A graffiti club in Southwark opened their doors to a new youth initiative at the beginning of the year and have already noticed the benefits it has on the special educational needs (SEN) children who attend.
The club called Cockney Green, which is based at LEX2 and founded in 2019 by partners Kathryn McGuinness and Alan Davies after running a summer school at the Wooldridge Army Barracks, believes in the ‘power of paint’ to teach children to learn without prejudice or discrimination.
The majority of the graffiti club attendees face difficulties at school, with many expressing their concerns with bullies or issues in typical classroom learning.
With a large number of these children also being diagnosed with SEN, the club has become a safe haven for learning and spraying.
McGuinness said: “People have so many misconceptions about children with SEN but these children don’t learn to write their name in graffiti style, but through writing in patterns.
“They know it isn’t vandalism but an expression.”
Each session, which takes place fortnightly, sees 10-15 children clad in PPE spraying their designs onto walls, sculptures and t-shirts.
But it isn’t only art they are learning – confidence and self-expression are also key objectives. The youth club follows a 6 week teaching period spanning art history, vinyl printing, sculpting, guest speakers and honest conversations.
Despite the impressive impact the club is having on those who attend, it is fully self-funded by McGuinness and Davies and relies heavily on support from other local businesses to provide the necessary supplies.
This is due, in part, to Transport for London (TfL) boss Andy Lord revealing in December that up to £11million is being spent annually on removing graffiti from Tube trains.
He said a “spike” in tagging Tube carriages – especially on the Bakerloo and Central Lines – was costing TfL “between £10m and £11m”.
In a pitch for funding from Southwark council for Cockney Green, McGuinness and Davies were met with resistance for the regular association of vandalism with this urban art form.
Graffiti has long been a public nuisance with ‘tagging’ increasingly becoming more prominent resulting in police raiding a home earlier this year to catch a graffiti vandal who caused more than £250,000 worth of graffiti damage on the London Underground.
A TfL worker tasked with removing graffiti from outside London Bridge Station. Credit: Myfanwy Fleming-Jones
Despite the negative connotations of graffiti, Cockney Green is turning the artistic talent behind the spray can art into doing more good than harm.
McGuinness said: “So many children who come through the door are home schooled and are not confident but they leave with a sense of pride that belongs to the group.”
The pair even reported that one boy is now managing to attend three days of school a week, a significant increase from the zero he was attending when he first started at the club.
The founding pair are hopeful to receive funding to continue their work with the children who attend and to keep using graffiti for good.
The club’s founders wanted to add their gratitude to Nicholas Okwulu, Mur Walls, Crown Paint and Selko for the supplies gifted to them and the community of other local businesses in Cockney that have helped them so far.
Southwark council have been contacted for comment.
Featured image credit: Cockney Green
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