Long Live Southbank (LLSB) announce the launch of ‘426㎡: The Southbank Show’, a major group art show featuring the talent of skateboarders and creatives from around the world. Hosted at StolenSpace Gallery in London’s East End and running from the 18th till the 29th of April 2018, the collection shows over 70 pieces of work and aims to raise funds to restore London’s iconic skate spot.
34 artists who have a connection to Southbank skate spot on London’s River Thames have contributed their works to a definitive show which will display an eclectic range of mediums from the creative pool of skateboarding from across the globe.
‘426㎡’ refers to lost sections of Southbank long since hidden away from its skateboarding roots. Since approaching Southbank Centre in 2015, Long Live Southbank have created a unique opportunity to breath new life into the hallowed ground of London’s ‘skateboarding mecca’.
The premise behind ‘426㎡: The Southbank Show’ is to expose this juxtaposition of the arts and display work by creatives who are directly part of the counterculture; not by those professing to do so. Long Live Southbank have fused the two middle words to create ‘The Southbank Show’ in a move to delete the imposed art divide created by the art elite and as a reference to the notion of art having to be either classical or outsider or high-end or low-end.
From Blondey McCoy’s UV printed mirrors and Haroshi’s sculptures using recycled skateboard decks to the playful illustrations of James Jarvis and the work of street artist Shepard Fairey; the art of skateboarding is as multi-layered as skateboarding itself – ‘426㎡: The Southbank Show’ gives a chance to glimpse into this often subversive world.
LLSB hope to raise £790,000 to restore the undercroft spaces and permanently reopen them in 2018 for the first time in 14 years. With many of the artworks on show available to buy to help raise the money needed for the restoration, it is hoped a significant amount of funds will be raised from sales.
Andrew Pommier / Arran Gregory / ARTiSTA / Ben Gore / Blondey McCoy / Chet Childress / D*Face / Darren John / Domas Glatkauskas / Ed Templeton / Eloise Dorr / Fos / Ged Wells / Glen Fox / Goldie / Gregory Conroy / Gaurab Thakali / HaroshI / Jack Pearce / James Jarvis / Jeremy Jones / Jon Horner / Liisa Chisholm / Lucas Beaufort / Luka Pinto / Mark Gonzales / Matthew Bromley / Nick Jensen / OKO / Pontus Alv / Rainyrainforest / Shepard Fairey / Will Sweeney / Zin V.
‘426㎡: The Southbank Show’ runs for two weeks from the 18th April at StolenSpace Gallery, 17 Osborn Street, London E1 6TD. And yes, LLSB can confirm there will be skateboards.
