Long Live Southbank's video: LLSB: Southbank Centre - Revelations of a Cultural Vandal

Long Live Southbank presents our educational campaign film Revelations of a Cultural Vandal which introduces the aggressive and deceiving campaign the Southbank Centre have employed beyond the glossy Festival Wing brochures. On 3rd December 2013 Southbank Centre security tried to stop people from photographing the the Southbank Undercroft while it was 'closed for maintenance' a timely 6 days after the Southbank Centre re-submitted their Festival Wing plans which still feature the destruction of the iconic cultural landmark in favour of retail units. Stopping filming and photography of the self-titled 'world class' art and cultural institution is not an isolated incident. Ironic in the least when you consider that the skaters and street arts are the most publicly filmed and photographed aspect on the Southbank Centre site. There is a Southbank Centre they do not want you to see, but it is very real. We believe they will try and get this film taken down - they have done that before. On the 4th July 2013 Long Live Southbank submitted over 14,000 individual objections to the Southbank Centre Festival Wing redevelopment plans. On the same day the Southbank Centre asked Lambeth Council for more time to review if their scheme "is achieving the very best balance". Yet the Southbank Centre once again failed to consult the artistic and local communities honestly and effectively and continued to ignore mounting public opposition to the plans. On the 26th November 2013, the Southbank Centre submitted an only-slightly amended planning application - which still retained the infilling of the irreplaceable Southbank skate spot - despite over 90,000 people and rising signing up for its preservation, and it being the most talked about and the most controversial aspect of the scheme. They also submitted plans for a new space they have titled a 'skateable space' that on closer inspection is actually a new programmable space for the Southbank Centre to be used by them for any purpose they see fit. In an "undertaking" given to Lambeth Council, Southbank Centre say that they will reserve the space 'for the provision of arts and cultural events and activities, including use for commercial purposes and artistic rentals, related to the Owner's programme of events and income generation as a centre for the arts.' A win win situation for them and a loose loose situation for street culture in the UK The Southbank Centre has revealed itself as a secretive institution willing to mislead and lie in order to achieve its aims. This has been the most alarming aspect of the 9 month campaign. It is very worrying to think an institute of arts and culture, which keeps reminding us it is a 'charity', has adopted secrecy and an aggressive campaign of bullying and intimidating young people, while at the same time using the 'education' of children and young people as its selling point to reach its own ambition. London's skateboard community and our supporters have campaigned every single day for the preservation of Southbank (Undercroft) since the Festival Wing plans were first revealed. The result was unprecedented public support - from all walks of life Something the Southbank Centre has failed to achieve. 90,000 LLSB members supporting preservation as opposed to the 5,000 supporters gathered by an institution with seemingly limitless time, staff and resources. An institute that at one point placed a pen and support form on every seat of every event and even took to the stage pre-events (and often were booed)*. (*information provided by numerous SBC staff) Our support continues to grow daily. This is not about denying the expansion of access to culture, this is about the questioning of the integrity of archaic hands that seek to stifle and silence culture. We are the voice of young people who stand for the future of artistic and cultural expression in an ever-changing world, for everyone. Not on paper, but in practice. 'The future is in the eyes of the young, and not the minds of the old.' LLSB Film by Henry Edwards-Wood http://www.holdtighthenry.com Fore more information on the real story and to sign up and get involved in preserving a unique and vital part of London culture: Website: http://www.llsb.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LongLiveSouthbank Twitter: https://twitter.com/Long_Live_SB Instagram: http://instagram.com/savesouthbank Disclaimer: This video is solely used for news reporting and educational purposes and uses footage published in the public domain. No copyright is claimed in and to the extent that material may appear to be infringed, it is asserted that such alleged infringement is permissible under fair use principles in U.K. copyright laws. For any question of use, please contact the poster.