Raffle offers chance to be photographed by artist Bari Goddard in THE DRESS

(Main photo: Pippa D in THE DRESS. Copyright Bari Goddard)

A unique raffle is running until March 28th 2024 with just one prize – being photographed in a stunning white dress by Bari Goddard, the avant-garde and wonderfully controversial Welsh singer-songwriter, artist, and photographer.

Bari’s latest show, THE DRESS, is also running throughout March at both the Bonnington Centre and the Bonnington Cafe in Vauxhall, SW8 1TD. 

The show – several years in the making – features dozens of notable LGBTQ figures, including celebrities such as Holly Johnson – wearing the same beautiful white dress. Each wearer brings their own personality and emotions to their photoshoot – leading to a richly textured and emotional show.

Bari’s work as an artist encompasses film-making, painting, photography, and music. He has performed and recorded with Jimmy Somerville, Madonna, Cliff Richard, Banderas, Horse, Vinna Bee, Anarchistwood and Then Jerico.

Critic Andrija Seifried is full of praise for Bari’s new work: “Bari shows both a mischievous and sometimes grotesque sense of humour through placing before us a complex tableau of uniquely different scenarios and moods. What we wear is rarely who we are.

“You really have to know the artist to understand and journey through this bizarre carnival of characters which include Holly Johnson of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Adele Anderson of Fascinating Aida, Charlotte Hunter of Harry Potter film fame and a myriad of other straight, gay and trans and non-binary subjects.”

Until March 28th, raffle tickets will also be on sale for £10 each featuring a remarkable prize – a photoshoot for the winner while wearing THE DRESS at a London location. The prize draw will be made at a special event at the Bonnington Centre shortly after the raffle closes, and the winner notified. 

The raffle winner will be the last ever person to be photographed in THE DRESS before Bari himself dons it for the last time, and then sets it on fire! 

Raffle tickets can be purchased for £10 each, and you can purchase as many as you’d like, using the QR code above. Please include in the Notes section your name, and THE DRESS RAFFLE. Bari has kindly decided that 50% of all proceeds from the raffle will go to the Bonnington Centre Community Association, a not for profit, community-led resource.  

While the City Sleeps: Copyright Bari Goddard

Bari Goddard’s spectacular show THE DRESS comes to the Centre and Café – March 2024

(Main picture: 21st Century Pieta, copyright Bari Goddard)

The Bonnington Centre is excited to announce that Bari Goddard, the brilliant avant-garde and wonderfully controversial Welsh singer-songwriter, artist and photographer is premiering his exhibition THE DRESS throughout March 2024 at both the Bonnington Centre and the Bonnington Cafe.

The show – several years in the making – features dozens of notable LGBTQ figures, including celebrities such as Holly Johnson, donning the same beautiful white dress. Each wearer brings their own personality and emotions to their photoshoot – leading to a richly textured and emotional show.

Bari’s work as an artist encompasses film-making, painting, photography, and music. He has performed and recorded with Jimmy Somerville, Madonna, Cliff Richard, Banderas, Horse, Vinna Bee, Anarchistwood and Then Jerico.

Critic Andrija Seifried is full of praise for Bari’s latest work: “Bari shows both a mischievous and sometimes grotesque sense of humour through placing before us a complex tableau of uniquely different scenarios and moods. What we wear is rarely who we are.

“You really have to know the artist to understand and journey through this bizarre carnival of characters which include Holly Johnson of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Adele Anderson of Fascinating Aida, Charlotte Hunter of Harry Potter film fame and a myriad of other straight, gay and trans and non-binary subjects.”

THE DRESS opens for viewing on March 1st, and can be seen in the Top Room either by attending booked classes or events during March, or by requesting admittance. The easiest way to see Bari’s photographs in the Bonnington Café will be to eat there – with the Café now open Tuesday to Saturday evenings from 6pm to 10.30pm, and for Sunday brunch from 11am to 3pm. There’s also a Private View on Sunday 3rd March from 5pm-8pm. Please email bari.goddard@gmail.com for more information. 

Remarkable raffle

Until Thursday March 28th, raffle tickets will also be on sale for £10 each – with no limit per person – featuring a remarkable prize: a photoshoot for the winner while wearing THE DRESS at a London location. 

The raffle winner will be the last ever person to be photographed in THE DRESS before Bari himself dons it for the last time, and then sets it on fire! The raffle is now open, and tickets can be purchased for £10 each, via Paypal using the QR code below

Bari has kindly decided that 50% of all proceeds from the raffle will go to the Bonnington Centre Community Association, a not for profit community led resource.  

Pippa Davenport, one of the Trustees at the BCCA, who has herself also been photographed by Bari in THE DRESS, says she is delighted that the show will be in the heart of Vauxhall, which enjoys the second highest LGBTQ+ population in the UK.

“Like any member of the LGBT+ community, moving to a new area was a little daunting. But soon after arriving, I realised how special the Lambeth community is,” says Pippa. “That’s why, when I was asked to put myself forward as a trustee of the Bonnington Centre, I said I’d love to. Helping to reopen the Café – and helping to make the Centre a place where anyone can come and feel safe is even more important now.

“The artist Bari Goddard took this wonderful photo of me – which represents to myself the strong person I’ve become over the 29 years since my surgery. But also the vulnerable, unsure person that’s still inside.”

The wonderful Pippa Davenport, a BCCA trustee, in Siren of the Silent Age (copyright Bari Goddard)

A Message from the Bonnington Centre

A great deal of speculation and opinions have been voiced about the unfortunate current situation between the Bonnington Centre Community Association (BCCA) and the Café User’s Group (CUG) resulting in the temporary boarding up of the Café.

page1image12753280

After many years of continuous attempted negotiations initiated by the BCCA, no settlement has ever been reached between the BCCA and the CUG. This is because the CUG have always failed to recognize or respect the formal authority and legal responsibility of the BCCA who are a not-for-profit registered company, limited by guarantee with charitable aims, run by volunteers who are responsible for the entire building. The CUG have continuously avoided becoming a legal entity even though they have been a very successful, entirely private enterprise and have made a lot of money as personal profit for many years. The CUG has evolved into a small, enclosed group that has excluded local people who live in the BCCA’s area of benefit (Bonnington Square, Vauxhall Grove, Langley Lane). None of the CUG members live in this area of benefit.

The BCCA intends to reopen the Café as soon as practicable with local cooks. CUG cooks are equally welcome, subject as everyone else to the signing of the BCCA’s license and agreeing to be managed by the BCCA for the benefit of the local community

11, Vauxhall Grove SW8 1TD

bcca@btinternet.com 0207 820 7466

BCCA Benefit Night 26th November with Club Night

BCCA Benefit Night returns to dish up delicious delights in the BCCA cafe as complement to the Club Night upstairs featuring
~JAZZ in the TOP ROOM with:
Marcus Hill (piano)
Tomoko Nakahara (Clarinet)
Dave Eastham (Tenor sax)
+ Folk with: James Booth (guitar and vocals)

A Year in the Community 1- 4pm Sat and Sun 20 & 21 November

Another chance to see wonderful photographs from Geir Engene documenting different community activities and gatherings in the neighbourhood over 2021.  This exhibition follows the previous show of photographs from lockdown 2020 and the ingenuity and creativity of local residents. Calendars and photographs will be available for purchase.