Today, Sister Midnight announce their brand new partnership with DIABOLICAL, part of the BUILDHOLLYWOOD family, through a set of 10 massive billboards across South East London – a huge support for the ongoing strive to open Lewisham’s first community-owned music venue. The creative street advertising specialists known for their iconic street campaigns and drive for helping grassroots initiatives within the music scene.

The artwork has been created by Toby Evans Jersra, a local artist from South East London who has been a part of the Sister Midnight network from day 1. His artwork has graced gig posters, zines, badges, album covers (like that of Goat Girl’s second studio album “On all Fours”), and has become a cornerstone of South London DIY music culture.

Lenny Watson, Sister Midnight –
“We’re so grateful to DIABOLICAL for giving us the space to put up these billboards and spread the word about Sister Midnight’s new venue. Our friend & collaborator Toby Evans Jesra has surpassed our expectations once again in creating this beautiful artwork that captures perfectly the sense of joy, excitement, and community spirit that we want our venue to bring to Lewisham. We credit the message of the billboard to Marina Blake, who has done a better job of summarising Sister Midnight’s work than we ever could. This is a project about you, this venue is for you. We hope everyone in our community has a chance to take a moment to enjoy these billboards and the vision they lay out for Lewisham’s First community owned music venue, and if you like what you see, then we invite you to join us in making it happen.”

Sister Midnight’s previous campaign to create Lewisham’s first community owned music venue back in 2021 when they were on a mission to buy the freehold of a disused local pub, the Ravensbourne Arms. Despite raising £260K through community investment and donations and garnering 800+ investors, the owners of the Ravensbourne Arms were unwilling to sell for a fair price, therefore Sister Midnight began sculpting a new plan that carefully acknowledged the current tumultuous economic environment.

In light of this, Sister Midnight have worked to secure a ‘meanwhile space’, of which 99%% of the original campaign contributors were keen to continue their support and chose to commit their investment to the new proposals.

Working alongside the Lewisham Council and with support from London’s Night Czar and City Hall’s Culture and Communities Spaces at Risk team, Sister Midnight finally found the perfect site.

London’s Night Czar, Amy Lamé, said:
“I’m absolutely thrilled that Sister Midnight has secured a location to create Lewisham’s first community-owned live music venue. I am proud that the Mayor’s team have worked alongside these remarkable women to drive forward their vision and I will continue to support them in creating this exciting new venue as we build a better London for everyone.”

Mayor of Lewisham, Damien Egan, said:
“I’m delighted we’ve helped Sister Midnight to secure this space and establish Lewisham’s first-ever community-owned live music venue – a fantastic legacy for our year as London Borough of Culture 2022. This will provide a valuable meanwhile use for the building which can be enjoyed by all the community, support our local arts and music scene and help grow our night time economy. I hope this will serve as an important stepping stone towards a permanent home for Sister Midnight.”