After over a decade of supporting young people through music and mentorship, Peckham Studios is running out of funds and is at risk of closure. 

For over 15 years, Peckham Studios has been offering free music making sessions to young people from South London and beyond. 

From taking musical instrument lessons, to being mentored by our professional sound engineers and music tutors, hundreds of young and seasoned musicians/producers have been benefitting from free access to professional studios with high-end equipment to create and develop their own music.

But if on the surface Peckham Studios is mostly offering young people opportunities to create music through the free of charge use of its equipment and access to music tutors sound engineers, in reality, Peckham Studios offers so much more:

• It is a safe place for young people to put words on their personal experiences and feelings through songwriting
• It shows young people the positive power of setting goals for themselves and a means to achieving their aspirations and dreams
• It offers a sense of community by bringing young people from Peckham and the wider area together
• It sparks hope and passion, channelling young people's energy into personal projects that help shape their identity and improve their future prospects

As per a study by Southwark Council, young people have said that "knowing people locally and having a strong sense of community increases a sense of safety". Young people have also said that "they felt that a local hub is needed that offers courses about things like apprenticeships."

Meet Henry and Priscilla, two young people using the space as well as Naye, our sound engineer and mentor, to learn more about how Peckham Studios have been changing lives and prospects in the area since 2010. 

A number of our young people have released their songs on major streaming platforms, and a collective album was released in 2019. We are also rightly proud of the Peckham Studios alumni who have gone on to pursue higher education in the music industry at the ELAM Academy. 

And for many others who come through our studios' doors, the impact by them, and upon them is no less impressive. We have seen young people growing in confidence, passing educational courses, finding their voice to express their identity and aspiring for a better life for themselves. 

Unfortunately, due to a lack of funding since the Covid-19 pandemic, the studios have only been able to open for 4 hours a week; such funding pressures threaten the very existence of Peckham Studios in the short term; and this also restricts our ability  to make the studio open to more young people, despite the huge need and many requests for it to continue providing opportunities for South London's creative young people.

"We need to keep the studios open to keep young people away from the street and help them channel their energy into something else" Jade, 23.

Help us raise £60,000 (campaign extended!)

PLEASE HELP US to continue enriching Peckham's modern-day history by providing a positive platform for the area's young people to create, develop and expand their musical horizons.

Like London and Peckham itself, Peckham Studios is the proverbial cultural melting pot. Yet inside its doors -  free of charge - are creative and collaborative opportunities alongside professional support for young people, unavailable elsewhere in the local area. Peckham Studios provides a place of expression, learning and sanctuary, benefitting not only the young people who love to use its facilities, but also the wider Peckham community.

We have less than two months to raise £60,000 to be ensure it remains open for another year, and hopefully expand its offering and availability to even more young people than at present.

YOU CAN help prevent the studio's closure being the sad ending to this South London story...

YOU CAN help us ensure that 2024 is a new chapter in the positive - real life - and ongoing tale that is Peckham Studios.