt by the cutting edge, eerie digital stuff at Gossamer Fog down the road but I just found it rather dull. To me, the overall vibe of this place was no less bland and corporate than the...

My highlight was the friendliness of the people serving, they made my experience felt better than what it actually was. I am a coffee lover and not having a good strong espresso was something I was not expecting. The coffee I got instead was not to my taste. I ordered a pomegranate cocktail and unfortunately I was not impressed either. The artwork displayed was very good, loved the concept of supporting local artists I have told a couple of my friends to go and check out your exhibition. The place is very well located, right in the heart of busy Deptford High Street, with a couple of train stations within a walking distance. There is off-street parking available, but the surroundings get very busy during...