About Interim Bases
The objective of Interim Bases is to host pop-up venues over the Capital until we secure a longer term Arthouse - ideally by negotiating for free use of unused warehouses pending sale or development.
During our residencies, we demonstrate how the Arthouse model works by staging events focused towards promoting emerging artists. Since our inauguration in Waterloo in 2009, we have enjoyed a great deal of success in bringing the emerging arts to centre stage.
We have achieved a network of thousands of artists and supporters here and overseas, and benefit from the contributions of a number of people from a huge array of fields.
IB6 | 55 Great Suffolk Street, SE1
A gorgeous victorian warehouse in the heart of South London's theatre district, 55 Great Suffolk Street had been empty for decades before The Oubliette took residency.
Having to put our theatre season on ice following a short-notice possession hearing (that we win) we breathe some life into the building by hosting a series of exhibitions and performance art.
For the last three weeks of our occupancy the space is filled with the sights and sounds of over 40 artists, performers and musicians showcasing their work to hundreds of our guests.
For the original programmes, please visit our facebook group and check recent events.
IB5 | Reader's Digest HQ, 61 Curzon St, Mayfair, W1
The Oubliette use the former Reader's Digest HQ, empty since 1998 in the heart of Mayfair, to host 'Home Is Where Your Art Is' - an event produced by The Gist Media raising money and awareness for homeless charity the Connection at St Martin's.
Featuring paintings by the homeless, renowned street artist Stik and The Oubliette's resident artists, the night is completed by a series of live music performances from jazz pianist Alex Windsor, clarinetist Kimon Parry, edgy improv duo Partial Gathering and catered by London's hippest gourmet chefs on-the-go, Rambling Food, serving innovative free food throughout the evening to raise awareness for FareShare.
Our term ends the first week of the New Year with acclaimed small theatre group Ashes & Diamonds performing a 60 minute version of Dostoyevsky's 'Crime & Punishment', 8pm Jan 2-5th.
IB4 | 42 Leicester Square, W1
The Oubliette use the location to draw attention to our project via banners that promote the launch of this website, intended to further public understanding of who we are, and what it is we have set out to achieve.
We run a series of life-drawing classes hosted by one of our residents, Philip Firsov, and a play 'Wisdom of the Den' by theatre group Dyssing Monadys, promoting dyslexic writers. Due to demand, the play runs twice the following night.
See also:
The Londonist | Evening Standard
IB3 | The Mexican & Tanzanian Embassies, Mayfair W1
To the Heart of Mayfair - 42 & 43 Hertford Street, two former embassies nestled amidst luxury flats, private clubs... and more embassies. After standing empty for five years, our residency begins on the 16th of August.
During our first week we waterblast the facade and clean years of dust and grime from the unfurnished properties. Two weeks into our residency, the time arrives for an ambitious ten day long series of events and exhibitions, utilising both the wonderful space and location of the buildings.
From Friday 11 to Sunday 20th September, 2-11pm, our doors open to the public as people flock in to see art, listen to live music and participate in the workshops of our 34 collaborators. Hubert Kopec, a self-taught artist, sells three of his paintings and invests the money in better materials.
See also:
Luckyjimm's 'A Social Good' | newslinks
IB2 | The Academy, 142 Oxford Street, W1
With a new strategic focus on raising awareness of the Arthouse model, the newly reformed group focuses on its message with the help of its newly attracted PR ensemble, the gist of it media.
Over the 7th and 8th of August, in homage to Anthony Gormley's 'One & Other' on Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth, The Oubliette host 'The Fifth Plinth' behind the glass door of the buildings Oxford Street entrance - 24 shows over 24 hours.
The event, covered by SkyArts and our excellent resident blogger 'Luckyjimm', features a range of performances, from an accountant advertising his services, to the brilliant 'Bad Guys' rock band who light up the night.
See also:
Luckyjimm's coverage | Londonpaper | Vivid Ink interview
IB1 | DOVER HOUSE, 170 Westminster Bridge Rd, SE1
The Oubliette begins life on the corner of Westminster Bridge Road and Lower Marsh, in a former English language school and a 35-room hostel.
During our residency we curate an exhibition on empty spaces and hold a jazz concert. A fringe theatre group comes to us looking for a space to perform. Their week-long play attracts critical acclaim in the national press, and they are subsequently approached by a leading London arts institution and a German theatre promoter.
We conclude, two days before our move, with a three course banquet and poetry slam held by Rambling Tongue - the inspiring union of pop-up restrauteurs Rambling Restaurant and Hammer & Tongue, a slam poetry ensemble.
See also:
Interview with Dan on Londonfile | newslinks
"The vision of The Oubliette Arthouse should be applauded"
"Just as my faith in the art world is about to attempt suicide, The Oubliette appears, and I am saved."
"The meeting place for a lot of prominent figures of artistic avant-garde... The Oubliette is a breeding ground for creativity - it garners and generates ideas."
"With another collective of imaginative, resourceful and caretaking people making an empty property their temporary home and turning it into something amazing it seriously seems to be time to come up with a new word for what they do."
"The Oubliette is a new regular venue on the arts scene... providing free security, preventing property devaluation and adding value to the community."
