Dairy Art Centre

Dairy Art Centre
Location within Central London
Established 2013
Location Dairy Art Centre, 7a Wakefield Street, London WC1N, England, United Kingdom
Coordinates 51°31′34″N 0°07′19″W / 51.526012°N 0.122019°W / 51.526012; -0.122019
Public transit access Russell Square
Website www.dairyartcentre.org

Dairy Art Centre is a public space for contemporary visual art in Bloomsbury, London. It is currently temporarily closed for the site it occupies to be redeveloped and is set to relaunch once works have been completed.

History

The Dairy is a private, non-commercial, initiative founded by art collectors Frank Cohen and Nicolai Frahm[1][2][3] cementing their lifelong passion for art and their commitment to increasing access to the visual arts by opening up the Dairy's exhibition to the public for free, and through its newly created education and internship training programmes.

Exhibition Programme

Dairy Art Centre supports and engages with contemporary art at the highest international level. The exhibition programme comprises temporary exhibitions that draw on the collections of its founders,[4] representing internationally renowned figures celebrated worldwide, as well as lesser known artists. In addition, Dairy provides opportunities for curators, undiscovered artists and commissions ambitious new work for its unique 12,500 square feet of exhibition spaces, formerly a milk depository used by Express Dairy Company Ltd.

Dairy Art Centre's inaugural exhibition in early 2013 Quicksand by John Armleder [5] curated by Alessandro Rabottini, married work from the Founders collections, recent works and new commissions specially conceived for the venue. This exhibition was followed by a group show Island curated by Sarina Basta, which took Aldous Huxley's novel of the same title as its starting point. The artists in Island were selected from Cohen and Frahm's personal art collections and included work by Jake and Dinos Chapman, George Condo, Zeng Fanzhi, Urs Fischer, Sylvie Fluery, Takashi Murakami, Sigmar Polke, Ugo Rondinone, Sterling Ruby, Julian Schnabel, Cindy Sherman, Rirkrit Tiravanija and Ai Wei Wei.

In 2014, Julian Schnabel presented Every Angel has a Dark Side, his first solo exhibition in a public art space in the UK for nearly 15 years. The exhibition brought together new and rarely seen works created within primarily the last ten years. Now known as much for his critically acclaimed films as for his art, this exhibition is both a re-evaluation and a celebration of Julian Schnabel the painter – his primary occupation. Two further solo exhibitions, a collection of works by Mexican artist Adriana Lara and a major solo exhibition Greetings From a Place in My Heart by Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara followed that year.

Facilities

Jenny Jones, an internationally recognised architect, whose work includes groundbreaking projects such as the Prada Epicentre in New York City, transformed the interior of Dairy Art Centre. Her sensitive adaptation highlights the building's unique, raw, industrial features with high ceilings and skylights, which provides a vibrant exhibition space for contemporary art. The history of the site as a once operating milk depository has been incorporated within the final plans, whilst introducing strong contemporary design features.

The building has been divided into various exhibition spaces offering diverse communal, artistic and curatorial opportunities: two main halls, a converted milk fridge, two outdoor sculpture yards, and future plans for an artist-designed milk bar and cafe, a book and media outlet, an education space and a design space.

Externally, John M. Armleder has conceived and designed an alternative frontage for the entrance. For the launch of the venue and as Dairy’s first exhibiting artist, he created a sparkling glitter stencil of our logo. Applied, the commissioned signage glistens and catches the light to reveal a subtle rendering of the word 'Dairy’.

References

  1. ↑ British Collectors Frank Cohen and Nicolai Frahm Open New Art Space in London
  2. ↑ Visit – Spotlight on Contemporary Collectors: Frank Cohen and Nicolai Frahm at The Dairy
  3. ↑ {{cite news|url=http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/esmagazine/the-new-art-establishment-art-collector-frank-cohen-makes-his-move-on-london-8534079.html|title=The New Art Establishment: art collector Frank Cohen makes his move on London|last=Field|first=Marcus|date=15 March 2013|work=London Evening Standard|accessdate=1 July 2013}}
  4. ↑ Departures
  5. ↑ Glover, Michael (25 April 2013). "Art review: Quicksand John Armleder". The Independent. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
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