Sid Motion Gallery to Close After Decade-Long Run in London
This autumn, Sid Motion Gallery in South London will shut its doors, a venture initiated by Sid Motion in 2016. Motion characterized the closure as a positive step, remarking, "We are stopping while we are ahead." The gallery's final exhibition, titled That Which Appears, is set to debut on September 18 and will be on display until October 31, representing the gallery's 85th showcase. This decision highlights the difficulties faced by galleries in London, such as a sluggish market and rising expenses. Similar challenges have affected other galleries, with Pace reducing its roster by 50 artists and staff in June, and Stephen Friedman closing in February while carrying £8m in debt. Motion previously converted a betting shop into a gallery in 2015 and relocated to the Penarth Centre in 2019, where he helped establish the South Bermondsey Art Trail.
Key facts
- Sid Motion Gallery will close this autumn after a decade.
- Founder Sid Motion says the decision is positive and conscious, 'stopping while ahead'.
- Final exhibition 'That Which Appears' runs from September 18 to October 31.
- This will be the 85th exhibition staged by the gallery.
- Closure reflects difficult economics: slower market, higher costs, changing collecting patterns.
- Pace cut 50 artists and 50 staff in June; Stephen Friedman closed in February with £8m debt.
- Gallery started in a disused betting shop in Kings Cross in 2015, moved to South Bermondsey in 2019.
- South Bermondsey Art Trail, involving 70 artists, takes place September 4-5.
- The final show will be re-staged at Millennium Gallery, Sheffield Museums, in April 2028.
Entities
Artists
- Sid Motion
- Olivia Bax
- James Fisher
Institutions
- Sid Motion Gallery
- Pace
- Stephen Friedman Gallery
- Millennium Gallery
- Sheffield Museums
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Kings Cross
- South Bermondsey
- Sheffield