One of London’s most important contemporary art spaces, Gasworks in Vauxhall, is getting a new director. Robert Leckie, the current director of Spike Island arts centre in Bristol, will take up the position in March next year, replacing Alessio Antoniolli. Antoniolli has led the non-profit gallery and influential artist residency space for 18 years.
The move is a return to base for Leckie; prior to joining Spike Island in 2018, he was curator and head of programmes at Gasworks from 2011 to 2018 where he organised exhibitions dedicated to artists such as Monira Al Qadiri and Candice Lin.
Leckie is also a visiting lecturer at the Royal College of Art, Goldsmiths college (London University), and the University of the Arts in London, and was a jury member for the 2022 Turner Prize.
In 2015, on Gasworks, we reported that “for more than twenty years this small Victorian warehouse behind The Oval cricket ground has provided studio space, international residencies and essential early exhibitions to a multitude of artists from the UK and worldwide”. There are 13 artists’ studios housed in the building which was redeveloped in 2015.
In the past 30 years the organisation has hosted over 400 artists from 70 countries with Chris Ofili, Yinka Shonibare, Song Dong and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye among its alumni. Trevor Yeung, Hong Kong’s representative at the 2024 Venice Biennale, has an exhibition at the space, running until 17 December. Next year, Gasworks celebrates its 30th anniversary.
Antoniolli has meanwhile been appointed director of Triangle Network, a global circuit of artists and visual arts organisations promoting cultural exchange in more than 40 countries, encompassing venues in Iran, Brazil and Pakistan. Gasworks is also part of the network.
