Gasworks Gallery
Why is it significant?
The Gasworks Gallery on Vauxhall Street in London is an influential contemporary art space in a 150-year-old former Victorian warehouse that has supported over 600 artists from more than 80 countries. Founded in 1994 as part of the international Triangle Network, the former artificial Christmas tree depot offers studios and residencies. In 2015, a £2.1 million fundraising campaign enabled architects Hat Projects to renovate the crumbling building, doubling its gallery size.
Key Facts
| Place | Gasworks Gallery |
|---|---|
| Address | Gasworks, 155 Vauxhall Street, London SE11 5RH |
| Geo Coordinates | 51.48510, -0.11554 |
| Audio Duration | ~3 min |
| Part of Walk | Secrets of Vauxhall: Spies, Pleasure & Hidden London |
| Generated | Generated |
What to look for?
- Gasworks Gallery was founded in London in 1994 to provide free studio spaces for underrepresented international artists.
- The gallery is part of the Triangle Network, co-founded in 1982 by British sculptor Sir Anthony Caro.
- Gasworks occupies a 150-year-old Victorian warehouse that previously served as a storage depot for artificial Christmas trees.
- In 2015, a £2.1 million redevelopment campaign enabled architects Hat Projects to double the gallery space at Gasworks.
What was the Gasworks Gallery building in London used for before artists took it over?
Take a look at this unassuming white building on Vauxhall Street. You might walk straight past it... and that would be a mistake. Because behind this modest facade lies one of London's most quietly powerful art spaces... a place that has launched careers across more than eighty countries. This is Gasworks. And the name is no accident. This building sits in the shadow of the great Oval gasholders, those iconic Victorian cylinders just next door. The building itself is a hundred and fifty year old Victorian warehouse that once served as a storage depot for the neighbouring Oval Gasworks. But what was it used for in the years before the artists arrived? A plastic Christmas tree depot. Yes, really... artificial Christmas trees were stored right here before this place was reborn. In nineteen ninety four, Gasworks was founded with a radical mission... to provide platforms for artists whose voices were not represented in mainstream galleries. It is part of something much bigger... the Triangle Network, an international arts movement co-founded in nineteen eighty two by British sculptor Sir Anthony CA-ro and collector Robert LO-der. That first workshop brought together twenty five artists from the US, Canada, and the UK at a fish and game preserve in upstate New York... hence the name Triangle. Today the network spans over thirty countries. Since its founding, Gasworks has supported more than six hundred artists from over eighty countries! Alumni have gone on to earn nominations for the Turner Prize, the Pinchuk Art Prize, and the AB-solut Award. Artists get twenty four hour access to private studios, a stipend, materials, and even a travel card for London... all free of charge. Then in twenty fifteen, the building nearly disappeared. When the freehold came up for sale, Gasworks faced extinction from rising Vauxhall property prices. The building was in terrible shape... leaking roofs, no insulation, buddleia bushes literally growing out of the back wall. But a two point one million pound campaign, including a fundraising auction at Christie's where former resident artists donated works, saved this place. Architects hat Projects transformed the crumbling warehouse into the crisp, light filled space you see today... doubling the gallery size while halving its energy consumption. So next time you pass a building with no flashy signage, no queue around the block... remember. Some of the most important art in the world is being made right here, in a former Christmas tree warehouse, in the shadow of Victorian gasholders.