Cheapside Business Alliance is excited to partner with Hypha Studios to launch three new art galleries in the heart of Cheapside. This new partnership will bring forward a year of culture, exhibitions and workshops in the iconic 1 Poultry.
Opening with a celebratory reception on the evening of Wednesday 24th September, the inaugural exhibitions mark the start of a year-long programme of culture, with each gallery hosting eight unique exhibitions.
Galleries 1 and 3 will showcase a range of exciting work from contemporary artists and curators. In partnership with art and architecture platform recessed.space, Gallery 2 will present a series of exhibitions that relate to the built environment. The world-famous, James Stirling-designed, postmodern masterpiece of 1 Poultry is the perfect setting for such a deep offer of art and culture.
The programme will begin with the following three diverse exhibitions:
Gallery 1
The Turn, curated by Shakthi Shrima
A group exhibition featuring ten artists, the title is borrowed from the second act of a magic trick, suggesting that the works will linger in states of suspension, withdrawal, and latency. The exhibition will explore how disappearance can function as a form, gathering practices that speak to states of suspension and the unresolved. Amongst the events, a public panel conversation will be hosted during the week of Frieze London art fair.
Gallery 2 – in collaboration with recessed.space
Blackhorse Lane Makers
Led by North London-based maker and artist Nina Oltarzewska, this group exhibition will present a group of makers from Blackhorse Lane community workshops. This exhibition will present sculptural and installation-based works using materials such as steel, wood, textiles, and digital media. The space will become an immersive installation with structures and objects that allude to formative and liminal spaces, such as stairwells and fences. Events will include a free, open-to-all workshop inviting the public to create their own small sculptural objects.
Gallery 3
Material Actors
Presented by the Binder of Women collective, this exhibition is directly inspired by the postmodern architecture of the 1 Poultry building. The work will explore recognisable form and question the theatrical and cinematic world of mimicry and artifice, featuring existing and new site-specific works across various mediums, including painting, installation, sound, ceramics, and sculpture. Binder of Women collective will host panel discussions, offer guided tours, and will provide a specially designed worksheet for children to encourage playful exploration of the exhibition.
The full programme for the year will be announced in the coming weeks.