Pedro Reyes asks us to imagine society as sculpture—built through encounters, choices, and play. South London is the right backdrop: railway arches, workshops, markets, and a lived-in sense of community. Begin where his work invites you in, then drift through places that treat everyday life as material.
South London Gallery: Two buildings facing one another on Peckham Road, humming with neighborhood energy. On Saturdays, step into Reyes’s Museum of Hypothetical Lifetimes and map a life with strangers—part game, part mirror, wholly public-spirited. Even on quiet days, SLG feels like a town square for contemporary art and it has long been one of my most favorite galleries in London. I took inspiration from there for decisions I made in building the Aspen Art Museum!
Dulwich Picture Gallery: A short way south is the oldest public gallery in Europe. Sir John Soane’s jewel box of 17th and 18th-century European Old Master paintings. The rooms are warm; the art works feel particularly vibrant thanks to the natural lighting; the garden is a winning counter point to the neighborhood outside. After SLG’s social charge, Dulwich offers an intimate look back.
Mallow Restaurant: Plant-based, seasonal, and beautifully put together. Plates arrive like small compositions—crisp, bright, generous—and the room carries a gentle sense of occasion. Come hungry; linger. And do not pass up the opportunity to visit the many food purveyors throughout the market.
LASSCO Ropewalk: Architectural salvage with soul: lights, hardware, stone, and one-off fragments that feel like stories rescued from other lives. It’s a tactile echo of Pedro’s reassembly—materials with memory, ready to tell new stories.
Tate Modern: If you have one more stop in you, you’re close to Tate Modern. An evening pass by the Turbine Hall makes a fine end to the walk. Save the deep dive of the rest of the Tate’s many galleries for another day.
Civic imagination needs rehearsal. Consider this walk through South London a warm-up; tomorrow, take a walk through your home and ask: how is art living here?
