Lots of chatter here condemning a initiative that hasn't even opened yet! I was down helping to paint at the Angel last weekend and if you'd dropped by you would have found a fairly accurate cross section of Brixton - with their paint rollers and bin-liners, the volunteers came in all shapes and sizes, all colours and hues, all social backgrounds and a good sprinkling of accents and varying degrees of seniority. A good reflection of the community BrickBox has built up around it.
That community began with the traders of Brixton village market before any fair lights went up or saturday pocket money came flooding into the market space.
No project will ever cater for every group - but Brick Box couldn't be more of an open community-led initiative - those who have been to their events in Brixton or Tooting will have been served by local school kids learning basic trade skills behind the cafe counter, told folk tales by people from the local refugee community, seen art work by struggling local painters and photographers, watched docs screened by squatters' rights group Squash, heard local bands play nervously for the first time...etc etc. Go to them with an idea and they will find a way to make it happen.
It costs a huge amount to open up an old pub and yes, if BrickBox wasn't doing it, I think there would be other 'not-so-cuddly' developers keen to get their hands on it who couldn't give a monkeys about the history of the Angel.
I would imagine that the £40 cover for a meal and night of local performance will be much needed injection of cash to get it up and running and offset their long list of community events which so far seems to include free workshops, kids space for Brixton Splash, meeting rooms and an open-ended list of arts events suggested by Brixton locals - not cheap to get an old pub set up for lots of kids running around.
It's a new project by a well-meaning, well respected local group - why not be a little less quick to judge and perhaps a little more realistic?
