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Street art gallery to draw crowds beyond the Portobello ‘Berlin Wall’
Ruth Bloomfield13 May 2009
It is known locally as the Berlin Wall, dividing thriving Portobello Road Market from its run down north end.
Now a campaign has been launched to tempt tourists and Londoners to venture to the furthest reaches of the thoroughfare, by turning the wall into an art gallery.
Artists have been invited to create a series of installations along the 300-metre wall which runs along Portobello Road after it passes beneath the Westway.
Critically acclaimed sculptor Hew Locke has created a collage of share certificates to comment on the financial crisis and reflect the cosmopolitan and trading character of the area.
It will be unveiled tomorrow and displayed for three months. Royal Academy graduate Liane Lang is creating an interactive piece in which a camera films passers-by and projects their reactions on to the wall.
Cllr Nicholas Paget Brown, Kensington and Chelsea's regeneration chief, said: “We want people to explore north of the Westway, including the shops and stalls on Golborne Road which many people don't even know exists. The idea is to use the wall to commission temporary works of art to draw the eye and hopefully people further north.
“The piece that Hew Locke has produced ties in with what the market is all about — trading, produce and an incredibly diverse population that comes from all over the world.”
The council has invested in trees and street improvements for the area. It hopes to rebrand Golborne Road as London's leading African food market. “We want it to be a destination in its own right,” said Mr Paget Brown.
“Portobello Road is a wonderful antiques market, but it is more than that.”
Meanwhile, a network of community kitchen gardens is to be set up across Kensington. Council chiefs are identifying semiderelict land which can be leased to residents' associations, clubs and schools to grow fresh fruit and vegetables.
The council will provide seeds, tools and composts, and will supervise the work.
