Opening up dead retail space to artists could revive town centres and cultural life, says Whitechapel Gallery director
Britain’s empty high street shops and derelict department stores should be transformed into artists’ studios and galleries to bring life back to city centres, according to the outgoing director of one of the country’s leading art spaces.
With artists being pushed out of city centres by soaring rents and living costs, galleries under financial pressure and high streets struggling, Iwona Blazwick, who has led Whitechapel Gallery for more than 20 years, called on local authorities to offer the spaces at reduced rents to artists. This comes as the London gallery prepares to launch an exhibition dedicated to the subject of the artist’s studio – Blazwick’s last as director.
