Long Live Southbank Exhibition 2019
The renowned London skate spot – Southbank Undercroft – is the subject of a 4 day event hosted at the Bermondsey Project Space between 31st July and 3rd August.
The Long Live Southbank Exhibition is a celebration of the history of Southbank as a location of creativity and skateboarding, and will showcase photography, art, film and historical artefacts.
Long Live Southbank 2019
Press Release:
The Long Live Southbank Exhibition will run from 31st July – 3rd August atBermondsey Project Space , a conclusionary event from one of the most successful UK grassroots movements campaigning for free creative spaces in recent decades.
The exhibition will tell the story of the Southbank Undercroft, from its construction in the 1960s as an architectural experiment and its subsequent discovery by the very first skateboarders in Britain, through to its present day status as one of the world’s most famous skateboarding spots. It will feature photography, film, artwork and artefacts from the spaces 5 decade history, as well as a full programme of talks, workshops, panel discussions and film screenings. The exhibition was curated in close accordance to LLSB’s community centred ethos and features 500+ images from over 50 photographers, many of which have never been shown to the public before.
The Long Live Southbank Exhibition may be one of LLSB’s last major events and a rare exploration into a grassroots creative community that has thrived for 5 decades. Each of the exhibitions four days will be themed, to allow for discussions to develop around a wide range of topics. After the opening night, Thursday will see a variety of films from 3 decades of Undercroft history screened in addition to director Q+A’s. Friday will see discussions on the role that LLSB should play in the future and panel discussions on topics within contemporary skateboarding. On Saturday the focus will be on grassroots campaigns and cultural gentrification in London, with further workshops, panel discussions and film screenings.
The exhibition features contributions from a large number of the UK’s foremost skate photographers and filmers from recent decades, as well as previously unseen artefacts and imagery from the archives of Read and Destroy Magazine, Southbank Centre, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and Arup.
The little banks and other historic sections of the space will be reopened on Saturday July 20th. The restoration is historically accurate and true to the original intent of the architects. The project has received a large number of individual donations from the public, as well as larger contributions from the Mayor of London, the London Marathon Charitable Trust, Sports England, adidas skateboarding, Palace Skateboards, Supreme, Brixton’s Baddest and the Architectural Heritage Fund.
