Dissenters' Chapel and the Intervention Gallery
Introducing the Intervention Gallery. An English Heritage chapel in Kensal Green Cemetery that’s been given a new art-enhanced lease of life… (We loved the Fine Things to Be Seen exhibition over the summer)
Here’s the TV show pitch: with the help of their friends and families culture-refuseniks are taken to the Anglican Chapel in Kensal Green Cemetery, dragged past history-steeped tombs and then locked into a Grade-I listed columned stone building where they’re surrounded by contemporary art… And then… OK, apologies my imagination was running wild there with the intervention reference: see our pal Wikipedia if the other meaning was lost on you. Thankfully the reality of the Anglican Chapel’s renaissance is a lot less Endemol and a load more edifying.
Welcome ladies and gents to West London’s most unique art space, the Intervention Gallery. Supported by the Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery and the General Cemetery Company, this special free-to-the-public art project is funded by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
'The site, building and concept are pretty unique – I've never come across a serious art venue in a cemetery before!' says artist and curator.
Artist and curator Kate Keara Pelen is the gallery’s driving force.
‘We are so privileged to be able to locate the gallery where it is, in a grade-I listed building, as well as outside in a practically purpose-built sculpture court at the rear of the chapel, between the colonnades. We are part or an emerging visual arts scene in the area along with Artisan, Harvist, Harlesden Gallery (online) and not to mention BAR’s Gallery at Willesden Green and the Tricycle Gallery. There is also an ACME studio nearby on Harrow Road. We are all talking to each other, trying to develop our support networks and create a real scene here.’
Private view of Fine Things to be Seen, Friday 6 August
Kate moved to the area two years ago, while in the middle of her Master of Fine Arts at the Slade.
‘I had been working in large museums and galleries for a number of years and wanted to set up a more grass-roots, local artists’ project space that would become a hub for artistic practice in the area. My partner, Kerim Aytac, and I had a brief two-person pop-up photography show last summer in the disused lock-up shop at Kensal Rise station (formerly Flirty florist) before it was refurbished. We wanted to test out the format and see if there was a public for us. There was: we were really struck by how much appetite there was for good quality contemporary art in Kensal!’
Kate then had a show ‘Graveyard Shift’ down at the Dissenters’ Chapel and Gallery (Ladbroke Grove end). She began talking with Glenn Benson and Barry Smith, trustees of the FoKGC (Friends of Kensal Green Cemetery) about programming exhibitions and events on a more ongoing basis within the cemetery.
‘There was so much potential, and it hadn’t yet been exploited. We ran a pilot at the spring equinox back in March called ‘Equal Night: Music, video, sculpture’ which combined artworks with live music all springing from the theme of equinox/light and dark/time/orbits/seasons… it was a great success, the place was packed and we felt bolstered to go ahead…’
Fine Things To be Seen, 6 August–5 September
The idea of using the Anglican Chapel arose when she was shown it for the first time.
‘It was in a bit of a neglected state, but it wasn’t difficult to see the potential there. After all, there are enough white cubes around and artists tend to respond well to alternative spaces. My own preference has always been for site-specific work that has a unique relationship with the space it finds itself in. In fact the name ‘intervention’ reflects the fact that we aim to show works that respond to the space or at the very least acknowledge its loaded character and work with all of its wonderful idiosyncracies. ‘Intervention’ also reflects the fact that we are stepping in – intervening, if you will – to halt the decay of an important building. That’s part of the reason the project went ahead: by raising awareness of the chapel and cemetery, celebrating it and giving it a new lease of life.’
What has the gallery got on its horizons?
‘A diverse, challenging and cutting edge programme of exhibitions March to October showcasing emerging as well as more established artists, solo shows as well as group exhibitions, all complemented by associated events such as family activities, talks and tours. Shows will change every 4–6 weeks and will include drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, video, sculpture, installation, performance, music… Special events (concerts, talks, performances, workshops, seminars…) through the winter months until February.’
Kate and Kerim, two of the arty souls breathing new life into Kensal Green Cemetery
Big shouts going out to full IG team:
Ben Street (curator, writer); Kerim Aytac, Jeff Vanderpool (co-curators photography, artists’ books); Adam Brown (designer, photographer); Anna Sikorska, Jon Sack, Ben Youngman (technicians); Bethan Ellis, Ziella Byars, Henriette Baker (co-curators: spoken word, literature, theatre and performance); Orlanda Byars, James Cave (co-curators music); Toby Clarkson (new media).
And it’s not just a pretty space. The ambling there too is pretty special. Back in the 19th century this cemetery was the most fashionable don’t you know. (I know, I am not sure either how you really measure a burial ground’s on-trendability, but I didn’t write the cemetery’s website. This is a blog, not the Beeb, so forgive me if I scrimp on the in-depth qualitative research.)
And what a star-studded setting. It’s not just a filmic sprawl of tombstones you’ll amble through to get to the Intervention Gallery either. It’s a posthumous Who’s Who. Harold Pinter? Yessiree, he’s there. And Lord Byron? Well it may not be the man himself six feet under here, but it his missus. It may not be Oscar Wilde’s epitaph* you’ll read, granted, but his mum’s? Yup. Add to that some of Charles Dickens’ in-laws and the daughter of Winston Churchill… And if it’s the original creator of Pears’ Soap or the original WH Smith you’re planning to make a pilgrimage for, you won’t be disappointed.
Adam, where is Freddie Mercury buried?
(Oh, and a note to Adam, Park Life’s beloved film buff:
I know you were convinced that Freddie Mercury is buried there. But er, it turns out when people ask you that in a graveyard, it’s um, code… Ya get me?)
*And, in case you’re wondering, Oscar Wilde’s grave is in fact in Père Lachaise in Paris and it reads ALIEN TEARS WILL FILL FOR HIM PITY’S LONG-BROKEN ERN, FOR HIS MOURNERS WILL BE OUTCAST MEN, AND OUTCASTS ALWAYS MOURN. Sorry. We were hoping for something more witty too.
The entrance to the Intervention Gallery is from Harrow Road or Ladbroke Grove. Join the gallery’s Facebook page.
Open Saturday and Sunday 10am–4pm
The Intervention Gallery hopes to attract much-needed restoration funding for the Anglican Chapel from this art project.
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Ah…
This sounds and looks amazing! am really excited to have this in the neighbourhood and will make sure to check it out asap.
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