The Square Mile art gallery with amazing free exhibitions
This Square Mile gallery is hosting free exhibitions throughout the summer
You might have noticed a group of twenty-something students and creative types gathering in an art gallery in No 1 Poultry recently – if you’ve wondered what’s going on there, the first bit of good news is you’re welcome to join in too.
The vacant retail unit is housing a temporary exhibition space helping artists display their work in a central London location.
At some point, the unit will be repurposed and turned into new offices, but while planning work is underway, there is a prime opportunity for creatives.
Square Mile’s free-to-attend gallery
Just opened and running until 29 August is the Vibrantform exhibition, curated by an intergenerational group of black male artists. The show features painting, sculpture, photography, sound and animation, and aims to “explore ideas about identity, belonging, memory, place and every life in a nurturing space”.
It will feature items and stories to do with folklore, “found materials”, “imagined futures and the exploration of urban environments,” with the artists exploring “how black disaporic histories are passed on, remembered, reshaped and reimagined.”
Each artist’s work will stand alone from one another, rather than work towards a single theme. The Square Mile pop-up is a partnership between Aviva Investors and CO-RE, as well as charitable partner Hypha Studios.
New exhibitions appear in this retail unit every 7 weeks. Kate Hart, CEO Eastern City, said: “For the next year this will be a real, genuine space for connection, curiosity, and creativity for all those who work in and visit this extraordinary part of London.
“The Eastern City is bringing empty spaces back to life by transforming vacant units into spaces for art, activity, and public life.”
Will Austin, Cultural Partnerships Manager at the Eastern City BID said: “This project demonstrates how collaborative partnerships can unlock vacant space to deliver meaningful, creative and cultural activation. It shows what is possible, with the BID convening stakeholders, and funding new concepts across Canada.”
Hypha x Eastern City Studios is open Tuesday to Saturday 11am to 7pm but closed between 2:15pm and 3pm.
1 Poultry, London EC2R 8EN, go to hyphastudios.com