Design challenge for Deptford

Some of the UK’s most prominent designers have been invited to take part in the Deptford Design Market Challenge, a project aimed at raising awareness of the area as a ‘creative hub’.

Stuart Haygarth, Terence Conran, Ron Arad, Gitta Gschwendtner, Tom Dixon and Simon Waterfall are among those invited to take part in the project conceived by Deptford design collective Raw Nerve, in partnership with Creative Lewisham Agency.

Designers will be asked to redesign or reinterpret a second-hand object bought from Deptford market.

The redesigned objects will be curated by Catherine McDermott, consultant curator at the Design Museum, and exhibited from 15-16 September at the Royal Festival Hall, as part of the London Design Festival 2007.

Raw Nerve has created the branding and website for the project, which is due to launch on 15 June.

‘Since Creative Lewisham Agency was set up, we have partnered with it and been proactive in promoting Deptford as a creative hub. There’s a more underground vibe than somewhere like Hoxton. Deptford Design has taken part in the London Design Festival since 2003, but this is the first project of its kind. We wanted to open up the area and promote its heritage,’ says Raw Nerve founding director Rebecca Molina.