The Mortlake Palace of Contemporary Arts. A project to convert existing buildings into a contemporary centre of art. Connecting East London's White Chapel Art Gallery with West London's Mortlake Palace of Arts, by number 9 bus and barge to the South Bank. Project in collaboration with Mel Gooding, Will Alsop and Nick Serota – 1983.
What would the Centre do?
Note (a). Mortlake Palace of Arts will be an active studio space, not a conventional museum or art gallery: the centre should be thought of as a medium in itself, a material resource for the artists who use it. It will be a place of making, a stimulus to the production of creative work.
What would the Centre do?
01
It would arrange temporary exhibitions of a consistently high standard involving artists of national and international reputation. Usually these would not last for more than ten days (i.e. taking in two weekends). These events would be of such a kind as to attract substantial media attention. (See appendix 1).
02
It would provide a venue for performance works and installations involving light, movement and dance, poetry and modern music, and for lectures, demonstrations and master-classes.
03
It would provide a base for an audio-visual art archive, including comprehensive documentation of the activities of the centre itself. (see appendix 2).
04
It would be a centre for art activities involving local schools and colleges: these would be served by professional artists of high standing and could involve print-making, painting, sculpture, sound works and performance.
Note (a). Mortlake Palace of Arts will be an active studio space, not a conventional museum or art gallery: the centre should be thought of as a medium in itself, a material resource for the artists who use it. It will be a place of making, a stimulus to the production of creative work.