It’s good news to see one of NW5’s most iconic Victorian buildings home to a new cultural hotsoot. Housed in the recently vacated former Zabludowicz gallery, Camden Arts Projects is a brand-new not-for-profit creative space “dedicated to showcasing the works of both established and emerging artists and filmmakers,” says manager Pat Casey.
And its first major exhibition is punching pretty high indeed, with work from Turner Prize-winning artist Martin Creed. It’s also accessible for families – and a lot of fun.
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Curated by Hala Matar, the inaugural exhibition features Creed’s interactive installation Work No. 3891 Half the air in a given space (2025), where – quite literally – the room is filled with hundreds of balloons. As you can see below.
Transforming the gallery “into a sensory-filled environment”, the artwork invites visitors to step inside, move through and physically engage with the work in a playful and tactile way. This exhibition marks the first time the artwork has returned to London since its presentation at the Hayward Gallery in 2014.
On my visit, as the only sole adult sans kids, it was an experience itself, with proud parents filming their excited kids enjoying the display.
But what of the historic pile? Built in the late 1860’s in the Corinthian style, it was a place of worship for almost a century before the London Drama Centre took over in 1963. For forty years the likes of Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Hardy and Helen McCrory rehearsed there.
The building was transformed into Zabludowicz Contemporary art gallery in 2007 by AHMM architects: now, as CAP, its renewed vision includes the addition of a film screening room.
Don’t miss the exterior. Here is Creed’s renowned neon text work Work No. 1086: EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT (2011) illuminating the façade. Spanning over 12 metres, the white neon text is inspired by “reassuring yet ambiguous words” from Creed’s past personal conversational exchanges.
Interacting with the building’s neoclassical features, the artwork offers “a moment of contemplation within its storied setting and will decorate the façade for an extended period,” says Casey. To me, it recalled Tracey Emin’s striking neon work (‘I Never Stopped Loving You’) in Margate outside the Turner.
And finally, if you’re as peckish as I always am, the cafe has had an overhaul too. Bermondsey-based bakery Little Bread Pedlar is another reason to hang out in the atmospheric foyer space. Known for its artisanal sweet and savoury pastries, there’s fine coffee to sip after you emerge, dazed, from the white sea of balloons.
Martin Creed ends on June 29th. Free entry. Camden Arts Projects (CAP) is open 9am-6pm, Wed-Sun. Follow @camdenarts176
