This June, Croydon hosts Art On Our Doorstep: Croydon’s Contemporary Art Fair, a three‑day celebration of the borough’s vibrant visual arts sector. From 12-14 June, the Whitgift Centre will become a large‑scale pop‑up gallery showcasing contemporary work by 29 Croydon‑connected artists, alongside a wider programme of open studio tours with Turf Studios, hands‑on workshops, creative activities for all ages and live music.
Spanning painting, photography, textiles, ceramics and mixed media, the fair highlights the breadth of artistic talent rooted in the borough. The exhibiting artists were selected through an open call in partnership with Turf Projects. Visitors will encounter work by artists such as Agata Nowak, whose clay and print‑based practice centres on community connection; Ameena Rojee, an internationally exhibited Croydon photographer exploring our relationship with the natural world; and Georgia McKenzie, whose oil paintings draw on portraiture and realism, including her recent commission inspired by Croydon composer Samuel Coleridge‑Taylor. Other featured artists include Helen Holmes, José Rafael Mendes, Marcia John, Sharon Flowers and Skye Baker, reflecting the diversity of Croydon’s creative landscape.
Alongside the main exhibition, the weekend will feature a programme of indoor and outdoor activity for all ages. Turf Projects, Croydon’s homegrown contemporary art space, will open all four floors of its Whitgift Centre unit for a special open studios event, offering a rare chance to explore the working spaces of more than 40 artists. Turf’s gallery and its current exhibition, Tending, will also be open, alongside free creative activities led by studio artists.
In Trinity Square, artist collective Get It Done present Inflato, a series of drop‑in workshops allowing everyone to build a DIY inflatable playground and explore everyday materials in new, sustainable and sensory ways
In Sainsbury’s Square, Leap Then Look bring Play Interact Explore, an interactive exhibition inviting visitors to experiment with sculpture, sound, moving image and performance using large‑scale, reconfigurable materials.
Throughout Croydon North End, performance artist Jon Hicks will stage his signature large‑scale speed‑painting pieces across the weekend. At Pollock’s Toy Museum visitors can explore a mini‑museum of theatres, toys and games, with a free paper pop‑up workshop on Saturday 13 June. Music will run throughout the fair with DJ sets from Croydon‑based organisation Beats & Eats, Bonnie Diver and Heavadny in the Whitgift Centre. There will also be an opportunity to see artwork from Croydon College and Coulsdon College students on display in Sainsbury’s Square.
A highlight of the weekend will be the public reveal of the Croydon Masterpiece, a series of four large‑scale artworks by award‑winning artist Rachel Gadsden created by collaging artwork from over 200 local participants. Through a series of workshops in February residents of all ages contributed drawings inspired by Croydon and by reproductions of National Gallery paintings currently on display around the borough. Gadsden has assembled these into a monumental artwork celebrating the people, stories and spirit of Croydon, which will be unveiled at the fair.
The event forms part of the wider Art On Your Doorstep programme, which brings reproductions of 30 iconic National Gallery paintings to public spaces across Croydon until 5 July.
Executive Mayor of Croydon, Jason Perry said: “Art On Our Doorstep is a fantastic celebration of Croydon’s creativity, talent and community spirit. Bringing artists, families and visitors together across the town centre, this weekend showcases the imagination and diversity that make our borough so special. I’m delighted to see our cultural spaces, studios and public areas come alive with activity, and I hope residents of all ages will enjoy everything on offer.”
