New Home for the Contemporary Art Society Designed by Carmody Groake

The Contemporary Art Society is delighted to announce that it has appointed award-winning architects Carmody Groarke to design its new home in Clerkenwell, London which will open in October 2012. In addition to accommodating its offices, the newly designed premises will provide the first publicly accessible platform in London for the Contemporary Art Society in its one hundred year history. This marks a significant new development for the charity, which marked its centenary in 2010, providing a social and working environment for the organisation’s diverse networks and stakeholders, and a platform for greater visibility and engagement in the organisation’s mission to develop public collections of contemporary art in the UK. The new facility will include spaces for hosting public events, seminars and displays of the works gifted – historically and currently - by the charity to museums across the UK. The Society is also working to develop an archive of the thousands of works donated by the organisation over the past 100 years for the new building, along with a study centre and research facility focused on collection development for curators, collectors, academics and arts professionals.

Paul Hobson, Director of the Contemporary Art Society said: "We are delighted to be working with Carmody Groarke as we enter this exciting new phase in our history. Carmody Groarke have attracted critical acclaim for their conceptual and pioneering approach to design and are for us, the ideal collaborators with whom we can realise an innovative and inviting new home for our diverse audiences nationally and internationally."

Carmody Groarke said: "The Contemporary Art Society is a unique organisation with an extraordinary history and we are delighted to be working with them on the realisation of their first ever home, which will provide the opportunity to showcase the work of the organisation and provide a hub for artists, curators, collectors and arts professionals interested in collecting and collections."

To download the press release click here (pdf)