'Delfina Entrecanales doesn't collect art - she collects artists,' says Aaron Cezar, director of the freshly unveiled Delfina Foundation, which opened its new space in London last week.
For the past 25 years, the 86-year-old Entrecanales has supported and promoted young artists, with particular emphasis on those from the Middle East and Africa. Her first space in Bermondsey, which she opened in 1992, had 32 studios and a canteen where artists could eat for £1, and her new space is its Victoria reincarnation, with a more homely feel.
Entrecanales is famously outspoken on the excesses of the art world, so monumental white cubes or slick, modernist townhouses were out. Instead, she selected two upcoming architectural practices, London's Studio Octopi and Cairo-based Shahira Fahmy, to convert two cosy Edwardian townhouses into one unified structure. Original features - such as timber beams, fireplaces and staircases - connect with glass panels, granting views across and between all five floors. In addition to the gallery, there's offices, a library, a communal kitchen and accommodation for up to eight artists. 'Our biggest challenge was interweaving public and private spaces and making them feel domestic,' says Studio Octopi founding director James Lowe.
With its location 'near the heart of the government and in the new cultural quarter that is Victoria', the foundation is, explains Cezar 'an informal think-tank providing research and artistic production.' The inaugural residency programme focuses on the Politics of Food and opens with an exhibition of the same name. On show are works by ten artists, among them a water fountain by Iranian-Canadian artist Abbas Akhavan comprising a stack of dishes, pots and pans trickling quietly in one corner, while Ghanaian-Swiss artist Senam Okudzeto has strewn oranges across the floor alongside her metal sculptures based on those used by Ghanaian fruit vendors.
The Politics of Food will unfold over the course of four years, for around one month at a time, and will run in conjunction with other residencies. 'It's like a family home,' smiles Entrecanales, 'and I am the mother.'
The building includes offices for the contemporary arts foundation, founded by Delfina Entrecanales and directed by Aaron Cezar
The architects converted two cosy Edwardian townhouses into one contemporary multi-use space. In addition to the workspaces, there's also a library, gallery and a communal kitchen
Original features such as timber beams and staircases are connected by glass panels, granting views across and between all five floors
This open plan approach creates a visually coherent, bright and welcoming interior
The original fireplaces were also kept, such as in this in the ground level event room...
...which spills out onto a decked terrace
Splashes of colour break up the otherwise muted palette of the space
The architects saw the interweaving of public and private spaces as one of the project's biggest challenges
Openings on the building's walls and floors help create visual continuity throughout
The gallery, situated on the lower ground floor, will provide space for the foundation's artists to display their work
The inaugural residency programme focuses on the politics of food and opens with an exhibition of the same name
Meanwhile, the building's top floors host accommodation for up to eight artists. The rooms are taken up by the artists in residence at the Delfina Foundation
Accomodation varies in size and type; some are en-suite and some have shared bathrooms
The Edwardian façade of the Delfina Foundation's new space in Victoria
ADDRESS
Delfina Foundation
29 Catherine Place
London SW1E 6DY
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