threads of sincerity, The Crypt Gallery, St. Pancras Crypt.

Last week, ten students from the Chelsea College of Art put on a responsive and engaging exhibition at The Crypt Gallery underneath St Pancras church. Innovatively using the unique underground space through a range of different media, their work explored the connecting themes of memory, materiality and belief.

On entering the crypt the narrow passages beckon you to explore by way of illuminated imagery. This set a lively and playful tone, immediately inviting the audience to engage with suggestive and alternative perceptions of materiality. The diversity of the work in the exhibition created a feeling of dislocation; from Jenny Evan’s ‘truthful and unseen’ paintings of the human body, to Mike Pollard’s self illuminated, ‘limited life’ creatures

As you walk through the dimly lit passages a wall of ‘unbelievable’ photos almost helped to settle the mind and its process of liberation from our familiar ‘reality’.

Below, Nobuku Kawata, explores the sculptural language of a ‘state of pause’. A suspension of both weight and time, using the physicality of often-found and familiar objects.

Drawn to investigate further, the viewer is led by a path of light to confront a disconcerting image… a reflection of the passages from which they have just escaped?











The exhibition then moved into the dream world of Arisa Nishiyama’s recall of lost memories and images. The lost memories, which Kate Kendall's’s 'The day we met Frederick’ explored through her experiment using different peoples personal perception of a physical reality.

Leaving the atmospheric space of the crypt and greeted by the cold outdoors I was taken back to ‘reality’, one that’s meaning had been provoked, questioned, and left to the imagination.

Happy New Year

2009 is now in full swing and offering an array of new and exciting cultural and creative activities in, and around the Kings X area...

The season of frugality, amplified by the official recognition of recession, has been bravely confronted by Islington Council through their positive and innovative 'Give or Take Day' at the St. Luke's centre, 90 Central Street, EC1V 8AJ. The event, taking place tommorrow, provides the opportunity for people to recycle unwanted Christmas gifts ( 11am - 2pm), whilst offering the added perk of later 'taking away' (shopping!) the given items for free (12 - 3pm).


Camden Town Hall, Saturday 24th January, 12.30 - 3pm: The centre is hosting a Variety Show, welcoming in the Chinese New Year of the Ox with a mixed display of contemporary dance, martial arts and acrobatics.

'Taking Liberties: The Struggle for Britain's Freedoms and Rights', The British Library, ends 1st March: This informative exhibition details the 900 year struggle for rights and freedoms in the British Isles. Displaying central documents from British History, such as the Magna Carta and the 1689 Bill of Rights, the exhibition explores the development of individual freedom and its meaning today. The wristband, which you can collect at the start of the exhibition, allows you to thoughtfully interact with the exhibiton, personally joining in with the continual debate around power, freedom and social responsibility.

VISIT KX: Reaching New and Emerging Audiences: Our event in mid January took place at the exciting Kings Place and proved to be an engaging and thought provoking day. With speakers from a wide range of cultural and creative organisations, listeners were given diverse and original approaches to audience development. Liz Puddick, 'Community and Learning Coordinator at the Imperial War Museum' gave a fascinating talk on her recent work engaging local people with museum exhibitions. She discussed the value in an audience's personal interpretation of history, drawing out the universal themes and issues that past documents and historic collections illustrate.