History

1970s  1980s  1990s

1972

• 9 November: Acme Housing Association Ltd, led by Jonathan Harvey and David Panton, registers with sole aim of providing founder group of artists with cheap studio and living accommodation.

1973

• Acme approaches Greater London Council for empty property in East London. After pressure, GLC transfers two derelict shops in Bow for 21 months. Artists required to carry out extensive repairs in exchange for very low rents (£3 per week) and agreement to hand properties back when required for demolition.
• Encouraged by this success, GLC transfers more property, taking Acme beyond the needs of its original members. Acme becomes a voluntary service for other artists in similar need.

1974

• Acme achieves charitable status. Jonathan Harvey and David Panton become part-time officers with ‘seeding’ funding from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
• GLC transfers longer-life properties and gives grants for their repair. Artists do most of the work themselves, and develop building skills.
• Arts Council gives conversion grants for studios in houses.
• December: Acme manages 76 houses, providing living and studio space for 90 artists. Over 130 people housed.

1975

• March: 13 properties successfully returned to GLC.
• Acme’s efficiency as a short-life housing organisation, rather than as an artists’ group per se, produces further transfers of housing stock. Acme becomes the largest single manager of short-life housing in London. Newly-transferred properties now have lives of at least five years, with grants from the GLC of up to £1,500.
• Acme publishes Help Yourself to Studio Space to stem flow to London and aid artists in other cities. Advisory visits follow.
• Responding to high demand, Acme seeks new sources of properties from other London boroughs. Working with Hammersmith and Fulham, Acme takes on an old school at Hetley Road and a school kitchen at Faroe Road as studio space only, creating 19 studios for local artists.

1976

• Acme obtains planning consent to convert a banana warehouse into a non-commercial gallery in Covent Garden.
• May: The Acme Gallery opens, catering principally for artists whose reputations have not yet been established, or whose work in installation and performance is unsaleable. Acme encourages artists to adapt the space. Capital assistance received from Arts Council, GLC and Gulbenkian Foundation. Arts Council and Greater London Arts give revenue funding.
• Acme office, previously in Bow, moves to Covent Garden. Jonathan Harvey becomes Gallery Director, and David Panton Housing Director, both with part-time assistants.
• Acme leases former meat pie factory from the GLC in Acre Lane, Brixton, for conversion to 28 artists’ studios. Arts Council provides conversion funds.
• In other areas, including South East London, GLC transfers more houses in good condition and give grants sufficient to use contractors for specialist work.
• Department of Transport becomes new source of stock with transfer of houses in Archway, N6, due to be demolished for A1 road widening. Acme funds initial repairs, recovering the outlay through rents.

1977

• Acme develops International Visual Artist Studio Exchange Programme, a five-country network of organisations funded by the Arts Council, British Council and the National Endowment for the Arts (USA).
• Acme publishes Artists Guide to London by Heather Waddell, to provide visiting artists with information and advice.
• Sarah Greengrass joins staff as Housing Manager.
• Acme becomes a revenue client of the Arts Council.
• December: 142 short-life houses managed, and three studio blocks in Hammersmith and Brixton.

1978

• Some GLC short-life houses no longer required for development schemes and thus become permanent. Acme negotiates tenants’ rights for the licensees, qualifying them for GLC’s tenant purchase scheme. Acme loses property management, but has helped artists to buy their houses with substantial discounts.
• Roger Kite joins staff as Housing Manager.
• December: 204 properties managed, helping over 350 artists.

1979

• Growth slows as GLC acquires very little stock for development. Demand from artists remains high.

1980

• Some Acme-managed GLC properties transferred to local authorities, leading to new working relationships for Acme.
• In Leytonstone, E11, Department of Transport transfers short-life houses that ultimately will be demolished to make way for M11/Hackney link road. Acme finances repairs.

1981

• March: Acme manages 180 GLC-owned houses.
• October: The Acme Gallery closes and is returned to GLC for demolition. Major shows by artists over four and a half years include John Bellany, Stuart Brisley, Helen Chadwick, Stephen Cripps, Rose Garrard, Ron Haselden, Albert Irvin, Jock McFadyen, Simon Read, Kerry Trengove, Darrell Viner and Anthony Whishaw.
• Acme office moves to Bethnal Green, E2.
• 28,000 sq ft of ex-industrial space at Robinson Road, Bethnal Green negotiated from Crown Estate Commissioners, provides 46 studios. Arts Council funds major conversion.
• Eight short-life houses transferred by Royal London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
• Department of Transport transfers more houses in Leyton, becoming major new source of housing stock.

'It wasn't always easy to understand what the Acme Gallery was trying to say but it was usually worth trying to find out. The Acme was very much a gallery of the 'seventies, a gallery devoted to extremes, a rallying point for the avant garde. And now that the last Acme exhibition has begun we can confidently say that the 'seventies are officially over.'

Waldemar Januszczak, The Guardian, 8 October 1981

1982

• Against background of rising demand, Acme increasingly seeks more studio premises.
• December: Acme manages 250 housing units.

1983

• More short-life houses transferred from Department of Transport and from a new source, London Borough of Hackney.
• Acme opens studio-only artists’ register.
• Acme studio premises in Hammersmith purchased by GLC and leases secured by artists. Buildings become a permanent resource for artists in the borough.
• Showroom Gallery created in Bonner Road (part of Robinson Road studio complex). Hired to artists who organise their own exhibitions.
• Acme acquires a 10 year lease from Crown Estate Commissioners on premises in Old Ford Road, Bethnal Green, E2. 12 studios created.
• Acme negotiates a major new studio block at Orsman Road, Hackney, N1 from Research Engineers Ltd, creating 28 new studios.

1984

• Acme acquires a 10 year lease on the Church Hall, Redhill Street, Camden, from Crown Estate Commissioners, providing seven large studios.
• November: prior to conversion of Church Hall, programme of installations and performances presented by Stuart Brisley, Ron Haselden and Tim Head, with financial assistance from Greater London Arts.

1985

• Acme takes important new studio site with 16 year lease on 26,000 sq ft of ex-industrial premises at Carpenters Road, Stratford, E15. Major conversion funded by Arts Council and, significantly, by Industrial Development Grant from the London Borough of Newham. Forty large studios created for 50 artists.
• Old Ford Road Studios surrendered early with Crown compensation. Artists re-housed in Carpenters Road and Redhill Street.

1986

• April: abolition of GLC. Acme negotiates for 35 artists’ households to gain tenant status at eleventh hour; properties lost to Acme, but long-term security achieved for artists. Other houses handed back in Kensington and Chelsea and in other London boroughs. For the first time ‘hand-backs’ exceed transfers: total number of houses managed reduces to 224.
• Acme leases first out-of-town building in Porthleven, Cornwall. A former net-loft, converted with financial help from Council for Small Industries in Rural Areas, provides 10 studios for short-stay occupation.
• With devolution from Arts Council, Acme becomes revenue client of Greater London Arts.

1987

• House numbers maintained with transfers from London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Impending implementation of M11 motorway scheme cuts supply of property from Department of Transport. With move from council housing provision, and less large-scale development, fewer houses are offered for short-life use. A reduction in Acme’s stock now inevitable.
• Acme housing waiting list closed.
• Second phase of development at Carpenters Road, comprising 26,000 sq ft, creates 32 studios, again with financial assistance from Newham Economic Development.
• New relationship forged with Swiss cultural foundation, Stiftung Landis & Gyr. Acme acts as managing agents on houses purchased for Swiss artists visiting on fellowships, who also use studio at Carpenters Road. 2 Jubilee Terrace, Stepney, E1, purchased on their behalf.
• Acme publishes Organising your Own Exhibition – A Guide for Artists by Debbie Duffin, funded by Arts Council, as part of Acme’s expanding advisory role to artists and artists’ groups.

1988

• Increasing numbers of houses lost to Acme through sales to occupants (voluntary Right-to-Buy scheme) or hand-backs for development.
• Demand for self-organising space at Showroom Gallery declines; Acme grants David Thorp licence to operate it as a public gallery.
• April: Mikey Cuddihy joins staff as Artist Liaison Officer.
• 3 Jubilee Terrace purchased on behalf of Landis & Gyr.

1989

• Partnership with a second Swiss cultural foundation, Stiftung Binz 39, formed in order to send British artists to work in Zurich on one-year scholarship.
• Third phase of development at Carpenters Road creates 32 studios, again with financial assistance from Newham Economic Development, making total of 121 studios at this site.
• Nine studios created in three houses leased from Newlon Housing Trust.
• 1 Jubilee Terrace purchased on behalf of Landis & Gyr.
• Studio provision now principal activity; Acme is Britain’s single largest source of studio space.
  

1990

• April: abolition of Inner London Education Authority; houses transferred to Family Housing Association. Acme’s long-term negotiations help artists in Beck Road, Hackney, and elsewhere, achieve permanent status.
• Twenty-five year lease acquired on building in Childers Street, Deptford, SE8, provides 31 studios in 20,000 sq ft. Development funds totalling £156,000 obtained from London Borough of Lewisham, Greater London Arts, Henry Moore Foundation and Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
• Acme Artists Housing Association formed to become holder of commercial leases.
• July: Heather Deedman joins staff as Artist Liaison Officer.

1991

• Second phase of development at Childers Street of 9,000 sq ft provides 22 studios. Conversion funded by Acme, London Borough of Lewisham and Greater London Arts.
• Fifteen year lease acquired on premises at Larnaca Works, Bermondsey, SE1. Twenty-six studios created in 11,000 sq ft, also annexing Red Cow Studios – an independent group faced with eviction. Conversion assisted by grant from London Arts Board.
• Acme commissions research into work-space needs of crafts people, funded by Greater London Arts and undertaken by Christine Ross.

1992

• April: with abolition of Greater London Arts, Acme becomes a revenue client of new London Arts Board.
• July: Acme moves offices to fourth floor of new premises at 44 Copperfield Road, E3. Forty-two and 44 Copperfield Road, totalling 31,000 sq ft acquired on 15 year lease. Twenty-seven studios converted in 44.
• Acme provides new location for Matt’s Gallery on ground floor of 42/44, having acted as consultants in their search for larger premises.
• Showroom Gallery now operated by new company with Kim Sweet as curator.
• Ten year lease acquired on third floor of Bombay Wharf, Rotherhithe, SE16 (formerly managed by SPACE) to secure the position of artists facing eviction. Provides eight studios totalling 4,500 sq ft.
• Acme takes six year lease with London Borough of Sutton on former stable block in Oaks Park. Eight studios created in 3,000 sq ft. Conversion funded by Sutton and Greater London Arts’ Borough Initiative Scheme.
• Acme forms working party to develop permanent work/live studios: consists of Committee of Management and other specialists including two consultants through ABSA’s Business in the Arts Scheme.
• Management agreement with Visual Arts/Crafts Board of Australia Council to provide accommodation and studio facilities for programme of visiting artists.
• Management agreement with Republic of Austria’s Ministry for the Arts. Acme organises purchase of accommodation and provides additional studio and darkroom for visiting artists.
• Monograph, Stephen Cripps – Pyrotechnic Sculptor published to document and celebrate the work of Stephen Cripps, who died in 1982, and who had major shows at The Acme Gallery. Publication financially assisted by the Stephen Cripps Trust and Arts Council.

1993

• 4 Jubilee Terrace purchased on behalf of Landis and Gyr.
• Second phase of development at Copperfield Road; 21 studios converted in 42 with financial assistance from London Arts Board.
• First phase of 15 hand-backs of Department of Transport property in Leyton to make way for M11 motorway. Together with hand-backs in some boroughs, Acme faces consistent decline in housing stock.
• November: Acme applies to Foundation for Sport and the Arts for financial assistance to purchase a large building to convert to work/live studios.

1994

• Purchase of land at 5 Jubilee Terrace to build studio complex for Zugerkulturstiftung Landis & Gyr.
• Further hand-backs of 45 Department of Transport houses in Leyton; successful negotiations with Waltham Forest to accept re-housing nominations.
• Archway Road scheme cancelled, majority of occupants able to purchase from Department of Transport. Partnership activity with Circle 33 and West Hampstead Housing Trusts to secure long-term future for remaining houses.
• Acme negotiates grant from Deptford City Challenge to part-fund additional fire and safety work at Childers Street studios.
• One year licence taken on temporary ex-council works at Orleston Road, N1 from Circle 33 Housing Trust. Nineteen studios created in 8,500 sq ft.
• Partnership activity with Solon Co-operative Housing Services to acquire leases on three work/live apartments and 14 studios in Aldgate and two apartments and eight studios in Clerkenwell. Residential components converted with finance from Housing Corporation. These projects mark the beginning of an important new development: the provision of combined working and living space through the use of industrial buildings.
• December: Acme achieves £75,000 grant from Foundation for Sport and the Arts for work/live project.

1995-2008

Coming soon.