A Local Gallery

A bi-monthly windowbox gallery for local leytonstone work, showcasing locals who wouldnt consider themselves members of the established "artworld"; shop keepers key cutters and cashiers.

The box gallery is the first of a series of small galleries inspired by external council notice boards and "little free libraries" (LFLs). The aim is to provide a platform for local artists to display their works in each area, encouraging people outside the conventional art world to showcase their work to the local community.

The closure of public libraries in response to austerity measures introduced in 2010 in the UK, has an relationship with the widespread adoption of "little free libraries" as a community-driven response to limited access to books. This same association can be seen in the context of local authority-funded gallery closures, where window box small pop-up galleries throughout the UK could be seen as a community-driven response to limited access to art spaces. Almost 30% of small and medium-sized galleries in the UK had closed in the past five years, as per a 2019 report by the Contemporary Art Society and Art Fund. A Local Gallery with its design inspired by council notice boards, aims to provide a showcase for local talent which may not be promoted in an established art world context, providing community exposure in reaction to gentrification. In the list of exhibitors within the upcoming year, we will display a local shop keeper, begining his pratice drawing on the back of envelopes while working and now doing larger canvases, (Images right) A key cutter who paints faces on his signage and a cashier who creates AI prompted artwork displaying fictional animals and fantasy imagrey. The work currently shown is a local printer and publisher.

The gallery is made from found materials and was made using hand tools, with a homemade aesthetic similar to LFLs. (Power tools and welding were employed where needed) Its design encourages DIY aesthetics to others to create a box themselves, with hopefully a focus on promoting untrained artists. The box gallery is embedded in private property with landlord permission on a broken- down wall facing a public road, overground stop, and public house, providing a platform for local artists to showcase their works and supporting the local established, organic art scene prior to gentrification which can result in the production of an art scene that prioritizes commercial viability over community engagement and representation. The hope is that a local art scene can be emphasised that is more closely tied to the needs and interests of the current community.