Rafał Zajko

2023 Deptford X Parade

Rafał Zajko, Techno Harvest

The parade will begin at 12 noon at Giffin Square, SE8 4RJ and will finish in Fordham Park.

This year, the intergenerational parade through Deptford includes students from Deptford Green school and elders from Entelechy Arts over 60s art group, Meet Me at The Albany and recreates the spirit of the 1999 Berlin Love Parade while embodying a techno-future imaginary. Pulling from visual motifs associated with Catholic processions, workers strikes, and harvest celebrations, Zajko has created a ceramic figure resembling an industrial-looking idol to lead the parade. Featuring crevices filled with vegetables and bread, the figure will lead the joyous Techno Harvest along Deptford’s streets in celebration of the end of the year’s natural cycle, the reaping season in late September.

The parade is co-created with students from Deptford Green secondary and Watergate primary schools and elders from Entelechy Arts over 60s art group, Meet Me at The Albany through workshops facilitated by Cecily Loveys-Jervoise (Watergate) and Alia Hamaoui (Meet Me at The Albany).

With thanks to Esther Wakelin-Stotten, head of art at Deptford Green School; Darren MacDonald, Creative Lead and Molly Betrand, Assistant Headteacher at Watergate School; and Sophie Merriman, Producer of Meet Me at The Albany.

The parade project is supported by Awards for All and People’s Postcode Lottery