Spectacle is back on the Silwood Estate with an exciting new project: the Silwood Community Video Archive Project. We’re inviting Silwood residents, past or present,  to take part in a series of free, hands-on video archive workshops. Whether you’re interested in learning smartphone filmmaking, editing, or simply want to share your memories of life on the estate, this is your chance to get involved.

Explore newly digitised footage from the Silwood archive, add your voice, and help shape short films that reflect the community’s real history.

Built in the 1950s on a bombed-out patch of South East London, it became home to a tight-knit, multicultural community of dockworkers, newcomers, and families. Despite being split between Lewisham and Southwark in the 1980s, and being labelled a “bad neighbourhood,” residents built a vibrant community, creating youth clubs, nurseries, and resident-led projects.

When regeneration hit, things changed. Lewisham chose demolition, Southwark renovation. New buildings replaced green space. Long-time neighbours were relocated. The heart of the estate was fractured.

Since 2000, Spectacle has been working with Silwood residents to document this transformation capturing over 350 hours of footage in the process. Now, we’re inviting Silwood residents to help shape what happens next.

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Together, we’ll…

• Learn how to film, edit, and catalogue using simple digital tools
• Learn smartphone filmmaking techniques
• Co-create archive – based short films that preserve the community’s legacy
• Share personal stories, memories, and perspectives
• Revisit and reflect on Silwood’s history through never-before-seen archive footage

If this sounds exciting – please register your interest down below: