Rebel flags by Morag Myerscough and others to be hoisted above London for Bankside Design District

Date
29 August 2018
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Lily Norwood/Bankside Design District

London, in essence, is a series of small villages connected by bus-heavy, Lidl-strewn highways and byways. Bankside, a slither of the larger borough of Southwark, is one of the most charming of those villages. Home to Shakespeare’s Globe, the Tate Modern, and a pretty good branch of Leon, a day spent ambling around Bankside is a day spent well.

Before the flat whites, Francis Bacon prints, and fistfuls of fresh pasta at Borough Market, Bankside was happy to house rebellious and independent outsider entertainers pursuing ‘indecent’ activities and artists shunned by the mainstream. A 16th century pleasure quarter, bear-baiting, brothels, and betting was the order of the day. It is this slightly seedy history that the Bankside Design District are celebrating as part of the upcoming 2018 instalment of the London Design Festival.

Better Bankside, in collaboration with NB Studio, has challenged over 35 leading artists and designers in Bankside and London to design flags that celebrate the area’s independent spirit. Those rebel flags have been crafted by everyone from agency giants like Pentagram and local-heroes AMV BBDO, through to leading typographer and printmaker Alan Kitching and It’s Nice That favourite Morag Myerscough, and will hang proudly in Borough Market’s Jubilee Place throughout the entirety of this year’s London Design Festival, from the 15 — 23 September. The flags will then be auctioned to raise money for a trio of local community partners picked by Better Bankside.

Alongside the flag dangling, there will also be panel discussions and a series of workshops, all of which are designed to showcase the past, present, and future of Bankside from a design-orientated point of view.

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Louise Sloper/Bankside Design District

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Proximity/Bankside Design District

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Koto/Bankside Design District

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About the Author

Josh Baines

Josh Baines joined It's Nice That from July 2018 to July 2019 as News Editor, covering new high-profile projects, awards announcements, and everything else in between.

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