LONDON.- Curatorial collective 20//20 are bringing a fresh new perspective to Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club. As resident curators, 20//20 will stage an interdisciplinary exhibition at this East End institution throughout November 2011. Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club is an incredible venue steeped in history, and a rare example of a community centre that has survived with its original purpose intact but has also been reinvigorated by a new programme of events. This exciting exhibition seeks to draw attention to the Club and its now dwindling membership. Following an open call for submissions, 20//20 Collective will curate a selection of artworks conceived in response to the space’s history and functions.

Invading the social spaces, cupboards, stairwells and even toilets of the Club, specially commissioned paintings, sculptures, installations, videos, photographs, architectural interventions and performances will reflect on the history of the Club and its role today, as well as its location in Bethnal Green at the heart of East London. A hidden space above one of the club’s main rooms will be uncovered, while other participants will conduct interviews and make films with the Club’s members. Textile and macramé works will provide a female presence in this traditionally masculine environment, and sculptures and installations will engage with aspects of Bethnal Green’s history. The works will be visible to the public during evening events and at special weekend openings.

In addition to these works, 20//20 will curate a series of events and talks relating to the Club and its location. World-renowned architect Alex Lifschutz (Lifschutz Davidson Sandiland) will give a talk on the future of community centre architecture on Thursday 24th November. Art historian and curator Sarah MacDougall will discuss the artistic climate of early twentieth-century Whitechapel that produced Mark Gertler and David Bomberg. Art consultants Rachel Dickson and Emma Russell (Dickson Russell Art Management) will provide an insight into her recent contemporary public art commissions in Spitalfields. Talks by local historians and other cultural experts will also form part of the programme, while a performance night will include an exclusive play by John Murray alongside a specially conceived stand-up comedy act by the acclaimed group The Three Englishmen.

The participating artists and performers are Olivia Aspinall, Brenda Baxter, Jack Crisp, Rosie Carr, Nash Francis, MEF, Pablo Navarro MacLochlainn, John Newton, James Pockson, David Reynolds, Rose Rowson, Lauren Squires, Magdalena Strzelczak and Alex Trench.