Life's a doodle at London's pop-up bar

DoodleBar is a blank canvas waiting for guests to get creative, and even Vivienne Westwood is popping in for a scribble

by David Vincent Friday 5 June 2009/ The guardian website

Finally, a pop-up bar with some credit crunch cred...instead of rip-off prices. Tonight the DoodleBar opens in Battersea, London, with beers for £2.50, and bottles of wine for a tenner. The events café-cum-bar, built through bartering and sourcing furniture from the giveaway website Freecycle, is a low-cost, high-concept sort of place intent on spurring creativity in the community.It will host exhibitions, screenings, classes and workshops throughout the summer. Many will be in collaboration with Onedotzero, the digital arts organisation that provides educational outreach to young children and teenagers. Forthcoming events include monthly film screenings hosted by Vivienne Westwood, and US filmmaker Jamie Johnson giving a free talk and screening of his new movie Sounds Like Teen Spirit. But the DoodleBar, as you might surmise, is also designed to be a haven for - doodlers. The walls, chairs, tables and even waiters are all blank canvasses, waiting for some creative types to come scribble, sketch or plain graffiti them. "The waiters will be wearing white jeans and shirts," says Jules Cocke of filmmakers Squint/Opera, who along with illustrator Serge Seidlitz, came up with the idea for the bar. "You can doodle anywhere you want on their clothes. It's up to the waiters where they draw the line." There's a VW Beetle, a Seventies chaise lounge, a sled and a ping-pong table in need of a little colour. And there's a basic mural of London mapped out and people can add whatever they like – the Thames and Big Ben are already in situ. During the day, the bar will turn into a café, serving salads and sandwiches. There's also free Wi-Fi. "The aim is to make The DoodleBar into a walk-in, constantly evolving work of art, created as a collaboration between all those who visit," says Seidlitz.

• The DoodleBar, Ransomes Dock, 33 Parkgate Rd, Battersea, London; thedoodlebar.com; launch party 5 June, 6pm-12am. Café: 9am-6pm. Bar: check calendar.