Centaur Street

28 mosaics and ceramics of William Blake's work are displayed in Centaur Street. These have been made by the artists and volunteers at Southbank Mosaics, with over one hundred people involved in the designing, making and installation process. Southbank Mosaics is leading the way in turning the area around where William Blake lived on Hercules Road, into Blake’s Lambeth. William Blake wrote that he wanted to see his work enlarged and put into public space.

The works on display in Centaur Street are all from Blake's Lambeth period (1790 - 1800). One side of the street has works from the Songs of Innocence and Experience, the other side from a variety of his other Illuminated Books and one from his Illustration work (of Steadman's "Revolt in Surinam").

The William Blake Heritage Project, sponsored by the Heritage Lottery fund, has seen Southbank Mosaics collaborate with Southbank Sinfonia and Futures Theatre Company, to take the works of William Blake to a wider audience, including young people and the local community, broadening the understanding of Blake's work and keeping his legacy alive. Through a series of workshops and performances in schools, at Waterloo Action Centre, the Festival Hall and St Johns Church Waterloo, Project Blake has reached thousands of people and the permanent exhibition in Centaur Street is viewed by upward of 30,000 people each year.

The next steps in the ten year project are to expand Blake's Lambeth into Virgil Street and the long tunnel along Carlisle Lane, that leads into Westminster Bridge Road. As Martha Bryant, a local resident said "Centaur Street used to be a frightening place to avoid. Now I love coming here, reading the poems and seeing Blake's beautiful work."

Currently there are also ten sound boxes, with many of Blake's poems and sayings read by local residents. Push the button and hear the words of William Blake, a wise man from long ago, with attitudes that the chime with many contemporary ideas about justice, equality and the worth of each individual.

Link to recent BBC article, "Putting Blake back on the Lambeth's Streets" http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2009/03/19/blake_mosaics_video_feature.shtml