Transcribed interviews with people in the Peabody centres whilst attending classes and talking to participants and staff.
PEABODY DARWIN COURT
18th Feb 2019
Jeffrey Parkinson - Runs the Monday afternoon free art class
Within communities, you’ve got different age groups who require different things - you’ve got to be able to deliver those things that have got an empathy and knowledge of what they need. Theres a big project in kings Cross taking place - theres a lot of young people who are unemployed - they showed photos of them. One’s working with the children and they’ve actually got out of unemployment into work.
What do you think about who uses the centres and how?
Well that’s a crucial point. A building is only a building - it’s the people that make it. What they do and how they function. In this particular building its a residential for the over 50s.Theres not a lot of intercommunication between people. It’s the older generation in the building that live here - it’s a sheltered housing situation. People want their own individual privacy. These things are what bring people together. Not everyones happy to give that a try. They don’t know each other. That’s part of the challenge - whenever I meet anybody, I try to engage them in the class.
Do you host any other events here?
I only run the art class here, so I’m probably not the best person to speak to!
I’m glad you’re here. One of the things about the visual arts - see Turner - he was looking at the sky all this life. The fact that you’re here. Over time, you get to meet different people - and it’s only over time that you get to see their needs. It wasn’t just art they needed. They needed a bridge of humanity to express their ideas and what they’re about. In the art class we have tea and cakes - that is part of it. Someone might have had a hip operation and they are next to someone who is about to have a hip operation. It’s confidence.Thats what you’re talking about - people and an identity - to get that you need the knowledge. Im currently running 3 of these classes for Peabody and they’re all very different. Each of them are attached to different job centres - they come and do art to relax as it can be very stressful looking for a job.It can be soul destroying if you’re being rejected or not being replied to. So art can be referred by the medical centres so that they can relax.
John - Attends the art class every Monday
I’m the treasurer for the tenants association which is down on the Aylesbury. I just get involved in Pembroke House - on Thursday they have a meal there for £3, and they have bingo afterwards. I know everybody on the estate they’ve got about 819 flats. I deliver the leaflets - when I do that I walk up the heigh of Something. Pauls Cathedral.
What leaflets do you take around?
Well the next one is the AGM which is 29th April. Im the treasurer so I get involved in the books and all the rest of it. You get involved as you get older. Last Saturday the council gave away 420,000 to various courses. The 3 councillors in your area digest what they’ve got - so say the money for this art class - and they say we’ll give £400 to this art class. So they’ve got money to give away - whether it be plants, flowers.
Do you feel the council listen to what you want?
No. We’ve tried to get the question time at the beginning of the session not the end, because they say ‘oh we haven’t got time for questions now, we’re packing up now.’
Took some photos in 1972 for a photography class learning how to develop and such. Thats how you get to know the counsellors. You get to solve the problem once you say, ‘where you going? Oh I’m walking home with you!’I deliver leaflets for the Liberals, for Labour, the Conservatives - everybody thinks I’m working for them. Classic con-man! When I applied for another art class, I said to the bloke at the council, how can I get this. He said ‘oh just put in for £1000 John, you’ll get £750.’ I said how do you know that? He said ‘I’m on the committee and I decide who gets the money!’ So all the time its knowing who you know to get you money.
Do you come down here a lot them?
- Yeah every Monday for 2 years. You see you get the cake here, you’ve gotta eat the cake.
PEABODY SUNDIAL CENTRE
25th Feb 2019
The Golden Girls - June, Margaret
We do stalls to sell our knitting to get money for our group. We sell these poppies for £1.50 in the shop in Romford
What does community mean to you?
You meet people, it’s something for you to do every day/most days. Its someone to chat to. Otherwise you’d be sitting there looking at yourself thinking - god I don’t want to be looking at this anymore.We have to form committees within our club to get things done. Natasha - the outreach worker - organises a lot of activities for us. We need to have people involved from Peabody that will get us all together. Peabody let us have the room - we have too pay for that room - but it’s what we organise in the committee and what money we have in the kitty. We encourage everybody from Hackney, Islington, Canary Wharf, they all come to this way - you think, they won’t go that far - they’re old! But they all come, we cant be that bad can we. Well the free bus pass does help.If they took that away no one would go outWhen they start moaning about going to stop it - we’ll all go on the march. You cant ban the free bus pass. We’ll have the yellow vests on!
At least we’ve got somewhere we can go - they’re good here. Mind you, we’re good with them too. We’re quite well liked here, we’re included in everythingWe do cause quite a lot of trouble as well!We do as we please don’t we reallyWe’ve been going since 2001. When princess Anne came down and opened it - we’ve been going ever since then. We’ve expanded a bit - 19 years its been!
How does having this centre help you to feel like you have a community?
It’s nice when you wake up in the morning you’ve got somewhere you can go. You’re not thinking another day, sitting there watching the telly, its something you can do every day. It’s either come here or do the washing - there’s no contest really!
What do your families think of you using the centre?
My 3 children phone me every day to say what have you done today mum? I say, I’ve got the quiz. They know if I don’t come here, I’ll be indoors all day.
How about the men using the centre?
Well they started a gardening group out here for the men but I mean that only lasted a little while. Then one stopped coming and then another stopped and that was it.There was a carpentry group
Why do you think that is?
Well I don’t think men are too much into the chat bit. We come and chat about anything, whereas men don’t open up as much as a lady does.Your generation will be different though.I think they need more mixed groups - it’s no good doing these things for men or for women
PEABODY BRUCE HOUSE CENTRE
1st March 2019
Jeffrey Parkinson - Runs the art class
This whole place - Bruce House - it was Peabody owned, but there’s different projects here now. See that one is Centrepoint - where they work with more teenagers that are on the streets. Then you’ve got the mental health who are run by LookAhead - this is the short term housing crisis situations for homeless people. We did this mural, these are all the clients in the room. For example that’s Damian, you know he’s into the animal stuff. This is a lady who works for a Korean technology company - she comes over in her holidays to the art class. That’s Steve - who you met - he uses spray paints. I was phoned up 3 weeks before this mural happened. The lady from Peabody called me up and said ‘we need a mural, in 3 weeks time, can you do it?’ so I said ‘well its a tall order in 3 weeks - what size is it, what does it need to be? But I’ll do my best.’We painted it in the rain under an umbrella as there was this deadline - the Mayor and all the top people had to be here to open it - it had to be finished you see. We had one guy in the class from the homeless centre with 6 months contracts. He was really pretty at art. He said to me ‘I’m gonna run away, I don’t like to be inclosed - I think I can eat better on the move’ he kept saying ‘I’m gonna go I’m gonna hand my keys in’ he was very good at art. He just disappeared, then I heard he’d handed the keys in. Some of the hostels the clients just want to go back on the streets - their friends are there. Some people say they get better fed on the streets than they do in the hostels.
Steve Latner - art class participant Instagram @letsraveten
How long have you been coming to the art class here?
About 3 years now.
Do you go to any of the other art classes or just the one here?
I once went to the one in the Angel yeah.
Have you always been into painting?
No, I went travelling around the world when I was 30. I saw people doing batik and I thought I wouldn’t mind trying that. I’ve always been into photography since I was very young. So I decided to go to a class who did silkscreen printing and batik in London. Then I decided to do a degree in textiles but they sent me over to Viscom instead.
Where did you do your degree?
UEL (University of East London) then I ended up working there for some years. They didn’t let me do textiles as they just wanted pretty young women or unthreatening gay men.
What sort of viscom work were you into?
For my final project I did an interactive Introduction to Photography for small children. I’ve been a photography teacher for years.I made an interactive poster for a community centre as well. I taught photoshop for years so I like to come here and get off the computer.
Wendy Stone - Art class participant
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