LONDON.-Forty years on, founder Bridget Riley returns to SPACE to join artists Mark Wallinger, Chila Burman, Hew Locke, Saskia Olde Walbers, John Frankland, and many others in an exciting new exhibition and fundraiser to celebrate four decades of supporting art at its source.

Revealing the extraordinary diversity and vibrancy of the East London arts scene, the exhibition celebrates the fortieth anniversary of SPACE, founded in 1968 by Bridget Riley, Peter Sedgley and Peter Townsend, to meet the need of visual artists for affordable studio space in London. The exhibition profiles new work by more than fifty established and up-and-coming artists, and launches a fundraising campaign to ensure the future of SPACE and its mission to provide space for London’s artists to create, engage and develop.

The works on show include pieces by this year’s Turner prize winner, Mark Wallinger, alongside award winning artists Saskia Olde Walbers, John Frankland, and Yinka Shonibare, as well as rising stars Chila Burman, Mustafa Hulusi, Hew Locke, Piers Secunda, and a host of others. Providing a tantalising glimpse of the talent fostered by SPACE and its ethos, the exhibition’s wider message is how integral a practical work space is to artistic creation, an element often taken for granted at the collecting end of the art world.

Curated by Caroline Douglas, head of the Arts Council Collection, who selected the work from over 600 artists renting studios through SPACE, the exhibition showcases Painting, Sculpture, Drawing, Film and Video. The exhibition is a fascinating snapshot of new art in London and a one-off opportunity to see it together under one roof.

Supporting the artists of tomorrow and maintaining London as a global arts hub, is what Douglas and SPACE want to encourage collectors and the wider community to do.

“Curating this exhibition has been a revelation”, said Caroline Douglas “The range and quality of the work being made by these artists is truly impressive, and they wouldn’t be able to do it without the support that SPACE provides.”

With the regeneration of East London gathering pace, and property prices rocketing, the need for affordable places for artists to work in today is greater than ever and makes the need to secure the future of SPACE even more urgent.

“London thrives on its reputation as the arts capital of the world, but few consider where the artworks are actually made. The purpose of this exhibition is to underline the critical role that SPACE plays in enabling artists to produce their work and how fundamental space to create is to this process” said SPACE trustee and artists’ agent Karsten Schubert.

All the work on show is for sale with the artists each donating part of the proceeds to the SPACE campaign fund. With prices starting at £500 and rising to around £6,000, the exhibition also provides the chance for both first time buyers and seasoned collectors to snap up some of the hottest new talent around, whilst helping ensure the future of a new generation of artists living and working in London.