London SE1 – Art

London SE1 has to be one of the UK’s major centres for the arts, with a wealth of world famous venues and galleries lying within its bounds. From visual art through to performing arts, SE1 is home to an unbelievable cultural network.

Visual Art and Galleries
SE1 houses an incredible array of galleries covering all genres of art, from traditional to modern and everything in between. As well as boasting some of the world’s great artworks, these galleries enjoy a hugely important status within the country as public spaces in which members of the community meet and gather for all manner of different purposes.

Tate Modern
The Tate Modern is part of the magnificent Tate group, along with the Tate Britain as well as the galleries in Liverpool and St Ives. The Tate Modern lies on the vibrant south bank of the Thames, and is the UK’s national modern art museum, covering art from across the globe.

The building is one of the most remarkable features of the Tate Modern, as it was once Bankside Power Station, designed by the celebrated Giles Gilbert Scott, who also designed that defining element of the London skyline, Battersea Power Station.

Other Galleries
SE1 houses a host of galleries representing various perspectives on visual art, including Bankside Gallery, Hayward Gallery, Dali Universe, the Saatchi Gallery plus many more besides. This part of the city is a real centre for visual art and a seriously exciting place to spend time.

Performing Arts
The performing arts enjoy an amazing hub of activity within the bounds of London SE1. Not only the world famous artistic and historical treasure that is the Globe Theatre, but also the amazing complex that is the South Bank Centre live in the district.

The Globe
The original Globe Theatre was built in the 16th century, and of course played host to plays by none other than Shakespeare himself. The current theatre was created as a replacement for the original, which was destroyed during a fire. The modern recreation of the Globe is a remarkable sight to behold, and really does conjure up the culture and art of Shakespeare’s London.

South Bank Centre
The South Bank Centre is actually a development of multiple venues for the performing arts. Lying adjacent to Waterloo Bridge, the complex comprises the Royal Festival Hall, the Hayward gallery and Queen Elizabeth Hall. The South Bank Centre draws people from all over the country and indeed world with its extensive program of music, dance, theatre, literature, visual art and education events.

Nearby
Next to the South Bank Centre buildings are also the National Theatre and the British Film Institute. The Royal National Theatre is a prominent and celebrated publicly funded venture, whose productions have made immeasurable contributions to the arts scene in Britain. The BFI Southbank was once known as the National Film Theatre, and focuses on excellence in film, with a programme featuring independent and foreign language films, as well as some more classic options.

SE1 encompasses the London boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth, which are generally among the UK’s most diverse, vibrant centres for culture and the arts. As well as housing the many major venues and galleries that people flock to year after year, the area’s cultural life has made it a real hub for people who are involved or want to get involved in the arts.

Buildings
A great many buildings that are of huge cultural and architectural significance also lie within these districts of London.

The OXO Tower lies within London SE1, and has long comprised one of the city’s most prominent landmarks. The London Eye may not have been there long, but it has already become a defining aspect of London’s famous skyline landscape. An incredible way to view the city, the Eye is one of Britain’s favourite tourist attractions.

Bridges
Of course the bridges across the Thames make up a huge part of the city’s architectural identity. Tower Bridge and the Millennium Bridge fall within SE1, both hugely culturally significant although from totally distinct time periods and engineered in very different ways. As well as having a serious practical use in terms of getting to and from the south bank, viewing the SE1 area from the other end of these bridges is a defining experience.

For culture and the arts, London SE1 has to be one of the world’s most important areas. From high art to popular culture and across the time periods and genres, SE1 represents a wealth of opportunities to get involved in and experience art of all forms.