Old Kent Road studios
Help us transform 60 vacant garages on the Ledbury Estate into spaces for workshops, studios, cooking lessons and cultural activities where people can learn and socialise. Pledge your skills below!
About the Project Creator
PemPeople (People Empowering People) was set up in 2010 as a non-profit social enterprise organisation by founder and community enabler – Nicholas Okwulu, who has been delivering and engaging with communities in Southwark and Lambeth, especially in the Livesey and Coldharbour wards. The aim of the organisation is to foster skills, motivate and give capacity to residents to deliver projects in their communities. Pempeople’s mission is to empower people and communities to help themselves.
The proposed Livesey_exchange project has been initiated by Nicholas Okwulu, founder of Pempeople, vice chair of the Friary and Unwin Estate and Associate of Tate Modern. Okwulu has a strong track record in running transformative locally-focused employment schemes through his non-profit organisation PemPeople, with successful schemes in Brixton (the Loughborough Estate Bike Shop) and Peckham (Pop Up Shop).
In May 2015 Nicholas was awarded the Honorary Liberty of the Old Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell and in 2013 was selected Community Activist of the Year by the London Borough of Southwark. In 2013 Nicholas nominated the Unwin and Friary Estate TRA for the Kaercher Cleans Britain Award and was selected winner. A clean up of the estate and visit from TV presenter and property developer Sarah Beeney followed involving the hand over of the prize, a pressure washer.
Since 2015 Pempeople work in collaboration with architecture practice what if: projects on the design and development of the Livesey Exchange. Ulrike Steven director of what if: projects is a local resident of the Unwin and Friary Estate and founding member of the Peckham weeklies community interest group.
The team responsible for building or installing the project.