Having lain dormant since the start of the pandemic, Kingswood House, a Victorian mansion and former library in West Dulwich, has been taken over by not-for-profit organisation Kingswood Arts.
Described as a ‘new palace of creativity’, the new-look Kingswood House aims to provide the community with free access to the arts and a place to congregate for everything from gardening sessions to weddings. The building reopened its doors this April with a programme of free youth activities including dance classes, art workshops and a children’s book club. It’s also taking part in this year’s Dulwich Festival (May 12 – 21), hosting a family carnival day on May 20.
The South Londoner spoke to Jack Hartshorn, co-founder and general manager of Kingswood Arts, to find out more about the offering at this new community hub…
You’re reopened Kingswood House as a community space offering a regular programme of free public activities. How different is the venue from what it was like before?
When we first came to visit the building on a dreary November day in late November 2021, it looked very different from today!
It had been unoccupied since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and had been suffering from water leaks and general wear and tear. There was a layer of dust as thick as a coin throughout most of the building! So it’s taken some serious elbow grease to get the place looking like it does today.
The ground floor is now looking sparkling and ready for our programme of community events, as well as weddings, classes and loads more.
Kingswood House is offering a lot of free youth events. How important is it that these events are open to everyone with no monetary barriers?
Our whole mission is to improve access to the arts for those who face barriers. We all know how important and influential being involved in music, theatre, dance and visual arts can be for young people. It opens up important conversations, improves skills and confidence, builds community and creates friendships. It can be truly life-changing.
The Kingswood estate is an area of low access to arts and culture, and the area has historically been isolated from other parts of the borough with better cultural provision. With less and less funding available for local councils, it falls to organisations like ours to help create opportunities. But we need support from outside, and many people who live nearby never venture here or engage with the residents. This is a massive shame, as there is an amazing community with a huge amount to offer here.
From the outside, Kingswood House looks like a stately home, which might lead some people to worry the space is ‘not for them’. How will you go about shifting that perspective and ensuring the community knows they’re welcome?
Making this place truly accessible, relevant and welcoming to everyone in our community is super important and one of our first challenges. We think it’s all about creating lots of reasons for people to be here. So to anybody reading this, we have: arts classes, events, a cafe, free access to WiFi and computers, our local MPs’ surgery, community gardening, office space, the facilities to host weddings and loads more! We are also working extremely closely with other local organisations like the Kingswood Estate Tenants and Residents association, Paxton Green Time Bank, the Friends of Kingswood House, Dulwich Wood School and others to ensure we are reaching as many people as we can.
What do you ultimately hope Kingswood House, under its new identity, offers the community?
It really can change lives. Whilst the arts can be a great vehicle for change, they can also benefit economics, health, expansion of skills and employment. If we are successful and get the right support and partnerships, the programmes and activities that will take place here over the next 25 years can be truly monumental and we are ambitious to make this a reality sooner rather than later. Our message to the public? ‘Come and get involved!’.
Kingswood Arts can be found at Kingswood House, Seeley Drive, Southwark, SE21 8QN.
To find out more about the events programme and venue hire, visit: www.kingswoodarts.com/home
