Anya Gallaccio, AIDS Memorial in London concept design 2024
Anya Gallaccio announced as winning artist for the AIDS Memorial in London
AIDS Memory UK has announced Anya Gallaccio as the winning artist to create The AIDS Memorial in London.
The memorial, to be located on South Crescent, Store Street in Fitzrovia, will take the form of a felled tree. It will offer a space for remembrance and solidarity, commemorating those affected by HIV/AIDS in the past, present and the future.
Gallaccio’s proposal features a tree trunk, its rings extracted from the core and displayed upright nearby. The resulting hollow space invites visitors to interact and engage with the memorial and serves as a reminder of those who have been lost to HIV/AIDS.
Modus Operandi has led the artist selection process: researching, longlisting, shortlisting and advising on final selection; and in partnership with the client is engaged in managing the project through to completion.
South Crescent, Store Street, London WC1
AIDS Memorial in London
In 2023 Modus Operandi was appointed by the charitable trust AIDS Memory UK to advise on the artist selection process for this important new commission. The site – South Crescent, Store Street, London WC1 – has been provided by Camden Council; initial funding to select an artist has been agreed by the GLA. Ash Kotak is the Artist Director at AIDS Memory UK and Stephanie Allen, a trustee of the charity, chairs the shortlisting and judging panels.
Following a call for Expressions of Interest, five artists have been selected for the shortlist: Anya Gallaccio, Ryan Gander, Harold Offeh, Shahpour Pouyan, and Diana Puntar. They will present their proposals to a Judging Panel in mid-March.
Modus Operandi’s team members for the project are Vivien Lovell, Jenni Lomax and Poppy Heron.
Verve, 2023 by Bridget Riley, The British School at Rome.
Bridget Riley ceiling commission, ‘Verve’, 2023, The British School at Rome
Bridget Riley's commission, ‘Verve’, 2023, on the barrell vaults of Edwin Lutyens' ceiling at The British School at Rome has recently been inaugurated. This first ceiling painting by Bridget Riley is located in the entrance hall of the British School at Rome. Since 2016, the artist has endowed the annual Bridget Riley Fellowship, which provides the opportunity for a young painter to spend six months at the school.
Modus Operandi Director, Vivien Lovell, served as Chair of the Faculty of Fine Arts, The British School at Rome, 2013 - 2020. She was retained to advise on Riley’s commission at the invitation of Mark Getty, Chair of the Council of Trustees, British School at Rome.