As part of Cockpit Deptford’s redevelopment, a run-down and un-used yard is being transformed into a new Craft Garden, open to all. The ambition is to fund this new garden, designed by Sebastian Cox, via a crowdfunding campaign which kicks off on 25th April.
The garden will be a gift to the local community, which has seen a loss of local green spaces, as the area has been developed and gentrified. The new garden will be an urban oasis that is open to all.
As well as being a space to relax and be inspired, it will host workshops and community events, alongside a new indoor learning and community space which is part of the new plans for the building, designed by Cooke Fawcett Architects.
Taking inspiration from Creekside’s unique ecological and industrial past, Sebastian Cox’s design for the new garden is centred on a birds-eye view of what this patch of land might have looked like had it been left untouched. Sinuous landscaping representing water will be edged with sediment using repurposed rubble from the building work, where drought-loving plants will thrive.
The area has a rich variety of flora, thanks to ships docking along Deptford Creek carrying seeds from far-flung places. Hence, plant species growing wild in the area include plants native to Greece and Mexico. All this will inspire the plant choices, as well as a desire to use plants that have a functional use for craft, for example those used in basketry and natural dyes.
The crowdfunding campaign kicks off on 25th April, on Art Happens (the crowdfunding platform fun by Art Fund). In return for their support, donors can expect to receive rewards that have been hand- made at Cockpit by current resident makers. The specific rewards available will be revealed at midday on Tuesday 25th April, when the campaign launches.
Register your interest be kept updated, and to recieve a sneak preview of the rewards before the campaign goes live.