Illustrator Jenni Sparks tells how she created her cultural map of Clapham
How did you end up creating this cultural map of Clapham?
I was asked by This Is Clapham BID (Business Improvement District) to create a map of Clapham that would reflect the character of the area. There is a lot of history and culture in Clapham and they wanted to reflect and convey this to both the locals and any visitors to the area. It ended up being displayed as both a mural and on a fold-out guide to the area that was distributed via local shops and amenities.
Was there lots of research involved and how long did it take to create?
In my map-making process, there is usually a good month or so spent just researching what should be included in the map. The research I did ranged from reading historical books, to gathering information online, and also talking to locals. From start to finish the map took about 4-5 months to complete, as there were a lot of edits and changes that continued throughout this process.
Did local residents help you with the creation of the map?
I worked with The Clapham Society who know a considerable amount of history and local knowledge, as well as other locals during the research process, and this really helped as the map was definitely intended to showcase things that local people wanted to see on it. The general consensus was that everyone was very pleased with it, which I was happy to hear.
Was there anything intriguing that you discovered about Clapham when creating the map?
I found a lot of the history about Clapham fascinating – learning about the Clapham Sect and William Wilberforce and the efforts to abolish slavery being organised at Trinity Church was very interesting. I also discovered the real sense of community that Clapham has, almost like it is it’s own little town – there are
some amazing small businesses and the camaraderie between the people involved with them is pretty special. It can be quite a rarity in London these days to
retain that communal feeling.
Would you now consider Clapham a cultural place?
Absolutely. I think it almost hasn’t been shouted about enough. Not everyone is into reading large history books about the local area so I enjoyed making the map because I think it shows this information in a very visual way that will appeal to a wide age range of different people. Seeing people from different age and social groups checking out the map mural and having a little chat to each other while doing so was something that was really lovely to see!
