Camden News: Woolworth R.I.P – The Last Dance | Squat | Art Students

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Camden News - by SIMON WROE
Published: 12 March 2009

Becca Djan, Gabriella Sonabend, Roland Hutchinson, Anthony Williams, and Harry Grant with sculpture entitled The Virus by Kirstie Sanford

Worthy art? Shop squat given the boot

THEY took over the derelict Camden Woolworths in the middle of the night with the dream of converting it into a gallery for “credit crunch art”.
But the bailiffs did not share their dream. Art students squatting the recession-struck store in Camden High Street were removed by bailiffs and police on Monday lunchtime ahead of a planned exhibition and squat party tomorrow (Friday). According to the group, who describe themselves as “future Tracy Emins [sic] and Damien Hirsts”, Woolworth R.I.P – The Last Dance was intended as an answer to the “madness of the banking system”.
Art was to be displayed on the store’s shelves and sold at bargain bin prices. One artist had submitted an adapted pick’n’mix display.
Artist Roland Hutchinson said: “With retailers now going bust there are lots of properties in prime sites which will sit empty for months. Yet young British artists still find great difficulty in exhibiting their work to the general public. We’re not really squatters. We’re just young people who want our art to be seen.”
He added: “The bouncers were quite untactful. We’ve been planning a show for a week.”
The students, who slept in offices on the first floor, said the building still had hot water, electricity and staff uniforms, though all the stock was gone.
Fellow artist Harry Grant said: “The police treated us like we were bohemians who sit around playing the guitar all day. When we were moving our stuff out they said ‘Oh look, they’ve got instruments’. We’re not bohemians, we were just keeping the instruments for the bohemians until they turned up.”

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I DON'T see why these young 'artists' thought it right to illegally enter someone else's property and, as they say, use the hot water, electricity and so forth at the expense of others. Even though the property was not being used it is still someone's valuable asset (which many have worked long and hard to come by) and for a group of people to simply break in without asking seems wrong. Perhaps if they've had collaborated with the owners and asked permission to use the space or rent it out at an affordable price it would have been a great success which made everyone happy! I hope those involved are able to find other space for their brilliant work and will have learnt from the experience.
J. Carter