Over the past two decades, the Bussey Building has established itself as a centre for studios specialising in artistic activity and experimentation. Rabbet, run by (another!) husband and wife duo, Sarah and Josh, have been a part of this community for the past 4 years offering an array of services from framing to art installation for the artists of the Bussey Building and beyond.

Rabbet began 4 years ago as a part-time hobby for Josh and his friends while he was working as the Collections and Technical Operations Manager for the Arts Council Collection.

Josh saw Copeland Park and Peckham as the ideal place to build connections within a burgeoning artistic community. This hunch proved correct and Rabbet soon established itself as a key part of Copeland Park and the Bussey Building with local artists providing a steady stream of framing work.

This model continued relatively unchanged until last year when a second iteration of Rabbet was born. A gallery space became available on the ground floor of the Bussey Building which crystalised some new ideas Rabbet had been toying with. This opportunity coincided with Sarah being made redundant after the exhibition build company she worked for had gone into administration. “I loved the idea of being self-employed, doing more hands-on work and working with Josh, as we had so much enthusiasm for the new space and the business idea.”

After seeing first-hand how precarious working in the arts can be, Sarah was adamant that if they were to take on this larger space and increased financial responsibility, they had to diversify their offering. “Josh had always wanted a gallery space and we both loved the idea of having studios alongside the workshop.” Sarah was also able to add to Rabbet’s offering through her background in company management. The Copeland Park Resident Team were impressed with this holistic approach and Rabbet soon got to work making these ideas a reality.

Staying within Peckham and their Copeland Park network was key to making this new model work. “The site has always offered us a chance to meet and make connections with people all the time, sometimes just by chance and often in SOCIAL having an after work drink.” Rabbet have also spread their reach outside of Copeland Park, recently collaborating with local print studio Sonsoles during this year’s Peckham Festival, running beginner screen printing workshops and hosting an exhibition – “it’s what the festival spirit is all about.”

After just over a year since the move, Rabbet have hit a great balance with a combination of domestic and gallery clients utilising their framing services, thriving studios with a friendly community feel (“no egos allowed”), and a busy schedule of exhibitions working with guest curators as well as hiring directly to artists. “The gallery is a great size for a lot of local young artists looking for a smaller space for their first or second show.”

Rabbet plan to continue to make their name beyond framing and help promote the work of the young artists that inhabit their studio space – as well as continuing to collaborate with the host of artists and creatives that call the Bussey Building home. “The end goal is to become a bit of an artistic landmark within Copeland Park and Peckham, as a go-to for art services but also as a gallery and studio space showcasing innovative new work.”

You can find Rabbet in Unit DG.1, on the ground floor of the Bussey Building, Copeland Park with gallery opening hours advertised on their Instagram – visits to the workshop are by appointment only currently.

Rabbet will also be running a pop-up Christmas shop this year over the weekend of 14-15th December where local creatives will be selling their work. Be sure to keep an eye out for more details very soon.

 

Photos by Stella McGarvey