Coworking spaces aren’t just where remote workers go to take care of their day job tasks. They’re rooms to dream up the next big adventure or enterprise, places where creative artists and entrepreneurs find their ideas, and the communities that support them. That’s what Impact Brixton is all about—being a hub for the dreamers. This month’s This Must Be The Space takes us to London to learn a little bit more about this unique coworking space.
Impact Brixton, photo courtesy of Impact BrixtonBright colored walls, lush house plants, a distillery, a bar, a fully stocked kitchen with an oven to make whatever meal you please—these are a few of the amenities that you’ll find at Impact Brixton. But what makes the space so special is its ethos, a commitment to dreamers, specifically to being a place for a diverse group of dreamers.
The space was founded by Gerald Vanderpuye, an entrepreneur working in software and product development. Originally from Ghana, Gerald spent his teen years in Brixton where he found a creative community that supported his first business endeavor. After a brief stint in the states, he returned to Brixton and found out a coworking space he loved, one that helped him gain his confidence in his career, was shutting down.
“At the time it was not only the only coworking space in Brixton, it was the only diverse coworking space that I’d come across,” Gerald said. “I’d traveled the world at this point and seen how uninclusive most of them felt, how not diverse they were.”
Gerald decided to take over the office space, eventually moving it to a larger building and creating Impact Brixton, a non-profit organization, and Europe’s first Black-owned coworking space.
Sofar at Impact Brixton, photo by Camilla Cappelli“From the design of the space, the music that’s playing, the homeliness, the smells, the pictures on the walls—[these are] decisions that are intentional and make people feel at home or welcome, regardless of their background or culture,” Gerald said. “A lot of people have the ambition to start a business or pursue their passion often don’t, they need a support network, a space to inspire them to step into themselves.”
The space is run primarily by volunteers, exchanging their time for office rental space. To nurture young dreamers, Impact Brixton offers a variety of community initiatives, such as The Dope Readers Club, a library of all Black authors aimed at encouraging young Black men to become more avid readers. There’s also “Last Friday,” a monthly gathering for freelancers, creatives, and entrepreneurs from minority communities.
And then of course, there are Sofar performances, where sometimes the shows carry on into an afterparty open mic in Black Bar, the upstairs bar. You’re bound to meet a few new friends, and perhaps even get your next big idea, and the community to help you bring it to life.
Words by Sofar Editorial Team
