Tower Bridge and The Monument

•       Tower Bridge announces Imogen Piper as the next artist to take up Residency
•       Data-led artist Piper will mine Tower Bridge data to create one-off artworks in a medium inspired by the research, to be shown in November 2018 in the historic Victorian Engine Rooms
•       The Artist in Residence initiative is part of an eclectic programme of arts, installations and intimate events to establish Tower Bridge as a new cultural venue in London
•       For further images or information contact towerbridge@kallaway.comor +44 (0)207 221 7883

Tower Bridge welcomes Imogen Piper, 23, as the latest artist to set up studio at the Bridge as part of its Artist in Residence programme. A multidisciplinary research-driven artist, Piper works in varying mediums across film, publications, sculpture and performance.

The initial stage of the Residency will see Piper focus on research, delving into the historical, cultural, geographical and physical entanglement of Tower Bridge within London and the World. From Bridge lifts, to visitor numbers, boat crossings and pedestrians, Piper will explore the fascinating data behind London’s most defining landmark to inform the final piece of art. 

Exploring primary research opportunities while on site, she will engage with everything from  visitors, the mechanics, sounds and iconic architecture of the Bridge. She has also been granted direct access to collections of the Bridge’s data collected over the last century, to help inform the investigation of patterns, correlations, and outliers, with the intention of entwining this data within a new but relevant medium. 

The resulting exhibition will invite visitors to explore the Bridge through new perspectives, allowing a greater insight into the famous Bridge through Imogen’s interpretation. 

Imogen Piper comments: “I am excited for the time, resources and unique space that this Residency will provide. I’m hoping to be able to produce an innovative piece of work that brings contemporary practice into the Engine Rooms and generates new conversations and meaning to the space.

“To have a studio within Tower Bridge is quite a unique experience, something I feel very lucky to have been offered. Despite spending increasing amounts of time here, that sense of awe has yet to diminish, and actually seems to grow whilst finding new angles and lights to observe the Bridge’s architecture and London’s cityscape. The Engine Rooms are an incredibly inspiring context to exhibit work within. It is the antithesis of a conventional white walled gallery space, a place of form, function and history that I am excited to bring contemporary creative practice in to.”

Piper was awarded the Residency following an open call to artists in May 2018, and follows the inaugural residency in 2017, which saw artist Alex Evans produce an exquisite collection of new works inspired by the Victorian Gothic architecture of the Bridge.

Central to the Residency is the artist’s engagement with families, schools and the local community. Piper will also be working closely with Tower Bridge’s Education Team and drawing on her wealth of experience to lead a series of innovative and engaging data-collection workshops with children from the Boutcher Primary School in Southwark. Piper will examine the creative ways to explore the data collected, encouraging children to examine such an analytical practice via creative means.

Chris Earlie, Head of Tower Bridge, says:“We’re thrilled to host Imogen Piper as our newest Artist in Residence here at Tower Bridge. Following the success of the inaugural Residency last year, we’re excited to see which of our fascinating data collections Imogen will use, and how this will shape her work to come for the final artistic output. The programme marks an exciting time for the Bridge, as we look to further establish Tower Bridge as an exciting new cultural space in London and roll out our new visual identity as London’s defining landmark.”

The exhibition runs from November 2018 – January 2019 (inclusive) and admission is included in the entry price for Tower Bridge.

ENDS

Media contacts:

For further information, images or interview requests please contact:

Esther Saunders-Deutsch or Claudia Wentworth at Kallaway PR

E: esther.saunders-deutsch@kallaway.com/ claudia.wentworth@kallaway.com

T: +44 (0)207 221 7883

Notes to Editors:

About Imogen Piper 

•        Imogen Piper is an artist who seeks to draw parallels between disparate systems, converging the existing rather than fabricating the new. Producing artworks from these untested convergences, she addresses current political issues and wider societal uncertainties. Her process is research-driven and systematic, with outputs varying across film, publication, sculpture and performance.  https://www.imogenpiper.co.uk.  Follow Imogen on [insert social channels]
•        Performed at The Imperial War Museum and The Design Museum, Piper’s most recent series of works entitled ‘Encoded Revolt’ encoded the co-ordinates and surrounding data of airstrikes in the Syrian conflict within music. These works were produced by converging the code make-up of airstrike data with the musical compositional movement Serialism, allowing digital data susceptible to censorship to be performed and preserved in the musical form. 
•        Whilst ‘Encoded Revolt’’s convergence of airstrike data with music allowed for a new medium of emotional engagement with the conflict’s quantitive information; she now hopes to illuminate a unique quality of the Bridge through a new form of data representation. 

About Tower Bridge (http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/)

Tower Bridge (http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/)

 #InsideTowerBridge 

• Tower Bridge was the creation of architect Sir Horace Jones and civil engineer Sir John Wolfe Barry. It took eight years to complete and was officially opened on 30 June 1894 by the Prince and Princess of Wales (the future King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra) 

• Tower Bridge opening hours:

o  Summer Opening Hours: April - September 10:00 - 17:30 (last admission)

o  Winter Opening Hours: October - March 09:30 - 17:00 (last admission)

• Admission prices for Tower Bridge: 
• Adults: £9.80
• Children aged 5-15: £4.20 
• Groups of 10 or more adults: £8.30 
• Concessions: £6.80 
• Family tickets from £15.30 
• Under 5s free

• The nearest underground stations are London Bridge or Tower Hill

• Visit the Glass Floor up on the high-level Walkways, which gives visitors a unique perspective of London 42 metres above the Thames. “Look up on London” – a mirror installed over the West Walkway’s Glass Floor offers visitors a dizzying experience of the city. Guests are able to tread on the glass floor panels whilst traffic passes beneath their feet. It can withstand the weight equivalent to one elephant or two London Black Cabs. 

• Download the Family Trail appto explore Tower Bridge like never before with an innovative app and activity packed booklet for 5-10 year olds. 

• Offering refreshed collections and bespoke ranges of gifts and souvenirs, the Tower Bridge Gift Shop reopened to the public in November 2016 following a 6-week redevelopment.  In 2018 the shop won the Museums + Heritage Award for ‘Best shop with a turnover more than £500k’. Now in its 16^thyear, the Museums + Heritage Awards recognise projects of excellence, and innovative ground-breaking initiatives from galleries and visitor attractions from across the globe.

• Winner of the 2016 Sandford Award for Heritage Education. This prestigious award recognizes the importance of formal, curriculum-linked education opportunities offered to schools by heritage sites.

• Tower Bridge proudly generates income for the City Bridge Trust, meaning that your ticket is helping to support charitable causes across London.

• One of only 20 UK attractions to receive the Visit England Gold Attractions Accolade in 2018. The accolade recognises quality visitor experiences on offer and is awarded to attractions that go the extra mile to provide a high quality day out.

• Tower Bridge is owned, funded and managed by theCity of London Corporation. www.cityoflondon.gov.uk.

• The City of London Corporation, which owns and manages Tower Bridge, invests over £100m every year in heritage and cultural activities of all kinds. It is the UK’s largest funder of cultural activities after the government, the BBC, and Heritage Lottery Fund.  The City Corporation is also developing Culture Mile between Farringdon and Moorgate – a multi-million-pound investment which will create a new cultural and creative destination for London over the next 10 to 15 years. This includes £110m funding to support the Museum of London’s move to West Smithfield and £2.5m to support the detailed business case for the proposed Centre for Music.

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