News; Dear, The Horse Hospital

Dear my beloved Horse Hospital,

It’s been 27 years since you began to provide us creativity, passion and excitement. You have allowed creatives to explore their talents and begin to establish their brands. Bringing joy to spectators and spreading subcultures, as well as giving the minority a safe space to experiment their individuality and artistry. 

It saddens me to hear of your unfortunate potential closing. You were a staple of London. After being abandoned for many years, you were repurposed into a creative art space and became the home to the contemporary wardrobe. The inaugural exhibition was, ‘Vive Le Punk’. The first ever retrospective of the designs of Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren for their sequence of shops at 430 Kings Road, London. You have been responsible for kick starting many careers, which have blossomed into some of the best in fashion, film, writing, music and more. 

Your beautiful building was designed and built in 1797 by James Burton. Being used to care for working horses in the community. You were built to look after creatures and that passion and care has been passed through you for years. In 1992, Roger Burton repurposed the horse hospital into a diverse space for a broader range of creatives. In 2005, you became a Grade 2 listed building in Bloomsbury, Central London. The 333% increase in rent has made the battle for the passionate space unaffordable and unfortunately it seems to be a losing battle at the moment – simply unable to compete with the nearly £4000 increase. 

Burton said the horse hospital had “paved the way for future experimental artists and curators to feel free to improvise with the space here as they thought fit”. The space is going to be utilised until the end. The horse hospital has recently been given an extension until the end of March 2020 to raise funds against the rise in rent.

The next exhibition, ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ was put together by 5 contemporary artists Marc Almond, Sadie Lee, Jamie McLeod, Mathew Stradling and Caitlin Ricaud. The exhibition aims to make viewers experience, relate and gather information based on observations and actions, rather than reading or listening to dialogue – using individual creativity. ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ is now open until Friday 28th of February 2020 Open Mon – Sat 12-6pm / Artist’s Reception on Saturday 8th of February 2-5pm. 

After years of offering the community a safe and happy environment to explore creativity and art, it is sad news to hear of the potential closing. 

P.S, 

For more information about The Horse Hospitals potential closing, click here.