≤ 10000 sq.m (107639 sq.ft)

Space: I Site

about:

In 1968 the artists Bridget Riley and Peter Sedgley, in search of suitable studio spaces for themselves, seized an opportunity to occupy the ‘Ivory Warehouse’ (known as the ‘I’ Site) in St Katharine Dock, near Tower Bridge, E1. (St Katharine Dock had then been taken over from The Port of London Authority by the Greater London Council.)

In need of support, Riley and Sedgely invited a number of enthusiastic people from diverse backgrounds to create a body of Trustees who all had an active interest in the arts: Tony West, Professor of Law at the University of Reading’s Faculty of Urban & Regional Studies; Irene Worth, an actress, ‘passionately’ interested in the arts; Maurice de Sausmarez, Principal of the Byam Shaw School of Art and Peter Townsend, editor of Studio International. After some initial investigations at the Ministry of Housing and Local Government Professor West had deduced that no provision had been made for artists' studios in London describing this as a paradox: ‘...London is, in a way, the centre of the art world but the artists just cannot find a space to work. We want artists, we need them but, they are left to find their own solution...

The enthusiastic group formed ‘Space Provision, Artistic, Cultural and Educational Ltd., S.P.A.C.E. Ltd'. (abbreviated to S.P.A.C.E.) which was non-profit making. It successfully negotiated a two year lease at low rental for the ‘I’ Site from the GLC.
A friend and supporter of the project, Sir Henry Moore, recalls visiting the site with Riley to assess its suitability as a conducive space for artists to work in: 'The building I was taken into had been derelict since the last war. It had a remarkably, romantic feeling about it.’ Archer suggests that '...the range of this support indicates that the venture was, from the very first, identified as a good thing not only within the narrow confines of the art world, but also for the cultural and economic well-being of the community at large'.

from: 'Artists in East London'
online available at: www.acme.org.uk/download.php?pdf=149‎
(accessed September 2013)

how is/was it run/structured ?:

committee

what is/was it's legal status ?:

charity

how is/was it funded ?:

history of the site:

St Katharine Docks, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, were one of the commercial docks serving London, on the north side of the river Thames just east (downstream) of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. They were part of the Port of London, in the area now known as the Docklands, and are now a popular housing and leisure complex.

St Katharine Docks took their name from the former hospital of St Katharine's by the Tower, built in the 12th century, which stood on the site. An intensely built-up 23 acre (9.5 hectares) site was earmarked for redevelopment by an Act of Parliament in 1825, with construction commencing in May 1827. Some 1250 houses were demolished, together with the medieval hospital of St. Katharine. Around 11,300 inhabitants, mostly port workers crammed into insanitary slums, lost their homes; only property owners received compensation. (...)

The docks were officially opened on 25 October 1828. Although well used, they were not a great commercial success and were unable to accommodate large ships. (...)
The St Katharine Docks were badly damaged by German bombing during the Second World War and never fully recovered thereafter. (...)

Most of the original warehouses were demolished and replaced by modern commercial buildings in the early 1970s, with the docks themselves becoming a marina. The development has often been cited as a model example of successful urban redevelopment. (...)

The area now features offices, public and private housing, a large hotel, shops and restaurants, a pub (The Dickens Inn, a former brewery dating back to the 18th century), a yachting marina and other recreational facilities. (...)

from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Katharine_Docks

management/organisers/directors/board/committee:

Bridget Riley

Peter Sedgley

Peter Townsend

Tony West

Irene Worth

address:

Ivory Warehouse, St. Katherine Docks

50 Saint Katharine's Way

E1W 1LA London 51° 30' 23.4612" N, 0° 4' 18.678" W

See map: Google Maps

websites:

SPACE (studios) on Wikipedia

SPACE

total size in sqm/sqft:

≤ 10000 sq.m (107639 sq.ft)

usage:

work only

previous usage of the site:

industrial

number of studios:

50 - 100

types of studios:

open plan, private

established:

1968

vacated:

1970

last known status of the project:

continued (new site)

last known status of the site:

redeveloped

I Site at St Katherine's Dock - Space Studios 1968-1970

Butler's Wharf

about:

Butler's Wharf was a former riverside warehouse dating from the late 19th century, within the complex of streets and buildings immediately south and east of Tower Bridge.

In the early 1970's many of the buildings in that area had been cheaply purchased by property speculators with a view to re-development. In London at that time, many housing associations and cooperatives were being formed to negotiate cheap rents for derelict properties in the interim period before demolition or redevelopment took place. Many artists lived
and worked under these kinds of arrangements, and it was a group of friends who had met while at art college in the Isle of Man and Brighton who together rented a floor of Block 2B, Butlers Wharf in late 1975, later joined by recent art graduates from Newcastle, Leeds and Maidstone.

From 1975-78, the artists' space at 2B Butler's Wharf was a key venue for early UK video art and performance art, used among others by Derek Jarman and the artists and dancers who subsequently founded Chisenhale Studios and Chisenhale Dance Space, including Philip Jeck.

how is/was it run/structured ?:

individual

what is/was it's legal status ?:

other

how is/was it funded ?:

studios

history of the site:

Butler's Wharf was built between 1871-73 as a shipping wharf and warehouse complex, to store tea, spices and other imported goods unloaded from ships using the port of London. It contained one of the largest tea warehouse in the world. In 1971, following the relocation of the docks further east and the rise of containerisation, Butler's Wharf and other warehouses in the area fell into disuse.

From 1984, Butler's Wharf has been redeveloped by Conran Roche into luxury flats, with restaurants and shops on the ground floor.
Butler's Wharf is Grade II listed.

studio artists:

David Critchley

Fran Cotell

Ingrid Kerma

Richard Wilson

William Raban

Hannah Collins

George Blacklock

Pete Webster

Maurice Agis

Keith Bowler

Derek Jarman

Anne Bean

Andrew Logan

The X6 Dance Collective

Mikey Cuddihy

Simon Read

John Kippin

Belinda Williams

Martin Hearne

Kevin Atherton

Mick Duckworth

Steve James

Dave Hanson

Alan Stott

Kieran Lyons

Alison Winckle

exhibitions, events, workshops:

Exhibitions and events at 2B Butler's Wharf:
The first person to put on a publicized live performance at 2B was Kevin Atherton in November 1975.
In May 1976, regular Saturday evening shows began with presentations by members of the original group, quickly extended to shows by close associates and then opened to all artists wishing to use the space for presentations of their time-based work. In eighty shows over two and a half years, thirty involved film projection, a dozen used video, a further dozen were sound pieces; several used light as a primary element, some were pure performance art, while many used combinations of different media.
By May 1978 when the building was closed down by the developers, there had been over 80 shows by more than 60 artists.
online available at: http://www.studycollection.co.uk/2B/events.html
(accessed September 2013)