A historic part of London, closely associated with London’s mercantile success in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Deptford suffered for much of the twentieth century. It was heavily bombed during the second world war, and then subjected to decades of economic decline as the riverside and shipbuilding industries so central to its history collapsed. Much of the modern public housing and buildings of the 1950s and 1960s did little to either maintain Deptford’s character or revitalize its economic base.

Since 2002, Raw Nerve has been playing a key role in shaping Deptford’s growing cultural and creative sector, and has taken a strong interest in the regeneration of the town centre and promotion of local resources with its online showcasing platform RSVP London. A recent example of this is The Deptford Project, a collaboration between Raw Nerve and property developers Cathedral Group, who have been transforming a neglected yard to the rear of Deptford High Street into a vibrant and creative space. Their programme of activities began in dramatic fashion when, in the early hours of February 14th 2008, they presented the people of Deptford with a ’35-tonne Valentine’s gift’ – a 57-seat 1960s train carriage, which had been transformed into a community space with a café and pop-up arts-and crafts markets featuring the wares of local designer-makers and live music.

Award-winning designer Morag Myerscough was commissioned to produce the visual identity for the carriage, and since its inception it has helped attract new visitors to the area has been featured widely in the press and media. More importantly, however, it has been welcomed by the local community, who are involved with Raw Nerve in ongoing ideas and future plans for The Deptford Project.

Update: The Deptford Project was featured in the ‘Super Contemporary‘ exhibition at the Design Museum and has appeared in blogs and magazines globally. The project picked up an “Environmental Graphics” award in D&AD 2009 and has been featured in British Council’s initiative Creative Cities and will be featured in the Mayor of London’s forthcoming Cultural Strategy.

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