The Magazine

LondonLife – The new Serpentine Sackler Gallery…

by exploringlondon

Serpentine-Sackler-Gallery

 

Designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Zada Hadid, the new Serpentine Sackler Gallery opened to the public in Kensington Gardens on Saturday. Located just a few minutes walk from the Serpentine Gallery on the north side of the Serpentine Bridge, the 900 square metre premises is partly located in a renovated Grade II*-listed building, The Magazine (built in 1805 as a gunpowder store and used by the military until 1963), as well as in a curvaceous modern extension to the north and west. The new gallery, which also features a ‘social space’ and restaurant, is named after Dr Mortimer and Dame Theresa Sackler, whose foundation provided the largest donation for the project – the largest single gift donated to the Serpentine Gallery in its 43-year history. The opening exhibition, Today We Reboot The Planet, features the large scale sculptural work of Argentinian artist Adrián Villar Rojas. The exhibition runs until 10th November. For more, see www.serpentinegallery.org. PICTURES: Serpentine Sackler Gallery, © 2013 Luke Hayes

Serpentine-Sackler-Galllery2

Where is it? #23…

by exploringlondon

The latest in the series in which we ask you to identify where in London this picture was taken and what it’s of. If you think you can identify this picture, leave a comment below. We’ll reveal the answer early next week. Good luck!

Well done to Jameson Tucker and Sean Dennis, both of whom identified this correctly as the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens. The gallery, which features modern and contemporary art, was created in 1970 and is housed in a tea pavilion which dates from the 1930s. Every summer since the year 2000, the Serpentine – named for the body of water which, strictly speaking, just runs through Hyde Park (although the section in Kensington Gardens is also often referred to in the same way) – has had a different temporary pavilion, designed by a leading architect, set up outside.

The Serpentine Gallery is to be expanded this year with the creation of the Serpentine Sackler Gallery in The Magazine building in the gardens. Located only a short distance from the existing gallery, the new premises is being designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid and is named after Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler, whose foundation made the project possible through the largest single donation ever received by the Serpentine Gallery.

WHERE: Kensington Gardens; WHEN: Daily 10am to 6pm; COST: Free; WEBSITE: www.serpentinegallery.org.

Around London – The Magazine gets a new life, Lennon’s former home commemorated, and, The Titanic Exhibition

by exploringlondon

• News this week that The Magazine building in Kensington Gardens – which dates from 1765 and was built to house munitions initially intended to help repel a Napoleonic invasion – is getting a new lease of life as an art gallery. The Royal Parks have awarded the Serpentine Gallery a contract to create a new art space – the Serpentine Sackler Gallery – in the building. Pritzker Prize architect Zada Hadid will oversee the renovation of the building which will be open in time for the Olympic Games in 2012. PICTURE: John Offenbach © The Royal Parks and Serpentine Gallery.

• A Blue Plaque commemorating singer, songwriter and one-time Beatle John Lennon’s stay in a house in Marylebone was unveiled last month. Yoko Ono unveiled the plaque at 34 Montagu Square, where she and John lived in the basement and ground floor flat in the latter half of 1968 when Lennon was working on The Beatles’ White Album. It was the first home the couple shared and, while Lennon lived at a number of London addresses between 1963 and 1971, of those that survive it is the home he occupied for the greatest period. Previous occupants included Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and Jimi Hendrix.

• ON NOW: Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition will be held at the O2 from 5th November until 1st May. The exhibition traces the Titanic’s final journey, from Cherbourg on 10th April, 1912 to its sinking with the loss of 1,500 lives after striking an iceberg three days later. Featuring more than 200 artefacts from the ship, the exhibition includes recreated interiors from the ship. Tickets start at £13 for adults. For more information, see www.titaniclondon.co.uk.