Cell Project Space

 

Cell Project Space is a non-profit gallery dedicated to supporting emerging, mid-career and underrepresented voices in British and international contemporary art. Founded in 1999 and located in Bethnal Green, East London, Cell Project Space has since become known for its artist-centric focus and acts testing site for experimental exhibitions, new artistic production, and tailored public programmes, fostering meaningful engagements between art practitioners, and the wider public.

 

Cell Project Space was established as an artist-run gallery with a commitment to providing an accessible space for artists to experiment and engage in critical discourse. In 2014, this mission was formalised by registering as a charity, Cell Foundation, enabling us to amplify our support for the arts. Cell Studios, founded concurrently, provides affordable workspaces for artists and has grown to encompass a wide community of creatives across London. The income generated from Cell Studios directly sustains the gallery’s operations, supporting an ongoing programme of exhibitions, outreach, and public events, enabling Cell Project Space to operate sustainably and independently.

Through its sustainable funding model, Cell Project Space plays a unique position between an artist-run space and a public institution, enabling us to offer artists resources and artistic freedom to realise ambitious new projects. Over the years, Cell has become internationally acclaimed in the field of contemporary art, with a reputation for presenting projects that resist dominant narratives and highlight under-known artistic practices.

 

Cell Project Space presents an annual programme of exhibitions and events that celebrate experimental, boundary-pushing artistic practices. In 2023-24, Cell has showcased the work of artists such as Josefin Arnell and Max Göran, who blend humour and absurdity with social critique, and Niklas Taleb, Ksenia Pedan, and Coumba Samba, who each bring unique formal and conceptual approaches that engage with themes of identity, political agency, and materiality. Notably, Coumba Samba’s solo exhibition included an ambitious interdisciplinary collaboration with the École des Sables dance company in Dakar, Senegal, bridging global artistic dialogues through performance and installation.

 

Alongside exhibitions, our events programme provides a platform for artists, writers, and performers to address urgent and/or under-researched subjects through talks, performances, and other collaborative projects. Recent highlights include ‘Eastern’ European anti-colonial solidarity fundraiser; and a one-day discussion panel on practices from Sub-Saharan Africa, co-hosted with partners Infinite Fxx and galerina. Another key project was the Central and Eastern European Diasporic (CEED) Feminisms series, a research initiative with the Feminist Duration Reading Group that hosted reading sessions and screenings to examine feminist contributions CEE perspectives, underrepresented in the UK. This project recently culminated in a published bibliography that will serve as an ongoing resource for critical discourse.

 

Cell Project Space is deeply committed to fostering new talent and engaging the local community. In 2023-24, we launched our first Student Fellowship, supported by Art Fund, designed to provide emerging artists and curators with practical experience and professional mentorship. Fellows Michelle Lee Johnson, Khadija Niang, and Chinaza Ruth Okonkwo developed Permit to Dream, a year-long outreach project in dialogue with our exhibitions programme. Through this initiative, artists Ocean Baulcombe-Toppin, Yaa Yeboah-Newton, and Ain Bailey led workshops and events that introduced new audiences to the gallery and furthered our community partnership with Blackhorse Activators, a local grassroots organisation.

 

These initiatives reflect our mission to make contemporary art accessible and relevant to diverse communities, providing opportunities for underrepresented voices to shape and enrich our programme. By collaborating with community organisations, educational institutions, and arts collectives, Cell Project Space extends its reach beyond the gallery, fostering a network of partnerships that strengthen our role in the local arts and wider communities.

 

Cell Project Space remains financially independent thanks to the revenue generated by Cell Studios, which provides affordable workspace for artists across London. This model allows us to support our gallery and outreach activities without dependency on commercial income, staying true to our ethos of prioritising artistic integrity and inclusivity. We are also grateful for the support of our 2023-24 partners and funders, including the Art Fund, Arts Council England, IFA, Kunststiftung NRW, Cockayne Foundation, British Art Network, Henry Moore Foundation, Mondriaan Foundation, Goethe Institute London, Region Örebro län, Film i Västerbotten, the Netherlands Embassy in the United Kingdom, British Council Biennials Connect, Embassy of Estonia in London, and Alvaro Barrington Studio. Their contributions enable us to continue delivering innovative programming and supporting under-recognised voices in contemporary art.

 

Cell Project Space Gallery is a registered artistic and educational charity: Cell Foundation; Charity no. 1156554.