# Waterside Contemporary

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**Waterside Contemporary** was a visual [art gallery](/source/Art_gallery) in [Hackney](/source/Hackney,_London), central-east London. The gallery's programme focused on politically- and [socially-engaged](/source/Social_practice_(art)) artists,[1][2][3] including [Oreet Ashery](/source/Oreet_Ashery), [George Barber](/source/George_Barber_(artist)), [Mirza and Butler](/source/Karen_Mirza_and_Brad_Butler), Nikita Kadan, and [Chiara Fumai](/source/Chiara_Fumai). The gallery exhibition programme involved over a hundred artists like [Libia Castro & Ólafur Ólafsson](/source/Libia_Castro_and_%C3%93lafur_%C3%93lafsson), [Mathilde ter Heijne](/source/Mathilde_ter_Heijne), [Slavs and Tatars](/source/Slavs_and_Tatars) in nearly thirty exhibitions, performances, public events,[4] publishing, and institutional collaborations.[5]

Waterside Contemporary was founded in 2008 by Pierre d'Alancaisez[6] as the Waterside Project Space, named after the Waterside building on Wharf Road in which it was located. Initially an [artist-run](/source/Artist-run_space) [not-for-profit](/source/Nonprofit_organization), the gallery became commercially active in 2010 with a presentation at [ViennaFair](/source/VIENNAFAIR).[7] Olga Ovenden became co-director with the gallery's move to nearby Hoxton.[8][9] The gallery stopped exhibiting operations under the Waterside name in 2017.

Waterside Contemporary commissioned, curated and premiered landmark works such as *Animal with a Language* by [Oreet Ashery](/source/Oreet_Ashery),[10] *The Unreliable Narrator* by [Karen Mirza and Brad Butler](/source/Karen_Mirza_and_Brad_Butler),[11] and *The Freestone Drone* by [George Barber](/source/George_Barber_(artist)).[12][13]

In 2024, the team behind Waterside Contemporary launched Verdurin, a cultural project space in the former gallery's premises.[14]

## Notable exhibitions

### 2013

- *Long ago, and not true anyway*, a group exhibition with [Joana Hadjithomas](/source/Joana_Hadjithomas) and [Khalil Joreige](/source/Khalil_Joreige), [Rabih Mroué](/source/Rabih_Mrou%C3%A9), et al.[15][16]
- *Reconstitution*, an event at [Soho House](/source/Soho_House_(club)) accompanying the exhibition[17]

### 2014

- *Animal with a Language*, a solo exhibition by [Oreet Ashery](/source/Oreet_Ashery)[18]
- *The Unreliable Narrator*, a solo exhibition by [Karen Mirza and Brad Butler](/source/Karen_Mirza_and_Brad_Butler)[19]
- *The Freestone Drone*, a solo exhibition by [George Barber](/source/George_Barber_(artist))[20][21]

### 2015

- *Nascent States*, a group exhibition with [Olivia Plender](/source/Olivia_Plender), Mathilde ter Heijne, Chiara Fumai, Anetta Mona Chişa & Lucia Tkáčova, [Pauline Boudry / Renate Lorenz](/source/Pauline_Boudry_%26_Renate_Lorenz), [Judith Barry](/source/Judith_Barry), et al.[22][23]
- *Limits of Responsibility*, a solo exhibition by Nikita Kadan[24][25][26][27]

### 2016

- *The Book of Evil Spirits*, a solo exhibition by Chiara Fumai[28][29]

## References

1. ["waterside contemporary"](http://waterside-contemporary.com/about/). *waterside-contemporary.com*. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

1. ["Reichman stirs the pot with his Light show"](https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-jewish-chronicle/20140124/282394102316242). The Jewish Chronicle. Jan 24, 2014. Retrieved March 11, 2023. – via PressReader.

1. ["waterside contemporary | Culture24"](https://www.culture24.org.uk/am77014). *www.culture24.org.uk*. Retrieved 2021-02-02.

1. ["New Exhibition To Mark The Summer Solstice At Waterside Contemporary"](https://www.artlyst.com/news/new-exhibition-to-mark-the-summer-solstice-at-waterside-contemporary/). *Artlyst*. Retrieved 2021-02-03.

1. Morton, Elise. ["Postponed futures: GRAD offers an alternative look at the Ukrainian avant-garde"](https://www.calvertjournal.com/articles/show/8153/postponed-futures-grad-offers-an-alternative-look-at-the-ukrainian-avant-ga). *The Calvert Journal*. Retrieved 2021-02-03.

1. ArtDependence. ["ArtDependence | Dealing in politics: an interview with Pierre d'Alancaisez"](https://www.artdependence.com/articles/dealing-in-politics-an-interview-with-pierre-dalancaisez/). *www.artdependence.com*. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

1. ["Waterside Project Space at ViennaFair 2010"](http://waterside-contemporary.com/fairs/viennafair10/). *waterside-contemporary.com*. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

1. ["art-agenda"](https://www.art-agenda.com/announcements/187781/waterside-contemporary-opens-a-new-space-in-london-with-they-don-t-know-why-but-they-keep-doing-it). *www.art-agenda.com*. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

1. ["Artnotes"](https://www.proquest.com/docview/900458078). *Art Monthly*. **347**: 18. 2011.

1. Sheerin, Mark (2014-10-30). ["The Psychedelic and Porcine Provocations of Oreet Ashery"](https://hyperallergic.com/159498/the-psychedelic-and-porcine-provocations-of-oreet-ashery/). *Hyperallergic*. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

1. ["Karen Mirza and Brad Butler's "The Unreliable Narrator" - Features - art-agenda"](https://www.art-agenda.com/features/236076/karen-mirza-and-brad-butler-s-the-unreliable-narrator). *www.art-agenda.com*. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

1. Sandhu, Sukhdev (April 2013). ["'I Admit I'm a Bit Creepy...'"](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound). *Sight and Sound*. **3** (4): 68.

1. Gregory, Derek (2013-01-03). ["The Freestone Drone"](https://geographicalimaginations.com/2013/01/03/the-freestone-drone/). *geographical imaginations*. Retrieved 2021-02-02.

1. ["About Verdurin"](https://verdur.in/about/). *Verdurin*. March 2024.

1. ["Long Ago, and Not True Anyway | Frieze"](https://www.frieze.com/article/long-ago-and-not-true-anyway). *Frieze*. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

1. ["Long ago, and not true anyway"](https://www.ibraaz.org/reviews/44). *Ibraaz*. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

1. ["Reconstitution"](https://artreview.com/review-reconstitution/). *artreview.com*. Retrieved 2021-02-03.

1. ["Oreet Ashery: Animal with a Language at waterside contemporary"](http://waterside-contemporary.com/exhibitions/animal-with-a-language/index.php). *waterside-contemporary.com*. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

1. ["Karen Mirza and Brad Butler: The Unreliable Narrator at waterside contemporary"](http://waterside-contemporary.com/exhibitions/the-unreliable-narrator/index.php). *waterside-contemporary.com*. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

1. ["George Barber's "The Freestone Drone" - Features - art-agenda"](https://www.art-agenda.com/features/234343/george-barber-s-the-freestone-drone). *www.art-agenda.com*. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

1. Rich, Kate (2013-03-12). ["View from a Kill"](https://www.metamute.org/editorial/articles/view-kill). *Mute*. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

1. ["Nascent States at waterside contemporary"](http://waterside-contemporary.com/exhibitions/nascent-states/index.php). *waterside-contemporary.com*. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

1. www.dandelion-burdock.com, dandelion & burdock. ["Nascent States"](http://thisistomorrow.info/articles/nascent-states). *thisistomorrow*. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

1. ["Nikita Kadan: radical roots from Kiev | Bad at Sports"](http://badatsports.com/2015/nikita-kadan-radical-roots-from-kiev/). Retrieved 2020-11-25.

1. ["Nikita Kadan: Limits of Responsibility at Waterside Contemporary"](https://www.dailyserving.com/2015/02/nikita-kadan-limits-of-responsibility-at-waterside-contemporary/). *DAILY SERVING*. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

1. www.dandelion-burdock.com, dandelion & burdock. ["Nikita Kadan: Limits of Responsibility"](http://thisistomorrow.info/articles/nikita-kadan-limits-of-responsibility). *thisistomorrow*. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

1. ["Nikita Kadan: Limits of Responsibility at waterside contemporary"](http://waterside-contemporary.com/exhibitions/limits-of-responsibility/index.php). *waterside-contemporary.com*. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

1. Sheerin, Mark (2016-04-11). ["Within Gallery Walls, an Artist Channels the Ghosts of Marginalized Women"](https://hyperallergic.com/289955/within-gallery-walls-an-artist-channels-the-ghosts-of-marginalized-women/). *Hyperallergic*. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

1. ["Chiara Fumai: The Book of Evil Spirits"](http://waterside-contemporary.com/exhibitions/the-book-of-evil-spirits/index.php). *waterside-contemporary.com*. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

## External links

- [Waterside Contemporary archive website](http://waterside-contemporary.com/archive/).

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Waterside Contemporary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterside_Contemporary) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterside_Contemporary?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.