The Camden Art Centre, a venerable London art space, appears to be staying put for the long term.
The art center announced on Tuesday that it had secured a 99-year lease on its current home after having raised the £1.9 million it needed to do so. Its lease was previously due to expire in 2027.
The Camden Art Centre has a record of mounting a forward-thinking program. The center staged a Hilma af Klint show in 2006, more than a decade before the Guggenheim Museum put on its record-breaking retrospective for her, and Jesse Darling received his 2023 Turner Prize win for his show at the Camden Art Centre.
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In recent years, the center has also done exhibitions for closely watched artists such as Allison Katz, a painter who went on to appear in the Venice Biennale; Julien Creuzet, who later represented France at the Biennale; and Mohammed Sami, who is currently nominated for the Turner Prize, the UK’s top art prize.
Martin Clark, deputy director of the Camden Art Centre, led the effort to obtain the 99-year lease with Guy Halamish, the centre’s board chair. Per the center, artists ranging from Kara Walker to Alvaro Barrington contributed to the £1.9 million raised.
In a statement, Clark said, “This is an extraordinary achievement for the charity and provides much-needed financial resilience, following significant recent cuts to our public funding. On the occasion of our 60th anniversary, I can think of no better way to both celebrate our past and look with confidence to our future.”