Shoreditch is an area in the East End of London and its growing popularity does not seem to stop. It is the creative part of London, full of street art, trendy bars and art galleries with unusual exhibitions. But it was not always like that. An artist and upcoming actor originally from Belfast but based in London, in his mid twenties, Alex Peter says: “It’s incredibly trendy. It is cool, there’s a lot of little jobs around, there’s good fashion, people focus on fashion…But 5 years ago, this was like – no one ever came here…”
Shoreditch is without any doubt an interesting and exciting place to be, especially for young people engaged in creativity. There are a lot of opportunities for people who want to show their talent. Art galleries are an important part of Shoreditch and one that is definitely worth a visit is Hoxton Art Gallery. It always hosts interesting exhibitions and the current one shows artworks that were through history promoting famous spirit brand Campari. We can see some of the first examples of modern advertising in the gallery as Alex Peter explained. He was hired from the gallery to talk about the artworks at the night of the opening of the exhibition. Marcello Dudovich’s (1878-1962) Bitter Campari Ad that shows a man and a woman kissing to sell a brand is in his opinion the most remarkable piece at the exhibition and an invention for its time(1921). Peter says: “It is pretty much the back bone of modern advertising.” Dudovich was an Italian painter and illustrator and his work is significant part of the exhibition.
It is impossible not to notice colourful walls while walking the streets of Shoreditch and that is another important part of its scene. There is a lot of work by anonymous artists but also the world’s most famous graffiti painters brushed their skill alongside some of the busiest streets like Great Eastern Street and Shoreditch High Street. Amara Por Dios is a prominent Swedish artist based in London and we can see many of her interesting work alongside Great Eastern Street.
There are also some examples of famous Banksy’s work around this vibrant area. Although work by these famous artists is remarkable there is a lot of anonymous’ pieces that is hard not to notice with the equal interest. Artwork of an unknown artist Let’s adore and endure each other in the combination with trains above that are not in use anymore, is so typically Shoreditch – edgy and creative in its nature.
Some people say that there is a lot of fake art and many people pretending to be artists, that Shoreditch tries too hard to be different and that its trendiness will last only for a short period of time, and some of it might be true. But it does not apply only to Shoreditch, fake art can be found anywhere and in spite of the fact that not everything is genuine most of the area is cool, amusing, art galleries host great exhibitions, it is the leading area considering street art and a great place to be if you are a young professional interested in creative businesses.
Interview with Alex Peter about his perspective on Shoreditch and some insights about the current exhibition at Hoxton Art Gallery:
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