I remind you that a lot of my points were made in response to earlier comments that disputed the actual serious crime and violence in the area – the area (geographically tiny) is usually strewn with a dozen murder victims on an annual basis. This isn’t fiction, its cold hard fact.

The article itself mentions that area where I live as being “synonymous with gang violence and a helping of knife crime” and I am reminding those who think its been magically gentrified by the presence of galleries that the link isn’t mythical but because of the gangs and violent crime that infest it! In fact, my recollection is that gun crime murder victims are similar or greater in number than knife related murders but the article is a bit amnesiac about the easy supply of automatic weapons here.

Peckham has a terrible underbelly and while its reputation may be growing in the Arts, its making little dent elsewhere, that’s my main point to counteract the facile view that the arts is leading to some kind of great renaissance here.

I keep reading extraordinary claims for its regeneration which, as a resident, remains completely undetectable to me (apart from the frequency of newspaper articles glorifying it for a few high profile arts events/venues, that is..)

I think you have missed the point of the article completely. It was not attempting to suggest that the art galleries and collectives springing up all around South East London are doing anything to effect the socio economic stance of the area. It is simply an observation of a true phenomenon.

I am sure you have noticed that Hannah Barry herself commented that it is unimportant where this is occurring, she feels lucky to be able to have a gallery anywhere. The issue being delt with in this article is not the violence that afflicts the gang culture of the area (however this is no doubt a very important issues that should be discussed in the News section of the paper, not the arts), but the exceptional art that is being created. I do not see why you have reacted in such an aggressive manner. Camberwell College and Goldsmiths have existed in this area for over 100 years, and so of course it is no surprise that there will be an influx of art students living in the area. That is where they study! I too lived in the area last year and I can say that it is a safe place to live as long as you are careful.

I live within the shadow of the multi-storey carpark there which hosted a lovely Campari bar to accompany some art exhibition leaving the chattering classes chinking their glasses and admiring the view as the ghosts of the slaughtered wandered beneath them. It was one of the first times I’d seen so many affluent white people in the alleyway there and obviously they’ve never been back since (apart from, perhaps, to cycle through to Dulwich or Camberwell on their fixies).

In fact, the imagery of the last paragraph would make a nice painting – a generic trendy type sips Campari as as a poor dying soul clutches the blood seeping out of their body on the pavement below.

…particularly if the pretentious one savouring cocktails is a portrait of you as you say ‘cheers, can’t understand why people think Peckham is unsafe now it has a thriving arts scene since chaps like us were priced out of Hoxton’.

Cheers.

In the recent past, there were 3 murders in its environs in 4 days, children have been murdered by other children, a teenager was shot in the head while he slept, a woman was shot while cradling a baby that was being christened. You couldn’t make it up.

The following people have been murdered in Peckham in the last few years alone – all few tiny square miles of it.

RIP – Ainsley Barrington, Leroy McKain, Brendan Hamilton, Chamberlain Igwemba, Damian Cope, Damilola Taylor, Dee Willis, Jason Major, Michael Dosunmu, Javarie Crighton, Lyle Tulloch, Marcus Hall, Michael Mckenzie, Perry Nelson Jr, Reuben Thomas, Shola Agora, Zainab Kalako.

Lets also remember some residents of Peckham murdered outside the boundaries of this small place – Andrew Wanagho, Jimo Plunkett, Melvin Bryan, Nathan Douglas, Philip Poru.

I could list at least 20 people convicted of murders in the recent past from this esteemed place, too.

With at least 22 dead bodies in recent years alone and a similar number of convicted murderers, it is still functioning very satisfactorily as a place synonymous with gang violence and knife crime, and hence is hardly a stereotype.

A few trendy galleries and skinny white boys wearing oversized specs thinking they are cool for living in a gritty place makes little impact on this.

“Yes, Peckham has a noticeable handful of skinny middle-class fops thinking they are making the area uber cool and when one of them actually gets murdered by a gang member, they’ll finally realise that their presence makes no difference on the level of violence that plagues the area. As the blood drains out of their shocked body, they will sigh with the last gasp of their breath “but I made your ‘hood trendy, bruv”.”

PLEASE JO,YOU DUN’ NO ABOUT PECKHAM.

This article is a fair representation of the growing arts community in South London.

Living in Peckham(which you don’t Jo),crime does not happen more regularly or more violently than it does in your area. Please don’t ever say the word ‘Bruv’ again, unfortunately you have shown your ignorance, by stereotyping a whole area.

nice one.

I don’t think Lowenna is trying to suggest that this has an impact on Peckham, I just think it’s an apt description of the area. I live down the road from Peckham…it’s not that bad!

Yes, Peckham has a noticeable handful of skinny middle-class fops thinking they are making the area uber cool and when one of them actually gets murdered by a gang member, they’ll finally realise that their presence makes no difference on the level of violence that plagues the area. As the blood drains out of their shocked body, they will sigh with the last gasp of their breath “but I made your ‘hood trendy, bruv”.