HISTORY

CAFE GALLERY PROJECTS LONDON

Established in 1983 the Bermondsey Artists’ Group (BAG) was founded in response to artists’ frustration at a lack of exhibition opportunities. Acquiring a derelict former cafe in Southwark Park, BAG opened the Cafe Gallery in 1984. Excited by the new space, members encouraged participation in the gallery’s exhibitions within the local community. Suddenly, people who had little contact with modern art could see work by Richard Wilson, Patrick Caulfield, Eduardo Paolozzi and Derek Jarman. International links followed and in 1990 a regular exchange programme was established with artists from East Berlin.

Thirteen years of exhibitions, performances and education projects firmly established the Cafe Gallery’s reputation. Aware of the building’s severe shortcomings, it was decided in 1997 that a new building was the only way forward. By the following year over £500,000 had been raised from the National Lottery, Southwark Council, various charitable trusts and many individual supporters of the gallery. The full project included the rebuilding of the gallery, a programme of public art and the creation of an alternative venue known as Dilston Grove.

The umbrella name of Cafe Gallery Projects London was created to represent the multi-venue nature of the organisation and to reflect a broader range of activities. Today, Cafe Gallery Projects London is a revenue-funded client of Arts Council England managing Cafe Gallery Projects South-East London’s foremost artist-led gallery and Dilston Grove an important raw space for site-specific installation and experimental works.

From its beginning as a small gallery in a converted park cafe, Cafe Gallery Projects London has evolved into a stunning purpose-built gallery, an established and respected artist-led project spaces providing the local population and the London-wide audience with opportunities to experience innovative new art. Cafe Gallery Projects London maintains a significant ongoing involvement with the local community (which remains economically deprived and lacking a significant cluster of cultural facilities) and a commitment to Access to Art through family, community and education projects.

Cafe Gallery Projects London provides exhibition opportunities for artists and the opportunity to experiment for more established artists. This balanced approach enables us to make a significant contribution to artists’ professional development at varying stages of their careers.

DILSTON GROVE

Dilston Grove is the former Clare College Mission Church on the Southwest corner of Southwark Park and is Grade II listed. Designed by architects Sir John Simpson and Maxwell Ayrton, it was built in 1911 and is one of the earliest examples of poured concrete construction. Today, Dilston Grove represents London’s only large-scale raw space regularly available to artists.

In 1999, Cafe Gallery Projects London obtained a short-term lease on the building to deliver a high profile group exhibition and three major commissions (please refer to the accompanying booklet 'Dilston Grove - some projects since 1999'). The amazing qualities of the space - its rawness, size and physicality - inspired both artists and audiences alike. Dilston Grove was quickly established as one of the most important venues for experimental and installation projects in London. The result of this was that Cafe Gallery Projects London delivered over Twenty four highly successful projects during the period of its lease. Many of these projects enabled Cafe Gallery Projects London to establish a dialogue between works that exploited the particular qualities of Dilston Grove and works more suited to the ‘white cube’ qualities of the Cafe Gallery in the centre of Southwark Park.

Since this time, Cafe Gallery Projects London have both enabled other artists to use the space and worked in partnership with other arts organisations to deliver large-scale projects. These have ranged from the hugely popular grass installation by Ackroyd and Harvey to the year-long REAP project (please refer to the accompanying booklet for more information). However, all of these projects required separate negotiations with the building’s owner - Southwark Council Properties Department - rendering it impossible to formulate long-term programming of the space.

In 2006, Cafe Gallery Projects London secured a new lease on the property so that a long-term considered programme can be devised and delivered. In 2008 they were awarded an in-principle grant under the Community Assets Transfer Scheme to undertake remedial works and create a new park-facing entrance. It is anticipated that Dilston Grove will close at the end of 2008 and re-open in early 2010.

Tel +44 (0) 20 7237 1230

Email cgp.mail@virgin.net