The Thicket
An art gallery opened on Saturday at ‘The Thicket’, to raise funds for the Norwood Library, Crystal Palace.
Lightbox, a local developer, in conjunction with Bigger Picture Gallery organised the art exhibition to re-develop a former local pub, ‘The Thicket’ and raise funds for the greatly underfunded Upper Norwood Joint Library.
Neville De Souza, Director of Lightbox and a resident of Gipsy Hill said: “Lightbox is donating the exhibition space free to the local artists and twenty-five percent from the artwork sold goes to the Upper Norwood Joint Library, Westow Hill, Crystal Palace”.
“We raised funds to acquire the old pub – ‘Thicket Tavern’ which was in a dilapidated state and keep it as one of the edifices in our community. We have applied for it to be listed as a national structure. This present effort is a show of our commitment to community development and creating an avenue for local artists to make good money for their quality works’’ he noted.
De Souza added: “This is an opportunity to showcase some of the best talents we got from the thriving artistic community in Crystal Palace and the surrounding areas. Members of the public would have the opportunity to meet the artists”.
Edward Robert
Art Gallery Visitor
Edward Robert, 81, a resident of Crystal Palace and a visitor at the exhibition said: “ I am entirely supportive and grateful for the development here. I just hope it would last, because it would be most disappointing to find a pub taking over The Thicket again”.
The artists exhibiting include; Angelique Hartigan, Michael Burles, Roy Peterson, Amanda Bracken, Staffan Gnosspelius, Liz Charsley-Jory, Dan McDermott, Tim Goffe and Guy Beggs.
L-R:
Liz Charsley-Jory and
Tim Goffe (Artists)
Angelique Hartigan, one of the founders of Bigger Picture Gallery said: “We are delighted to work with Lightbox to launch its latest project on Anerley Hill – The Thicket. We are also very pleased to support our much loved local library”.
“We will assist in sustaining a significant arts movement and hope to return our local area to the cultural destination that it once was” Hartigan added.
Robert Gibson, representing of the Upper Norwood Library Campaign said: “This is a very generous initiative from a community orientated developer and our local artists. Crystal Palace is very proud of its unique independent library which serves all five boroughs of Crystal Palace”.
Gibson acknowledged that the entire community has rallied round to protect the Norwood Library. “Local musicians have already raised money for the library and now our artists. It makes me very proud to be a resident of Crystal Palace” he said.
Artworks on exhibition at The Thicket, Anerly Hill, Crystal Palace.
The gallery is open to the public free, from 10am to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays from June 15 until August 11.
