This new venture will support the city’s leading artists with free exhibition spaces and will deliver events for the local community.
Sugar House Island is proud to announce a partnership with Hypha Studios, a charity that matches artists with free space, to champion the upcoming generation of east London creative talent. The partnership will see the Island give two separate spaces on the Island open up to local creatives and artists.
In collaboration with Hypha Studios, an open call to local artists was announced in May, giving artists the opportunity to use one of two spaces on the Island. The winning artists, selected by Sugar House Island and Hypha Studios from 200 applicants, will start to create work this month. There will be 16 exhibitions in total until May 2025, featuring 250 new up-and-coming artists and over 60 free events and workshops, with an estimated in-person audience of 20,000 over the course of the programme. The groups of artists and creatives that have been selected include:
- A collective of 12 multidisciplinary artists part of SET Woolwich. The artists are Marta Paula, James Lang, Estelle Simpson, Ellis Berwick, Matt Graysmith, Laura Crosbie, Issie Liddiard, Linghui Ng, James Reynolds, Will McLucas, Gabe Duarte and Bag 4 Life.
- The work they intend to create explores mythologies through music and performance art, paintings, installations and sculptures
- A collective of 6 Indian female artists: Meghana Gavireddygari, Alamelu Annamalai, Vasundhara Sellamuthu, Shivangi Ladha, Asha Vaidyanath and Smriti Mehra.
- The work they intend to create uses diverse mediums such as paintings, installations and performances to focus on the concepts of memory, identity and their homeland, India, exploring the cyclical nature of experience and the rhythmic patterns of everyday life.
Camilla Cole, Founder of Hypha Studios commented: “There is a real lack of affordable spaces for creatives in London, meaning creatives are pushed out of the capital. Hypha Studios’ main objective is to put a stop to this barrier for aspiring local artists and support the thriving cultural community. East London and Stratford has such a strong creative community, and we hope this collaboration with Sugar House Island will give artists their first opportunity to raise their profile and help them to becoming established and recognised artists.”
The new spaces are located on Chimney Walk, the newly opened commercial area of Sugar House Island, home to offices, education spaces, shops and restaurants.
Sugar House Island is a 26-acre emerging neighbourhood in East London, which is rapidly transforming into a new thriving destination in Stratford. Once a place of industry, the Island is being transformed into a place to live, work and enjoy. A new creative quarter has been established on the Island with businesses such as illustrated publishers Phaidon, independent distillers Jim & Tonic and UD Music and East London Dance calling the Island their home.
Michael Cronin, Head of Portfolio at Sugar House Island said: “Stratford has always had a thriving creative community, and now, with the gradual opening of East Bank, this community is growing. At Sugar House Island, we have always been keen to champion local talent, which is why we created the Talent House, a destination for creatives to use and home to UD Music and East London Dance. Working with Hypha Studios is the next step in our journey to welcoming creatives to the Island. We’re thrilled to be working with the team to ensure the availability of affordable art space and to seeing what the selected artists create for the Island.”
The first exhibition will open to the public on the 29th June and will be free to visit.
