Dear Members & Friends
We need your help.
After 25 years in Brixton Market, our landlords have informed us of their intention to double the rent. Ouch. It’s the same story all over Brixton, the area is changing and the landlords are the beneficiaries.
We have had a good hard look at things and this is what we can say for sure:
- Photography is flourishing. Analogue, digital, “digilogue.” The appetite for the resources we provide is as big as it’s ever been. So, while our funding is shrinking (you may remember that we lost our Arts Council funding almost 2 years ago), our income is growing.
- We will pull out all the stops to keep going. We take our responsibilities to our members very seriously and we are fighting to preserve the precious resources we provide. It is vital that London, a self proclaimed city of arts and culture, can provide spaces, facilities and community for the artists’ who feed it.
- We have a lot of support. The photography world in London is prepared to stand behind us. We have had offers of help from Rankin, Tom Hunter, Simon Roberts, Simon Norfolk, Miranda Gavin, Hotshoe Magazine and many, many more. Even representatives from Lambeth Council have been in to see us.
- We can do even more of what we do. In the end, this crisis represents an opportunity for us to restructure and refocus. This is no bad thing.
So, here’s what’s happening. We are still in (amicable) negotiations with the landlord. We know that we will have to downsize, which is OK because have more space than we need. We have another location in mind, right here in Brixton Market. The big expense will be the rebuilding and, indeed, upgrading of our darkrooms and film processing facilities. To fund this move we will need to raise upwards of £40,000.
We are launching a Crowfunder campaign. We are asking all of our members (in fact, everyone we’ve ever known!) to help by backing us here:
crowdfunder.co.uk/photofusion
We have fantastic rewards: a grand re-opening print swap, tintype portrait sessions, portfolio reviews, signed photobooks, a photoshoot with Rankin, a walking tour with Simon Norfolk, a vintage Peter Kennard print and much, much more.
Please do what you can. It’s an all or nothing deal, either we make the money to move or we are in real jeopardy. It’s that simple. And thank you again for the support you’ve shown us over the years.
Now, let’s do this!
All the Best,
Kim, Lizzy, Paul, Richard, Nick, Gavin, Lucy, Heather and Donald
. I felt for all of them and I think Louis T genuinely gives a shit about the people he follows about.
