The South London Gallery, located in a working-class neighborhood, was originally opened to bring art education to local laborers. It has since shifted to showcasing contemporary art while still emphasizing education. The original building, built in 1891, remains at its core. The gallery hosts about five exhibitions a year and offers artist residencies. Children’s programs and school visits are also available. Despite its expansion, the gallery remains small and encourages local community involvement.
The South London Gallery is a modern art studio and museum in London, England. It is located, as its name suggests, in the southern part of the city, between the districts of Peckham and Camberwell. This area of London has been known as a working-class neighborhood for centuries. In fact, the South London Gallery was originally opened as a way to bring art and art education to local day laborers. The original collections focused on art education and the work of South London artists, and while the focus has shifted to showcasing contemporary art, the gallery still places an emphasis on education and appreciation of art.
Much of the gallery still occupies its original building, built in 1891. From the outside, the space doesn’t look like much. It’s an unassuming property that sits just behind a much more ornate Victorian building that now houses Camberwell College of Arts. It is believed that the gallery owners chose such an inconspicuous location for their endeavor in order to remove some of the embarrassment from the perspective of working-class men studying art. Men perhaps would not feel so out of place upon entering an ordinary-looking building as they would one that has clearly been devoted to artistic endeavours.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, art was generally viewed as something to be enjoyed only by those in the upper echelons of society. The South London Gallery has attempted to bridge this gap by offering courses, opening studio spaces and exhibiting collections during the evenings and weekends. It was one of the first British museums to open on Sundays. Most of his exhibitions were and still remain free, although some special installations or lecture series may apply for a fee.
The South London Gallery underwent a major expansion in 2010, but the original gallery and conference space remains at its core. By itself, the main gallery is little more than a large empty white room. The gallery usually hosts about five different exhibitions a year, inviting artists to create installations that take advantage of the space’s bright whiteness and abundant natural light. Most of the installations are contemporary and minimalist in nature. Shapes, colors and repeating patterns often underpin much of the work on display at any given time.
Winning a space in the South London Gallery is generally considered quite prestigious. The 2010 expansion provided an artist residence above the main gallery, allowing visiting exhibitors to live in community with one another for the duration of their installments. Such an advantage is rare among art museums.
Museums and children usually get along at the South London Gallery. Many children’s programs are hosted by the museum throughout the year, usually focusing on creativity and artistic appreciation. Curators are also usually able to arrange special school visits and private lessons geared towards any number of different art themes, and can often tailor programming to suit school curricula.
Even with its new spaces, the South London Gallery isn’t large. Visiting museums like this one can easily be accomplished in little more than a morning or afternoon. This often serves to encourage locals and nearby residents to make the museum a part of their community and to visit and stop by often. In this way, the gallery continues its original aim of reaching out to the South London community.
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