London City Island's first phase includes a permanent art gallery, announced Ballymore this week.
City Island will host year-round exhibitions of some of the most up and coming artistic talent in London, showcased in the public areas of The Arts Club, the island’s private members club.
The Gallery brings artistic integrity and the needs of the creative industry to the fore and provides yet another cultural attraction to the already thriving City Island. It will be open to residents and to any and all that wish to visit with artwork sourced exclusively from surrounding East London.
Working in partnership with galleries in the nearby area such as Unit G Gallery, Castle Fine Art, Gabriel Fine Arts and the Time Art Gallery, the City Island gallery will showcase work in three month cycles, ensuring that there is a constant stream of new inspiration and allowing it to keep up with the ever developing world of the artists.
The current exhibition is a partnership between Ballymore and Unit G Gallery, with East London artists and artwork sourced by the Gallery and the display curated for the partnership by the Gallery’s Maguelone Marcenac. The exhibition includes a number of diverse paintings and sculptures from Sade English and a selection of the Gallery’s artists, such as their Saatchi START-fair multidisciplinary artist Conrad Armstrong, a series of oil paintings of urban scenes from Mick Dean and several more abstract sculptures from Gillian Drinkwater and Marie-Louise Jones. Unit G Gallery is dedicated to promoting fine art made in East London and by selling their artists’ work helps to sustain the local creative scene. All works will be on sale and ready to buy for tenant and tourist alike.
City Island is more than just a place to live; it is a destination for art, culture and creativity. Known as a mini-Manhattan, the island is a new neighbourhood for the capital, surrounded by water on Leamouth Peninsula and connected to Canning Town by a specially commissioned red bridge. With 1,600 residential units when complete, along with independent cafes, shops, restaurants and diverse cultural facilities, the first phase of this 12-acre site welcomed its first residents earlier this year. Already English National Ballet, English National Ballet School and The London Film School have announced that they will relocate to the island and east London’s contemporary art walk The Line recently announced that it will extend to the Island and set up a ‘hub’ for visitors to learn about the sculptural trail.
Sean Mulryan, chairman and founder of Ballymore Group commented: ‘’Ballymore has always had a strong affiliation with art and this new initiative is a great pleasure to us as a company. The first residents have now moved into City Island and already the development’s booming with life, now with the opening of the gallery I am sure the vibrancy of the community will only deepen.’’
Maguelone Marcenac, Unit G Gallery Curator added: “City Island will not become the ordinary London property development; it has its own singular creative identity. The Island provides the East End with a strong and credible new cultural hub. Serving the diverse fine art scene of East London, Unit G Gallery’s collaboration with City Island makes a great match.”