New pop-up art gallery and maker space ‘LAB’ is working with local artists to bring an array of exhibitions over the next 3 months.
The space hosts a show this weekend full of artwork on skateboards, whilst next week the space will take on a Halloween theme with 3 shows; an exhibition with artwork of a darker tone, an event from the Brighton Film Club with a horror theme & Virtual Reality Horror event.
LAB is a shared space with Exploring Senses who will be using part of the space to run creative and tech workshops for kids. After months of pitching Brighton Council has awarded the creators with a new pop-up space on Brighton seafront.
The space is being brought to the seafront in partnership with Pop-Up Brighton, who are very excited to announce the new pop-up space for 3 months next to the iconic/blot-in-the-landscape-ic i360.
As a community art gallery to help up-and-coming local artists, the space will see 12 different shows, changing the space every week. These will include some ‘call for submissions’ shows led by director Ashleigh Ward, and some shows curated by other Brighton creatives.
Working with different local artists and community groups, organisers have programmed shows for Halloween, digital artists, art on skate boards, illustrators on Grime music and our own pink season focusing on LGBTQ+ artists. The shows have been carefully picked and curated to involve, invigorate, and reflect the Brighton art scene.
The space opened with our big show for Brighton Digital Festival ‘Bring Your Own Beamer’ where video artists projected outside the i360. Then it got turned into a VR Arcade now we focus on our Halloween shows, with an exhibition of gothic style of work, Brighton Film Club horror screenings, and workshops. The organiser’s major focus will be at the end of November working with the LGBTQ+ community to put on exhibitions, performances and Brighton Film Club queer, a series of events that the team are very excited about delivering.
Speaking ahead of the event Ashleigh Ward from Pop-Up Brighton says “What an exciting opportunity to open up a pop-up for 3 months in such a stunning location! I am very excited to make this a cultural hub. A place for up and coming artists in Brighton to use as a place to exhibit, meet and enjoy. ”
Last November Pop-Up Brighton celebrated 5 years and reached the milestone of delivering over 50 shows helping over 2000 artists for free. These shows have been all shapes and sizes helping all kinds of creatives. From shows like ‘FRAMED’ cover windows in art to make an art trail to bigger shows in Brighton Dome like ‘Bring Your Own Beamer’ which helps video artists. To longer projects like ‘It Is What It Is’ using a shop in the North Laine area for a year, every week the shop changed to host a different project meaning that 52 projects happened in this space helping 219 artists. The biggest project to date was in Circus Street (abandoned warehouse) where Pop-Up Brighton put on 3 day festival exhibiting 100 artists with 30 performances and 1000 people turned up on the opening night.
“We take over space and come up with innovative ways to make it into exciting opportunities for the local artistic community to be involved.” Below is a list of
programmed exhibitions that may tickle your fancy;
Black History Month
14th October: Photographic exhibition of Black and Arab civilians in WW1
20th October: Grip Thumb. Art on skateboards
Halloween Season
25th October: Brighton Film Club -short horror films
26th October: Papercut, group exhibition of artwork with a darker tone.
28th October: Virtual Reality Horror
November Exhibitions
3rd November: Next Hype. A selection of illustrators from Brighton have drawn their favourite Grime artist.
10th November: Don’t Touch My Things, a group show of surreal Brighton painters and street artists.
Pink Season
15th – 29th November: 2 exhibitions; focusing one sexuality and gender. Events tbc.
30th November +: Shop of works from local designers and makers with daily workshops to make your own Christmas present.
