City Racing was a squatted

artist-run space An artist-run space or artist-run centre (Canada) is a gallery or other facility operated or directed by artists, frequently circumventing the structures of public art centers, museums, or commercial galleries and allowing for a more experimental ...

in Oval Mansions, Kennington, South London which was active between 1988 and 1998. It was a

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-contro ...

by five artists Matt Hale,

Paul Noble Paul Noble (born 1963) is a British visual artist. Life and career Noble studied at Humberside College of Higher Education (1983–1986) and Sunderland Polytechnic (1982–1983), before moving to London in 1987. He was one of the five foun ...

, John Burgess, Keith Coventry and Peter Owen. They set up the gallery in a former

betting shop In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, a betting shop is a shop away from a racecourse ("off-course") where one can legally place bets in person with a licensed bookmaker. Most shops are part of chains including William Hill, ...

near

The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

cricket ground, hence the derivation of the gallery name. City Racing became an important and renowned exhibition space; its openings provided a networking opportunity for many artists.

History

A show was organised by Keith Coventry and Peter Owen as a way to show their work without having to court commercial West End galleries, which could be difficult and intimidating to approach without a reputation. Matt Hale became involved in the second show, which was the

squatted Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

betting shop which Coventry was using as his studio. Matt Hale said "We tried to make it as white-cube like as possible, as gallery-like as possible." Artists who had early exhibitions at City Racing include

Sarah Lucas Sarah Lucas (born 1962) is an English artist. She is part of the generation of Young British Artists who emerged during the 1990s. Her works frequently employ visual puns and bawdy humour by incorporating photography, collage and found objects. ...

and

Gillian Wearing Gillian Wearing CBE, RA (born 10 December 1963) is an English conceptual artist, one of the Young British Artists, and winner of the 1997 Turner Prize. In 2007 Wearing was elected as lifetime member of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. He ...

. The space received funding from the London Arts Board.

Influence

In its later years, City Racing was accepted to some extent by the art establishment, and was viewed by some as a route for artists to other more commercial and established galleries. It was featured in Time Out and City Limits as part of a new alternative art scene happening in London. This led to a benefit for the gallery organised by

Karsten Schubert Karsten Schubert (12 August 1961 – 30 July 2019) was a German art dealer and publisher working in London. Career Before opening his own gallery, Schubert worked at the Lisson Gallery. Karsten Schubert London Schubert ran Karsten Schubert Lon ...

. David Burrows wrote that "in one sense, City Racing refused to be marginalised from the mainstream and had conventional career aspirations." A retrospective book was published by Black Dog, called ''City Racing, The Life and Times of an artist Run Gallery''. In 2001 the

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA c ...

presented a retrospective of work exhibited at City Racing, entitled ''City Racing 1988-98: a Partial Account.''

External links

History of City Racing by Laura Cumming

References

{{SquatE&W Defunct art galleries in London English artist groups and collectives Artist cooperatives Art galleries established in 1988 Art galleries disestablished in 1998 1988 establishments in England 1998 disestablishments in England Co-operatives in England Former squats Squats in the United Kingdom The Oval

History

Influence

See also

Further reading

External links

References