Chris Townsend at the Map Studio Café
MAP Studio Café is the type of place happenings happen – a cultural hub in the heart of Kentish Town, boasting a recording studio that has hosted singers Ms Dynamite and Dawn Penn, as well as global-selling band Roots Manuva and doubling up as an exhibition space and gig venue.
But its future has been thrown in doubt this month after a rent wrangle between the owner and landlord.
Chris Townsend first established the venue, in Grafton Road, in 1987. An art school graduate who studied with the likes of Timothy Spall, Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious, he was a founder member of the radical T-shirt printing firm Fifth Column.
He opened up Map to provide space for printing and to explore his other artistic passions. The owner named the place Map – standing for Music, Art, Poetry – and the café and recording studio has carved itself a place in the cultural heart of the borough.
Mr Townsend said: “We moved in here all those years ago and I wanted to build a café, but something more – something that was a hub for the community. It is a space to encourage people, a warm and homely place.”
A live music policy ranges from jazz to hip hop – London’s first solely black hip hop radio station, Itch FM, broadcasts from the café – to poetry, jams and much more.
The issues over the café stem from the pandemic, when the it had to close for 18 months.
Rent payments to the landlord fell behind. But the business soon managed to get to within three months of what was owned. Then out of the blue two weeks ago locks were changed and an eviction notice posted.
Mr Townsend has since drawn on the many loyal customers to raise funds to pay rent up to date and start the process of renegotiating the terms of this lease. He said: “I have previously had a good relationship with the landlord – after all, we have been here for over 30 years. “We were locked out for a very worrying fortnight and have started a fundraising campaign to help secure the future.”
On Easter Monday, Map is hosting a day-long event with free entry and free food to raise awareness with bands and DJs.
On Saturday April 29, Kentish Town music collective the Dig It Sound System are hosting their annual May Day party at the venue, in another fundraising push.
Mr Townsend added: “This is a place I have spent my life building, spent everything I have on. We are facing a rent increase and are negotiating a new lease. We have been so brilliantly supported over the years, and we’d like everyone who has been a customer to come and say hello and help us remain in this special place.
“We are still under threat but we know we have such wide support and the landlord recognises our worth.”
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