Art at London Bridge in lockdown: a year in review

Team London Bridge’s Director of Arts Ellie Beedham reflects on some of the highlights of the London Bridge culture programme over the last year

Over the last year our ‘OPEN’ exhibition collaboration with the London Bridge Hotel has gone from strength to strength, bringing art to unexpected spaces in the form of three successful art shows. Working with partners Southwark Council and Zealous, we’ve co-hosted 60 local artists in the lobby and bar of the London Bridge Hotel. You can view the latest exhibition Urban Nature online. Featured artist Gail Seres Wolfson has also run a series of very inspiring collage workshops as part of Love Lunch Online series, tempting employees away from work for a well-deserved creative break.

The Quincunx Project (pictured top) has been curated by MA students from the Royal College of Art in partnership with Team London Bridge. Rachel Pimm, former resident artist at the Whitechapel Gallery has collaborated with four other practitioners across disciplines including artist Lilah Fowler, composer HP Parmley, poet Daisy Lafarge, and chef and designer Peiran Gong on an exploration of medicinal plants, sounds and breathing. These investigations into apothecary now form a new website. The project was originally intended to be displayed at the Old Operating Theatre, Southwark Cathedral and the London Bridge Hive however with the advent of Covid-19 has been adapted online. View here.

In 2019 photographer Henry Reichhold worked with Team London Bridge and partners including the Shangri-La Hotel to realise these amazing large-scale panoramic time-lapse photographs installed at London Bridge Station through September and October. His iconic new views of the river and surrounding areas were enjoyed by thousands of visitors, workers and residents alike as part of the Totally Thames Festival.

Team London Bridge also delivered ‘Buzz’ the refurbishment of a substation at the top of Bermondsey Street Tunnel with the London Festival of Architecture and designed by Mesh workshop. This derelict building was re-vitalised with images and graphics inspired by the local food offer, reflecting the sounds and textures of culinary creations. You can find the substation next to Honest Burgers and Pizza Pilgrims.

Local celebrity and renowned jewellery designer Andrew Logan created the Sunshine! Kiosk which was activated with the support of visitor services personnel from the Unicorn Theatre. Through the summer the artwork served as a beacon for visitors to the area to discover amenities, signpost local businesses and heritage attractions.

Above is a small sample of a variety of major arts projects delivered by Team London Bridge in the last 12 months as part of the Culture Programme.

- Ellie Beedham - Director of Arts - ellie@teamlondonbridge.co.uk