Dalston shares its creative vibe with the V&A Museum

Dalston shared its creative vibe with West London on Friday night, when artists, musicians and actors took over the prestigious Victoria and Albert museum.

It was the first of four Friday “lates” which sees the decorative arts and design museum in South Kensington, better known as the V&A, open its doors to interesting communities.

Newton Dunbar, founder of the Four Aces Club played reggae tunes and people enjoyed performances from the Arcola Theatre and short film screenings from the Bootstrap Company. Performance artist Sam ‘AngrySam’ Berkson read a specially commissioned poem about Ridley Road Market in a rant about Dalston’s gentrification.

Meanwhile the Dalston Eastern Curve Garden transformed a formal courtyard garden, inviting visitors to relax on beanbags, pallet chairs and coffee sack seats and enjoy artworks including bunting and scarecrows designed by children at the Dalston Children’s Festival launch and breezeblock gargoyles carved by adults, as well as a tree hung with giant paper pompom flowers.

Marie Murray who manages the garden said: “We were delighted by the response on the night from the Museum’s visitors.

They all had smiles on their faces and were queuing up to have their pictures taken with our scarecrows.

“It was great fun too joining our friends and neighbours from other organisations to help show off a little bit of Dalston.”