Max In The Park

Saturday 6 June
Time: 12pm – 6pm
Venue: Hilly Fields Stone Circle
Free

Max In The Park is sponsored by The Fox and Firkin, Brockley’s Rock, Bryan & Keegan  and Blue Garage.

Brockley Max hosts an all-day community festival featuring a music stage, kids’ creative workshops, storytelling, Art Mart craft fair, pop-up food stalls and two bars. We’re also celebrating the 130th anniversary of Octavia Hill with refugee art installations.

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Children’s Magical Art Marquee

Midday – 6pm; £6 per child

More than half a dozen creative workshops for children up to 14 years old. Entry to the marquee gives you access to all the workshops. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Storytelling Tent

Younger children and grownups alike, will love hearing these fantastic tales from around the world, and a musical workshop from Rama.

Art Mart at the Max

We bring you more maker stalls than ever before, so head to the Stone Circle and check out the eclectic range of handmade goods created by more than 30 local designers and craftspeople.

Tasty food and drinks stalls – and raffle prizes a-plenty!

Try delicious food from around the world including Plateful Cafe’s deli treats, Fusé, Harelm2Manila, Tiki & Spice, Caribbean Jerk,  BangBang Burger and SlateNCrumb. The Fox & Firkin & Ladywell Tavern bars will be keeping you refreshed, so make an afternoon of it and please buy a few raffle tickets to support Brockley Max. The draw, with prizes donated by generous local businesses, takes place at 5pm. Tickets can be bought on the day or in advance here.

 

The Open-Air Sitting Room

In 1896, Octavia Hill described urban parks as the “open-air sitting rooms of the poor.” She believed that “breathing space”—the right to nature and beauty—was a fundamental human right. As Lewisham was the first Borough of Sanctuary, we are transforming Hilly Fields into a “Pilgrimage of Welcome.” Artists with lived experience of refuge and sanctuary invite you to explore, reflect, and imagine together. Through stories, creativity, and moments of connection, this space becomes a welcoming “sitting room” for all — a place to pause, to meet, and to feel part of something bigger. Set around the park for you to encounter:

• Threads of Breathing Space (Ruochen): This participatory project uses puzzle shapes to represent individual memories and ideas of home, inviting visitors to contribute to an evolving, community-built sanctuary of belonging.

• Dagnini –Dagnini’s site-specific installation transforms a fractured tree trunk into a makeshift living room using a patchwork of consumer debris to explore themes of home and displacement. By creating a “domestic glitch” within the landscape, the work poignantly reflects the borough’s identity as a sanctuary for those navigating the fragility of belonging.

• At Home in the World (Maryam Sandari Hashemi): This work transforms a tree into an intimate, open-air living room using natural textiles, inviting the public to weave their own contributions into a collective act of kinship with the environment.

• South London Refugee Action  Community Hub and Esme Green from Creative Voices Collective: This work highlights the connection to nature and the inner plant knowledge held by members of the South London Refugee Association’s Community Hub.

• Shared Picnic Cloth (Rasha Obaid)  Children are invited to contribute cut-out drawings of food and memories to a large collective fabric. Inspired by Octavia Hill’s vision of inclusive green spaces, the evolving artwork transforms individual stories into a shared “temporary common.” The final cloth serves as a communal reflection of diverse cultures and personal histories gathered in one space.

• The Forest of Homes (Vian K. Hussein): Using recycled materials, participants create small symbols of “home” to hang on trees, collectively transforming the park into a visual forest that explores themes of displacement, sanctuary, and shared identity.

Supported by Lewisham Borough of Sanctuary.

Akilah is a singer, songwriter, poet and facilitator from South-East London. Blending soul, storytelling, and emotional songwriting to explore healing, identity, and self-discovery. Akilah performer at heart, and share the skills I’ve learnt through hosting workshops as a co-producer of Rezon8.

Jigsaw Brockley offers drama, dance, and singing classes for children aged 3-18 in a fun and supportive environment where young people can build confidence, creativity, and find their place to belong. Led by former student Aoife Lee, whose own Jigsaw journey began in 2004, the school is built on a genuine passion for nurturing young performers. Whether you’re experienced on stage or just looking for a creative outlet, Jigsaw Performing Arts Brockley is your local space for self-expression.

Montage Theatre Arts (MTA) has existed for over 27 years to open doors to the performing arts in Lewisham and empower young people to build their self-belief, grow their creative skills, and become thriving members of their community. We foster creativity, confidence, and wellbeing through accessible, inclusive drama, dance and singing programmes.

Veronica Adaeze is a 22 year old multi genre artist from Birmingham. She has been a lover of music since a young girl, and started professionally performing her own music at age 16. Veronica found herself moving to London in 2022 and graduated uni with a scholarship degree in Music, she used this knowledge to expand her music horizons. Since then Veronica has performed on various stages in both the West Mids & London including SouthBank, London Jazz Festival, Blues Kitchen and more. Veronica now manages her own open mic and networking events ‘Adaeze & Friends’ aiming to share a platform with other emerging artists.

Kathmandu Trio March originated from Himalaya and based in London. We’re a 3 piece alternative rock band with influences from various music genres and bands from Pink floyd to Alice in Chains, Plini, Nirvana etc. Our band consist of Ashish, Kushal and Kamal. We’re currently active on Camden music scene.

Vibe Machine go out live as a 6 piece – 2 female vocalists, 1 male MC, 1 live drummer, 1 keyboardist and a live VeeJay + Guest MC Spike Zephaniah and Alien Rapping Puppet Runchtacular. Our VeeJay Nikolai using a touch sensitive screen produces original art in real time, projected onto the stage as visuals, creating an experience unique to every Vibe Machine performance.

In 2017 three friends were sitting in a café in Crystal Palace looking for a new singing challenge. They could not find it so decided to create it themselves, and so Tongue & Groove was born. The group brings together talented and dedicated amateur performers to sing, move, and most of all entertain. Tongue & Groove combines the best of non-audition community choirs, with a Musical Director from theatre and a strong focus on movement and performance. One of our singers describes Tuesday night rehearsals as being “Super-food for my mental health”

Juzour is a collective that encompasses five women, all with roots in the SWANA region, including Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, and Sudan. Through movement, primarily Dabke, we seek to highlight the commonalities of our experience and invest in spaces in which transnational solidarity is born through creative expression. We are excited to be joining the Brockley Max festival in collaboration with Strawberry Fields Collective.

Amy Dawn likes to write songs about fishermen and talking animals. Her debut album, Near From Goose Town, was released on the 17th of October 2025 and it evokes a delicate journey along river, from her home town, meeting mysterious golden-toothed men, into foreign fields of purple flowers.  She is also the co-founder of the Thread Snake Collective, a contemporary folk community based in London.

Cleopatra is a singer-songwriter from South East London, carving a space in the music scene with soulful & jazz-laced sounds. Alumni of the esteemed Roundhouse Music Collective programme and handpicked to perform at Little Simz’ Meltdown Festival at the Southbank Centre (2025), Cleopatra has received support from Women In Jazz, the Roundhouse and has been commissioned by artist Roxanne Tataei’s Southbank Artist Residency Neo Opera production ‘The Water Carrier’ (2023).

If you’re looking for the ultimate high-energy vibe in South East London, look no further than Arch 57. More than just a band, they are a fully live Funk and Soul orchestra that brings the spirit of Motown, Stax, and classic groove straight to the heart of the local scene. Known for their infectious energy and powerhouse arrangements, Arch 57 has become a staple of the Brockley and Lewisham music circuit, frequently headlining major local events like Brockley Max (where they are famous for closing out the “Max in the Park” stage at Hilly Fields).

 

The day is hosted by Kaylah, a presenter from South East London who currently hosts her own  radio show, Extended Voicenotes, every other Friday at 2pm with Radio Lewisham. She’s passionate  about community, conversation, and bringing people together, and is super excited to be hosting this year’s amazing Max in the Park