Tony Coleman tells the Camberwell Society’s exciting and ever unfolding public art story
Look around Camberwell and you start to see public art everywhere – bold murals, striking sculptures and playful signage. Since 2018, the Camberwell Society has quietly helped shape this visual landscape, with public art that turns everyday spaces into something richer, brighter and more connected.
Many of these works have been created in collaboration with Camberwell Arts, with public engagement at their heart. Local people have had a hand in shaping what appears on their streets, while students from Sacred Heart Catholic School, guided by art teacher Joseph Cartwright, have contributed through creative workshops – making this not just art to look at, but art rooted in community.
From station platforms to backstreets, these pieces tell stories about place, identity and belonging. And they are noticed: a Southwark Council survey found that more people liked the public art at Denmark Hill station than any other in the borough.
The Society has either commissioned, installed or helped to fund all of the following pieces of public art:
• Camberwell sign opposite the Phoenix pub
• Camberwell C’s and Butterfly mural at the back of
Butterfly Walk Shopping Centre
• Camberwell sign at the junction of Church Street and
Benhill Road
• Camberwell sign at the Piano Factory on Peckham Road
• Installations at Denmark Hill station
• Decorative tiling at Denmark Hill station
• Mural under the bridge on Wyndham Road
• Sculptures by Godfried Donkor at Denmark Hill station
• Kye White mural at Masterman House, Bowyer Place
• Camberwell Black History Walk Panels designed by Tayo Fatunla
• Art panels for the old Camberwell Station by Diana Zrnic (waiting to be erected)
• Sacred Water Mural by Shauna Anseo at Eastlake Road (under design)
• All the World is Now Richer, sculptures by Sokari Douglas
Camp for Bowyer Place (fund raising commencing)
FROM THE CAMBERWELL QUARTERLY
