Housed in a library building originally built in 1897, Camden Arts Centre has, since its inception in 1966, has brought together a unique combination of exhibitions and educational programmes under one roof. Originally under the direct control of Camden borough’s arts and libraries committee in 1971, the Centre was organised into three separate organisations; the Arkwright Arts Trust (who ran two galleries and the general administration for the building), the Camden Trust Management Board (who ran practical art classes for adults and children), and the Hampstead Artists’ Council (who arranged exhibitions of local interest in Gallery 3). Since 1990 it has been run as one organisation, Camden Arts Centre. In 2004 the Centre re-opened after a major building refurbishment scheme by Tony Fretton architects.

Between 1966 and 1990, the program presented a number of significant exhibitions highlighting the work of important and emerging artists, including; Environments Reversal (1969) David Lamelas, Stuart Brisley and Marc Chaimowicz; Photography into Art (1973) Lothar Baumgarten, Christian Boltanski and Anthony McCall; Hampstead in the Thirties (1975) Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore and Naum Gabo; and Contemporary Artists in Camden (1981) which included Paula Rego, Antony Gormley and Anthony Caro.

Since 1990 the programme has focused on revealing the artistÕs process. As part of this, an Artist Residency Scheme was developed to offer artists at a significant point in their career, the opportunity to work in the studio alongside the galleries and public workshop spaces. Previous artists in residence have included Martin Creed, Enrico David, Andrew Lord, Mike Nelson, Antoni Malinowski, Eva Rothschild, Simon Starling, Jo Stockham and Lubna Chowdhary and Francis Upritchard.

Camden Arts Centre is a world-class contemporary visual arts space, dedicated to working with the highest calibre artists from across the international arts scene. Placing the artist at the centre of what we do, it strives to involve members of the public in the ideas and work of today’s artists, and the artists who inspire them.

The exhibition and education programmes are developed with equal importance, and are continually intertwined. The changing programme includes exhibitions, artist residencies, off-site projects and artist-led activities, ensuring Camden Arts Centre remains a dynamic place for seeing, making and talking about art.

Camden Arts Centre’s exhibitions programme features a number of strands including; supporting the development of work by emerging artists; providing international artists with the opportunity to exhibit in London for the first time; offering more established artists the opportunity to present a new body of work; re-evaluating the work of significant artists from the last century who may have been overlooked but continue to influence contemporary artists’ practice; and artist selected group shows which allow artists to develop their interest in a particular period or type of work.

These strands continually thread through the exhibitions programme and some emphasis is put on loosely linkng together artists by the ideas and thinking that underpins their practice. These threads are visible throughout the history of the Centre and the direct relationships that occur in the programming of the specific gallery spaces.

Combining exhibitions and artist residencies, the programme is developed through conversations with artists, writers, external academics and curators as well as through partnerships with other organisations both in the UK and internationally.

Camden Arts Centre presents approximately 10 projects each year.

Most outstanding projects in recent years:

A selection include solo shows with Mamma Andersson, Angela de la Cruz, RenŽ Dani‘ls, Eva Hesse, Hilma Af Klint, Kerry James Marshall, Kenneth and Mary Martin, Francis Picabia; exhibitions of new work by Claire Barclay, Johanna Billing, Matthew Buckingham, Anya Gallaccio, Siobh‡n Hapaska, Aernout Mik, Michael Raedecker, Allen Ruppersberg, Thomas Scheibitz and Katja Strunz. Artist Residencies have included Mel Brimfield, Kate Davies, Paul Johnson, Marte Marce and Nicole Wermers.

Camden Arts Centre’s diverse public programme provides a dynamic accompaniment to its critically acclaimed exhibitions. It includes residencies, a ceramics fellowship, live art and performance events, talks and discussions, workshops, symposia, film screenings, off-site and community projects and work with local schools and colleges.

Structured around each exhibition, often with artists at the centre of activities, the public programme offers unique opportunities to engage with the ideas underpinning the exhibitions by revealing in various ways, how artists think about and make work. Alongside artists’ talks and selected films, the public programme encompasses the expertise and knowledge of specialists, scholars and critics to offer the widest range of interpretation of cultural, social and political discourses within contemporary art.

With a particular focus on commissioning and presenting live art and performance work, a central tenant of the programme is to nurture and support young and emerging artists in their practice. Crucial to this approach is understanding and developing the position of Camden Arts Centre in the local and wider cultural landscape. Both Junction, a programme of off site activity in King’s Cross, and two annual festivals represent its public facing approach in presenting contemporary art beyond the gallery walls.

Camden Arts Centre’s education programme aims to give people of all ages the space to experiment and be creative. The programme is led by artists, keeping contemporary practice at the centre of its activities, and provides opportunities to engage with its artists and exhibitions in exciting and experimental ways.

Camden Arts Centre’s public education programme includes courses, projects and holiday activities for schools, community groups, families and individuals together with a unique activity guide to the exhibitions devised by artists. Courses take place in the Ceramics and Drawing Studios, and include skills-based and experimental classes for adults, young people and children aged over five.

Projects include Get the Message, for children with learning disabilities, and Insights for young people interested in developing a career in the visual arts. These projects are delivered in partnership with local authorities, schools and higher education institutes and include bursary places on courses for progression and personal development.

Further programmes include the Seniors project and Schools projects which is run in liaison with Camden Council.