Established in 1984, Southwark Park Galleries celebrates its 40th Anniversary this year; having proudly served the Bermondsey & Rotherhithe community for 4 decades.
We began in 1984 when our Founder Ron Henocq and local artists the Bermondsey Artists Group transformed the park’s derelict lido café into a free public gallery and art workshop. In 1999 we rescued the park’s derelict church, developing it into a world class exhibition and education space.
We’ve proudly supported 15,000 artists of all ages and backgrounds from across the world to create work that couldn’t be possible anywhere else.
We work closely with local schools, seniors and young people to nurture the importance of creativity and ecological responsibility in all our daily lives.
Our galleries are beacons of multidisciplinary creative practice; firmly established as neighbourhood pioneers in the field of innovative, accessible and welcoming cultural participation.
We present free exhibitions by diverse creatives; representing all protected characteristic groups and deliver a seasonal programme of free engagement workshops that compliment our park location (ranging from gardening with preschoolers, school holiday workshops, artist residencies in local schools and Seniors Art School).
Throughout 2024 we invite you to share your memories of the galleries via a new interactive Collaborative Archive Timeline installation at Lake Gallery.
Over the next 5 years we will develop and digitise our archive to better share our collective experience of cultural life in SE16 and beyond.
A registered charity (No.1073851) and an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (supported by ACE since 1999).
We are grateful to our 40th Anniversary supporters for helping us celebrate this milestone birthday: The Paul & Louise Cooke Endowment, Omni Colour, Four Pure Brewing and ADi Audio Visual.
