London’s Arts Laboratories and the 1960s Avant-Garde

Inspired by David Curtis’s new book London’s Arts Laboratories and the 1960s Avant-Garde which describes the survival-struggles and occasional triumphs of two pioneering artist-led organisations – the Drury Lane Arts Lab (1967-69) and the Robert Street New Arts Lab (IRAT 1969-71). These multi-art-form organisations were home to the London Filmmakers’ Co-op’s first film workshop and to TVX, the UK’s first video workshop – a forerunner to London Video Arts, which eventually merged with the London Filmmakers’ Co-op to form LUX in 1999. Both of the arts labs were based in the borough of Camden and LUX returned to the borough of its origin in 2016 where is it now based in Waterlow Park, Highgate. This online exhibition complements David’s book, adding some historic films and images to illustrate the extraordinary history which birthed LUX.

The online exhibition is a microsite which opens in a new window Artslabs.online