Venues for hire – a unique space for artists and industry in London’s West End

Ambika P3 – once a concrete testing facility – has been transformed into an exciting, multi-level, 14,000-square-foot post-industrial exhibition and events space opposite Madame Tussauds.

At the heart of central London’s West End, underneath the University of Westminster’s Marylebone campus, you’ll discover “one of the capital’s hidden and most exciting spaces” (The Guardian) – the award-winning Ambika P3.

Once a construction hall used by the University’s engineering faculty to test concrete for Spaghetti Junction and the Channel Tunnel, this immense, unused space was reborn in 2007 thanks to the vision of artist and curator Dr Michael Maziere. Maziere, a researcher who both curates and teaches at the University, recognised its potential as an experimental project space which could allow emerging artists and commercial galleries to offer vast site-specific commissions not possible in their usual gallery spaces.

Now, through the construction or destruction of dividing walls, or the erection of entirely new self-contained rooms, he supports creative and commercial organisers to ensure that the large space is reorganised to suit each individual event or exhibition. Maziere adopts an innovative site-specific and collaborative curatorial approach: in some cases, the space is adapted to serve the art, in others, it is the artwork that creates the space itself.

Creative co-production with artists

The impact that Ambika P3 has had on the community of artists has been significant. It has opened up opportunities for creative co-production with artists that would otherwise be unavailable to them, garnering significant media attention and significantly raising their profile.

This was the case for producer Pinky Ghundale, the long-term producer of Academy and Turner Prize-winning artist and director Steve McQueen, and Martina Amati, a BAFTA-winning film maker, artist and free diver. After a year spent looking for an appropriate site, they felt Ambika offered the perfect solution to stage Under (2015) – an immersive underwater installation charting the three disciplines of free diving.

Amati, captivated by the sport from a young age, was grateful for the opportunity to exhibit in such an impressive venue, which raised her profile in the artworld, where she was otherwise unknown. “What is interesting about Michael’s curating is that he gives the newcomers like me an opportunity to show in the same space and in the same curatorial programme as an artist like Chantal Akerman,” she said. “This would not happen in a conventional art space.”

Cultural and commercial partnerships

Local industry too has reaped the rewards of this innovative venue, which has enabled commercial galleries to offer their artists vast site-specific commissions not possible in their usual gallery spaces. Exhibiting their clients in this unique way has resulted in major exposure for the artists, which has in turn increased the commercial value of the artists’ work, benefiting both the galleries and their clients.

Chantal Akerman: NOW (2015)

This form of partnership led to the co-commission of Chantal Akerman with Marion Goodman Gallery. NOW was Akerman’s first retrospective installation work in the English-speaking world.

Co-curator and filmmaker Adam Roberts of A Nos Amours, the collective he established with Joanna Hogg, feels that this major exhibition reframed Akerman for a new audience. “Although there were some people who recognised her as a great artist and filmmaker, there were still people who would not have recognised her [video] work as worth writing about,” he explained. “This has changed since the exhibition at P3.”

For the filmmakers themselves, Roberts credits their work with Maziere as providing significant training in curatorial practice, not to mention the publicity from an exhibition that attracted 8,300 visitors. “We launched with the biggest film installation show that London had ever seen by a long stretch. As A Nos Amours, we had never done anything like this before."

Let’s create something special

Since opening in 2007, Ambika P3 has hosted hundreds of events, from musical performances, concerts, fashion shows and art installations, to exhibitions, press and product launches, photo shoots, corporate hospitality, awards ceremonies and much more. It has also functioned as an incubator for new ventures and projects within the creative industries, such as the Sunday Art Fair (see below).

Previous clients include John Lewis, Vivienne Westwood, Topshop, Marks and Spencer, English National Opera, Topman, Elite Models, Sony, Primark, Unilever, Diesel, Tiger of Sweden, Conran, Calvin Klein, Royal Academy of Music, and Nike.

The space provides an ideal architecture for large commercial events with total flexibility for design and construction: both the commercial and cultural activities of the space are linked through their dedication to the creative industries. Professional curatorial advice is also available as required.

For further information on exhibitions at Ambika P3 and how to hire this unique venue, please visit our Ambika P3 page.

In addition to Ambika P3, the University of Westminster has a range of high-end professional spaces available for hire across London –  from conference halls and meeting rooms to gallery spaces, film and music studios. To find out more, please visit our Venues and accommodation page.

A selection of previous Ambika exhibitions