Making Connections
Hidden above the platforms of Peckham Rye station is the Old Waiting Room — a beautiful Victorian space, empty for nearly 50 years. Lost Text/Found Space partnered with the local community and the Arch Company to bring it back to life.
Making Connections is our ongoing community arts programme in this unique space — bringing together artists, performers, filmmakers and local residents for events that are free or Pay What You Can. Over two seasons in 2023 and 2024 we presented site-specific theatre, art installations, an immersive film festival, community workshops, talks and live music.
Led by Creative Director Rebecca McCutcheon, supported by Arts Council England and Southwark Council's Thriving High Streets Fund.
Making Connections 2023
Making Connections 2024
Over Exposed 2024
Making Connections 2023
Our six-week pilot season brought performances, workshops and community events to the Old Waiting Room — all free or Pay What You Can. Highlights included the research and development of Still Lives, Sonic Cloud Bath by holobiont, Peckham's Palace of Varieties, and a community residency by artist Mark Pearson. Supported by Southwark Council's Thriving High Streets Fund.20 October — 18 November 2023
By Em BW as part of Waiting Round (2023)
Sonsoles Print Studio Takeover (2023)
By Em BW as part of Waiting Round (2023)
Cloud bath with artists Holobiont & musicians Laura Misch & Slow Moon (2023)
Ganapti South Indian food at Making Connections (2023)
Ganapti South Indian food at Making Connections (2023)
Peckham Writes Review Book Takeover
Cast & Director of Still Lives (2024)
Afghan kite-making (2023)
Anna Burns' Gut Feelings show (2024)
Still Lives rehearsal (2024)
Still Lives Tech Teams (2024)
Sonsoles Print Studio Exhibit (2023)
By Anna Schlinn as part of Waiting Room (2023)
Still Lives cast & creative workshop at Harris Academy for Girls
Making Connections Evaluation (2024)
Still Lives rehearsal (2024)
Making Connections 2024
Building on the 2023 pilot, Making Connections 2024 presented a series of installations, site-specific theatre, film screenings, large-scale artworks, talks and community workshops — all designed and directed by majority female, marginalised or under-represented artists. Highlights included a full-scale production of Still Lives and the immersive dome film festival Over Exposed. The season was supported by Arts Council England and Southwark Council's Thriving High Streets Fund.
1 June — 14 July 2024
Over Exposed Full Dome Film Festival 2024
A four-day immersive 360° dome film festival celebrating connection and togetherness, co-curated by South London filmmaker Em BW. Audio-visual experiences invited visitors to explore narratives of female, non-binary and non-human vulnerability — with softness, creativity and without judgement. Featured artists: Em BW · Alice Kilkenny · Anna Schlimm · Michaela French · Xiyao Chen · Meera Shakti Osborne.
26–29 June 2024
Into the Sublime by Alice Kilkenny
Woooooe by Anna Schlimm
Every Breath a Cosmos by Xiyao Chen
Sunshines in The Ends by Meera Shakti Osborn
Cyclical Minds by EmBW
In Here, Out There by Michaela French
Conversation Playground Alice Kilkenny by EmBW & Teddy Hunter