This Spring, the inaugural Crystal Palace Artists’ Open House will launch and give visitors access to more than 80 artists in their studios and local spaces for the first time.

Covering the full spectrum of media – from painting, watercolour, sculpture, design, crafts, and photography – the event will celebrate the local creative community and put SE19 back on the map as a cultural destination for artists, collectors, Londoners and tourists alike.

“Open House is a passionate free initiative that will give an amazing platform to the Crystal Palace artists. It will also offer visitors an exploration of hidden venues and off-the-beaten track studios. I’m thrilled to announce that 80 artists and artisans have already signed up. It will reveal Crystal Palace as an undiscovered creative gem.”

Anna Jacobs, founder of The Crystal Palace’s Open House and exhibiting artist.

“Drawing inspiration from luminaries such as painters Camille Pissarro and William White Warren who both visited the area in their lifetime and depicted local scenes and landscapes, this event will honour contemporary artists and activate exceptional sites.”

Nicolas Smirnoff, Head of Events and Marketing, Pace Gallery and Trustee of Art Night.

SE19 is an underrated area of London filled with artists, designers, makers, musicians, poets, writers and performers. It has an incredible energy and community spirit, born from a unique cultural history going back to1854, when the Great Exhibition’s Crystal Palace was moved from Hyde Park to Penge Common, now known as the Crystal Palace park.

Crystal Palace was also home to the eminent French novelist Emile Zola as he escaped the Dreyfus and J’accuse case and Gone with the Wind actor Leslie Howard (both honoured with a blue plaque). Legendary concerts by the likes of Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, and Bob Marley were staged in the Crystal Palace Park.

Today, SE19 features the world’s oldest dinosaur sculptures’ park designed by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins and hosts the remarkable International Film Festival (7-30 March 2019), the Crystal Palace Festival (15-23 June 2019) for the first time this year the Southport Weekender Festival (31 August 2019). On 18th March 2019, Crystal Palace-based artist Mike Nelson will present a major new commission in response to the unique architecture and history of the neo-classical architecture of Tate Britain. In 2011 he represented Britain at the Venice Biennale and he has twice been nominated for the Turner Prize (2001 & 2007).

Nurturing this rich creative background and bringing this artistic history forward to current time, Saturday 27th April will see the doors of the most unique artists thrown open with the launch of the first-ever Crystal Palace Artists’ Open House event. Free of charge, visitors will have the opportunity to wander through Victorian houses and courtyard ateliers, discovering the eclectic range of work from emerging and established award-winning professional artists.

Highlights will include access to artists such as conceptual painter David Dipré, organic and nature-inspired ceramicist Nadine Bell and extraordinary vintage pop photographer and artist Nicholas Slim. Further artists on the list include world-renowned street artist Mr Cenz, award-winning former artist in residence at Kew Gardens Jo Self, nominated as ‘Artist to watch in 2019’ by Artists & Illustrators magazine Tom Cox, and Royal Society of Sculptors’ and tutor at Yorkshire Sculpture Park Marcia Bennett Male.

Coopers Yard Studios, a dynamic group of creative businesses, with some extraordinary workshop spaces, will open its doors to the public and host a selection of artists in the programme. Beth Mander’s arts andcrafts Paxton Centre on Anerley Hill will also feature remarkable exhibitions. More venues will be announced soon.

Vintage and antique shops on Church Road, independent brands selling beautiful homewares, clothes, trinkets and jewellery around the triangle; restaurants, pubs and local coffee shops will also join this community event and present special events for the occasion.