Beaconsfield
22 Newport StreetLondon
SE11 6AY
The yellow on black sign was adopted by Naomi Siderfin, Director of Beaconsfield to be displayed outside their building in south London for the whole of 2014. At the end of the year it made the short trip north to Northampton, to take up residence outside NN Contemporary Art for the whole of 2015.
End of Year Report
By Naomi Siderfin, Director, BeaconsfieldDuring 2014, Sign 1/4 found a home at the site entrance of Beaconsfield's venue for contemporary art in Vauxhall, alongside the Beaconsfield wormery, large-scale rainwater harvester and sustainably-built, volunteer-maintained roof garden.
Beaconsfield is described by some as the only political art space in London and part of its character has been defined by an ethical approach to environment. Probably the first and only visual arts organisation in London to be powered exclusively by green electricity, Beaconsfield has quietly operated environmentally sustainable policies for fifteen years. Offering a home to Early Warning Sign 1/4 throughout 2014 raised a shout for Beaconsfield's ongoing commitment to sustainability.
For July and August, Sign 1/4 temporarily moved along Newport Street to a pop-up sculpture garden on the corner, where it was in full view of all passing traffic at a crossroads. The sculpture garden was intended to flag up ambitions for a green belt designed to flow through Vauxhall, linking new and established cultural spaces with the redevelopment programme running alongside the River Thames, west to the old Battersea Power Station.
Beaconsfield was founded in 1994 with the aim of providing a streamlined resource for the development and presentation of contemporary art and a desire to "fill the niche between the institution, the commercial, and the 'alternative'". It has remained a unique space for the development and presentation of contemporary art, run by founding Artist Directors David Crawforth and Naomi Siderfin.