(Unfortunately registration for this event had to close earlier than expected due to the high amount of submissions we have received over the past weeks. However, we would love to see you at the event!)

Polish deConstruction would like to invite you to the Homeless Gallery – a photography happening taking place in the Basement Gallery at the Shoreditch Town Hall, 13 - 15 September. For the duration of the exhibition, the basement of the Shoreditch Town Hall will turn into an art lounge - THE place to chill - presenting a raw, uncurated and lively photography exhibition.

The Homeless Gallery is a spontaneously organised exhibition, inviting all photographers to participate, happening on an irregular basis in random locations worldwide. As there is no curator or theme, the artists are free to choose their way of presenting the works, from simply photographs on the wall to sophisticated installations. The space is deliberately chosen, because it’s not the typical white cube gallery and therefore providing artists with full freedom of expression and viewers with the excitement of browsing through the underground tunnels of the basement in search of the work of art.

DATES AND LOCATION

13 - 15 September 2008

Saturday 13 September, 12am – 10pm: open to public, private view 6-10pm
Sunday 14 September, 12am – 6pm: open to public
Monday 15 September, 10am – 8pm: open to public, take down exhibition 5-8pm

Basement Gallery
Shoreditch Town Hall
380 Old Street
London EC1V 9LT

THE CONCEPT (excerpt from http://www.galeriabezdomna.art.pl/en)

Galeria Bezdomna originated in Poland, hence the Polish name, but has also run under the title Homeless Gallery and Galeria Vagabonde. Since its inception in 2002 there have been 46 editions world wide, including UK and Australian editions.

The idea for the Homeless Gallery was born in the minds of two well known Polish photographers - Tomek Sikora and Andrzej Swietlik. It is homeless, because it has no permanent address. It appears for a short while, after which it disappears, only to reappear again in a completely different place. It appears wherever a place becomes available to give photography a home for a short while.

The concept of organising the Homeless Gallery is extremely simple. First we look for a good location (empty factories, buildings awaiting redevelopment, or any other suitable place). Then we arrange with the owners if, and for how long, we can have an exhibition in the chosen place. It is important that the space is loaned to us for free, for the simple reason that the Homeless Gallery functions with absolutely no funds. Next, through the grapevine, we send information to potential participants. Where possible we use the mass media to spread the news.

The whole idea of the Homeless Gallery is that there are no entry criteria. What is eventually shown during an exhibition depends solely on the participants own self-censorship. We do not select the participants. Anybody can show their work, be they star photographers, professionals, those just starting out in photography, students and amateurs. We do not select the work either. We have no demands as to subject, technique, format, or number of photographs shown. The photographs themselves can be displayed in gilt frames or just be prints stuck to the wall.

On the day chosen for the opening all the participants arrive with their photographs and an assortment of equipment needed to hang them - hammer nails, double sided tape, wire, etc. etc. Everybody finds a piece of wall for themselves (or ceiling, or floor) and hangs their work. We like to see all unconventional forms of display - during the first edition in Warsaw, photographs were hung off ladders, steel frames, on bathroom tiles, stair bannisters, or were simply placed in potato crates. When the hammers fall silent and everything is ready, then comes time for the opening. At the agreed time all the participants arrive with their personal guests. Everybody, if they so wish, can bring something to treat their guests with. And then comes the general integration.

For the entire duration of the exhibition, the participants take turns to watch over the gallery. Everyone must find time to take his/her turn at looking after their own - and the other's - work. Before the opening we also call for volunteers to clean up the gallery. On the final day of the exhibition we hold the closing ceremony - a repeat of the opening. After that, everybody takes down their work and returns home with their photographs.

The Homeless Gallery exists to enable everybody to show their work publicly - those who for various reasons would have no chance otherwise to show their work to the world. It is for those who can't afford a prestigious gallery, and for those who would never even think of doing so. For those who are students, or are just entering photography, it's a chance to be noticed. For professionals it's a chance to show some of their more personal work that never finds it's way into their commercial portfolios. For amateurs it's a chance of showing their work to people other than just their family and near friends. For those who are shy it's a chance to pull out those photographs hidden away in drawers.

The idea of the Homeless Gallery is to be a showcase as well as a cyclical photographic event. Coming to the gallery means that everybody can see what's hot in the world of photography. They can meet the authors and talk with them, and maybe even buy a photograph. For the photographers themselves it's a chance to get to know each other, thus further integrating the photographic environment. On top of that, we also invite all sorts of musicians, dj's, mimes and other independent artists to show themselves during our exhibitions.

(excerpt from a text by Tomek Sikora, Warsaw, Poland, Nov 2002. For more information, please visit: www.galeriabezdomna.art.pl)