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Pictures on our streets show we need more art in Croydon

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Paintings on the railings: Croydon has the benefit of a large set of works in the National Gallery’s Art On Your Doorstep exhibition 

CROYDON COMMENTARY: Pablo Picasso said, ‘Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life’, and PETER UNDERWOOD believes that our borough, and its many outstanding arts organisations, could do with a bit more of the dust being washed away 

As I was walking through Croydon l, I saw people attaching works of art to the fencing along Queen’s Gardens. This turned out to be The National Gallery: Art On Your Doorstep project.

Unexpected delights: a Stubbs equestrian painting in Park Hill puts Croydon’s tower blocks in perspective

It was really great to see an open-air exhibition like this, and I spent some time looking at the artworks and their captions. I was familiar with some of the pictures, while some were new to me. But I still learnt something new from each description.

I believe that everyone should have some form of creativity or art in their life, whatever form that takes: painting; writing; playing an instrument; arranging some flowers; even cooking your favourite dish.

We are forced to spend too much of our time only doing things that others pay us to do or the things that we feel we have to do. Being creative allows us to do something we love, something we want to do. One of the other joys of creativity is the impact it can have on other people. Lots of us gain great joy from listening, viewing, reading or tasting the creations of other people. As Pablo Picasso said, “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

The same is true in our public realm. Too often the focus is only on how much things cost or how much money they make. Too little thought is given to whether this makes our world more beautiful and whether this will make people happier.

In the current financial situation at Croydon Council, we need to be sensible about how we spend money, but it feels like those making decisions often look at only the cost of everything and don’t understand its real value.

The Fairfield Halls is a classic example of this.

‘Jewel in Croydon’s crown’: the Fairfield Halls has suffered a chequered past few years, with a botched and incomplete refurbishment costing the council £72m

There has been a lot of focus on the amount of money spent on the Fairfield Halls, and there are still important questions that remain unanswered, but I believe that the far more important issue is why this venue is still failing Croydon on all levels.

It isn’t providing a regular schedule of top-quality touring performers. It isn’t doing enough to support the resident theatre group Talawa or the London Mozart Players, it kicked out the Yamaha music school, and it seems rarely, if ever, to work with the multi-award-winning talents of the Brit School.

It is also completely failing as a centre for local arts and culture.

The Fairfield Halls should be a vibrant hub in Croydon arts scene. Instead, it sits mostly empty and unused. There’s not even a single National Gallery picture on display on the Fairfield Halls’ doorstep.

Croydon’s year as London’s Borough of Culture was another wasted opportunity. Some organisations have seen some benefit, but it could have been so much more. I still don’t understand why so much money was given to an organisation of Croydon businesses instead of being given to Croydon’s arts organisations.

Missed opportunity: business groups, such as Croydon BID, got grants when arts groups received nothing for the year as Borough of Culture

This is especially problematic given that Croydon is full of so many grassroots organisations doing their best to support the arts and artists, old and new. Turf Projects has done an amazing job of promoting artists and bringing local people into the arts. There are theatre groups and performing arts groups all across Croydon. I have read out my poetry at a few events in Croydon, and I know there are so many more I haven’t yet visited.

The smaller groups are often getting by on shoestring budgets with lots of volunteer time, but they deserve so much more support from politicians at national and local level.

Most people associate politics with the nasty and unpleasant side of life. But one of the things I’ve always loved about Green politics is the understanding that politics should be so much more than budgets, power games and arguing with other parties. The fundamental point of politics is to make people’s lives better and that’s why one of Croydon Green Party’s key pledges at every local election is to make Croydon happier.

I find that writing poetry brings me lots of happiness and I know that being creative and enjoying the creative work of others brings so much joy to all of us. Art and creativity shouldn’t be a side issue in politics: it should be a vital part of every plan for government at national and local levels.

We all have different tastes in art and not everything we see or hear will inspire us, so diversity is important. Paintings from the National Gallery may not light everybody’s fire but I applaud this project to bring some beauty to our streets and public spaces.

Something to make us stop and think and feel and admire and improve our day. To quote another artist, Auguste Rodin: “The main thing is to be moved, to love, to hope, to tremble, to live.”

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