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{{Short description|Former alternative arts centre in London, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2012}}
[[File:arts lab logo.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.3]]
The '''Arts Lab''' was an alternative arts centre, founded in 1967 by [[Jim Haynes]] at 182 [[Drury Lane]], London. Although only active for two years, it was influential in inspiring many similar centres in the UK, continental Europe and Australia, including the expanded [[Institute of Contemporary Arts]] (ICA) in London, the Milky Way/[[Melkweg]] in [[Amsterdam]] (where Jack Henry Moore was one of the founders),<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2014/apr/23/jack-henry-moore-obituary Jack Henry Moore obituary], ''The Guardian'', 23 April 2014.</ref> the [[Frédéric Mitterrand|Entrepôt]] in [[Paris]] and the [[Yellow House Artist Collective]] founded by [[Martin Sharp]] in [[Sydney]].
==Drury Lane Arts Lab==
The Lab contained a 'soft floor' cinema in the basement designed and run by David Curtis. In the entrance there was a gallery space co-curated by Biddy Peppin (Curtis's partner) and [[Pamela Zoline]]. In a separate (but connected) warehouse was the theatre, designed by Jack Henry Moore, who initially co-directed the activities there. Both the cinema and theatre were constructed by David Jeffrey, whose partner, Philippa James, was closely involved in the Lab's day-to-day running. Upstairs, the space in front initially housed a film workshop put together by [[Malcolm Le Grice]] and students from [[St. Martin's School of Art]] and the [[London School of Film Technique]], and subsequently a restaurant run by [[Sue Miles|Susan Miles]].<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/oct/13/sue-miles-obituary Sue Miles obituary], ''The Guardian'', 13 October 2010.</ref> Haynes lived in the back above the storage and dressing rooms. A number of other people lived in various corners of the building, and the all-night cinema was often seen as a cheap crash-pad.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jim-haynes.com/life/index.htm |title=Jim Haynes biography. |access-date=29 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100502062039/http://www.jim-haynes.com/life/index.htm |archive-date=2 May 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Such amenities made it perfect for live events and "[[happenings]]", and helped establish it as a centre of the London counterculture.
==Arts Lab movement==
One of the most significant features of the Arts Lab was that it encouraged similar establishments to create other independent centres, many of which outlived Haynes' original, which closed in the autumn of 1969. On 18 December 1968 the [[Bagism|Alchemical Wedding]] benefit for the Arts Lab and [[BIT (alternative information centre)|BIT alternative information centre]] took place at the [[Royal Albert Hall]], and following it, on 25–26 January 1969, the Arts Lab Conference in [[Cambridge]] emphasized the strength of the Arts Lab movement, listing 50 such centres across the whole country, including the [[Birmingham Arts Lab]], [[Brighton Combination]]<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2009/sep/23/noel-greig-obituary Noel Greig obituary], ''The Guardian'', 23 September 2009.</ref> and centres in [[Exeter]], [[Farnham]], [[Guildford]], [[Huddersfield]], [[Loughborough]], [[Manchester]], [[Southampton]], [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] and [[Swindon]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=gCLOIhHTAE4C&dq=%22jim+haynes%22+%22arts+lab+conference%22&pg=PA96 "Summer of love: psychedelic art, social crisis and counterculture in the 1960s"  By Christoph Grunenberg, Jonathan Harris, Tate Gallery Liverpool]</ref>
==Notable involvees==
[[Yoko Ono]] and [[John Lennon]]'s first joint artwork ''Build Around'' was exhibited at the Drury Lane Arts Lab in May 1968.<ref>Philip Norman (2008), ''John Lennon: The Life'', p. 542.</ref>
[[David Bowie]], who used to rehearse (and perform mime) at the Drury Lane Arts Lab, co-founded a [[Beckenham]] Arts Lab, which organised a one-day [[free festival]], but was disillusioned by the lack of interest of other performers/artists taking an active role in the continuation of the centre.<ref>Kerry Juby, ''In Other Words...David Bowie'', Omnibus Press, 1987.</ref>
[[Dave Cousins]] of [[The Strawbs]] organized the [[Hounslow]] Arts Lab.<ref>[http://www.internationaltimes.it/archive/index.php?year=1969&volume=IT-Volume-1&issue=66&item=IT_1969-10-10_B-IT-Volume-1_Iss-66_016 Arts Lab Newsletter, 1969.]</ref>
[[Wheeler Winston Dixon]] worked at the Arts Lab in the summer of 1968, writing for the Lab's newsletter, as well as making and screening his own films.
The [[Havering]] Arts Lab, run by future [[Stuckism]] founder [[Charles Thomson (artist)|Charles Thomson]] (at the time aged 16) resulted in the headline "Sex Orgy Tale—Group Banned" in the local newspaper.<ref>[http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/stuckism/A-Stuckist-on-Stuckism.html The Art History Archive - Stuckism.]</ref>
The [[Bath Arts Workshop]] which was founded in 1969 by ex Drury Lane workers continues to this day (2014) as parent body for the [[Natural Theatre Company]].
The [[Worthing Workshop]], an Arts Lab formed in 1968,<ref>[https://mrdanthompson.wordpress.com/2012/05/18/the-worthing-workshop/ Was Worthing the birthplace of punk? - Dan Thompson]</ref> included [[Leo Sayer]],<ref name="LSay">{{cite web |url=http://www.leosayer.com/about/ |title=About - Leo Sayer |publisher=Leo Sayer |access-date=4 December 2018 |quote=Leo and some friends formed an Arts and Music club called "The Worthing Workshop"}}</ref> [[Brian James (guitarist)|Brian James]] of [[The Damned (band)|The Damned]], [[Billy Idol]] and [[Steamhammer (band)|Steamhammer]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=May |first1=John |title=The Generalist: ALTERNATIVE SOCIETY 1970s: Arts Labs |url=http://hqinfo.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/alternative-society-1970s-arts-labs.html |website=The Generalist |date=31 August 2006 |quote=My mates and I formed the WORTHING WORKSHOP, which was part of the South-East Arts Lab Co-op}}</ref> whose guitarist, [[Martin Quittenton]], went on to co-write [[Rod Stewart]]'s UK number one hits "[[You Wear It Well]]"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://freakytrigger.co.uk/ft/2007/05/rod-stewart-you-wear-it-well/ |title=ROD STEWART – "You Wear It Well" |publisher=FreakyTrigger |date=1972-09-02 |access-date=2012-01-08}}</ref> and "[[Maggie May]]".<ref name="RStone">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/rod-stewart/biography |title=Rolling Stone Artists - Rod Stewart |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=3 February 2012}}</ref>
[[Alan Moore]], writer of comic books including ''[[Watchmen]]'' and ''[[V for Vendetta]]'', regarded as "one of the most important British writers of the last fifty years".<ref name="Doyle-White, Ethan 2009">{{cite journal |last=Doyle-White |first=Ethan |date=Summer 2009 |title=Occultic World of Alan Moore |journal=[[Pentacle (magazine)|Pentacle]] |issue=29}}</ref> was involved with many activities,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wright |first1=Peter |title=The Gnomes Alan Moore bits |url=http://www.gbd.freeuk.com/Al.htm |website=gbd.freeuk.com |quote=Covers of Northampton Arts Lab magazine and the "Embryo" edited by Alan Moore}}</ref> including poetry, in the Northampton Arts Lab.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=AEnVgVDd8m0C&dq=The%20Extraordinary%20Works%20of%20Alan%20Moore&pg=PA32 The Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore By George Khoury]</ref>
==Influence==
An ''Arts Lab Newsletter'' was produced by [[Nicholas Albery]] of BIT in 1968 and updated in various editions of ''[[BIT (alternative information centre)|Bitman]]'' in later years.
The first multi-day [[free festival]] in the UK, the Cambridge Free Festival, was organised by the Cambridge Arts Lab in 1969.<ref>[http://www.ukrockfestivals.com/cambridge-free-1969.html Cambridge Free Festival]</ref>
An [[intentional community]] inspired by the Arts Lab was founded in 2014 on [[Merseyside]].<ref>[http://www.diggersanddreamers.org.uk/communities/existing/new-brighton-arts-lab New Brighton Arts Lab]</ref>
==Successors==
In London, a [[New Arts Lab]] (also titled 'Institute for Research in Art and Technology') was founded by a breakaway group of original members and others, including the [[London Film-Makers' Co-op]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.luxonline.org.uk/history/1960-1969/drury_lane_arts_lab.html |title=LuxOnline - Drury Lane Arts Lab + IRAT |access-date=30 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070618174809/http://www.luxonline.org.uk/history/1960-1969/drury_lane_arts_lab.html |archive-date=18 June 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Housed between 1969 and 1971 in a short-life factory building in Robert Street, London NW1, it contained a cinema run by David Curtis, theatre and gallery spaces, the London Film Makers' Co-op workshop, [[John Hopkins (political activist)|John Hopkins]]'s TVX, and a printing workshop run by John Collins. The full-width opening doors at ground floor level enabled J. G. Ballard's ''Crashed Cars'' exhibition to be held there.<ref>[http://www.slashseconds.org/issues/001/001/articles/13_sford/index.php#15 J. G. Ballard's 'Crashed Cars' Exhibition of 1970.]</ref>
After a 'Day of Counter-Culture' meeting,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northampton-news-hp.co.uk/Alan-Moore-Scroobius-Pip-Robin-Ince-talk-counter/story-28286013-detail/story.html |title=Alan Moore, Scroobius Pip and Robin Ince talk counter culture at University of Northampton - Northampton Herald & Post |access-date=29 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151212162756/http://www.northampton-news-hp.co.uk/Alan-Moore-Scroobius-Pip-Robin-Ince-talk-counter/story-28286013-detail/story.html |archive-date=12 December 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> a new Northampton Arts Lab was formed in 2016.<ref>[http://www.northampton-news-hp.co.uk/EDITOR-S-LETTER/story-28716895-detail/story.html Should artists be reared in laboratories? By Steve Scoles - Northampton Herald & Post]{{dead link|date=July 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Curtis |first1=David |title=London's arts Labs and the 60s Avant-Garde |date=2020 |language=en |isbn=978-0-86196-748-3 |publisher=John Libbey |location=New Barnet |df=mdy-all }}
{{refend}}
== External links ==
*[http://www.internationaltimes.it/archive/index.php?year=1967&volume=IT-Volume-1&issue=12&item=IT_1967-04-28_B-IT-Volume-1_Iss-12_003 IT - Covent Garden - Jim Haynes has found a space for his new arts' supermarket - 28 April 1967]
*[https://archive.today/20130702105712/http://www.newworknetwork.info/adhocracy/david-curtis-biddy-peppin-and-the-london-arts-lab-recorded-at-adhocracy-2011 Biddy Peppin and David Curtis talk for Adhocracy - August 2011 at Rich Mix Arts Centre]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070618174809/http://www.luxonline.org.uk/history/1960-1969/drury_lane_arts_lab.html LUX history - The Arts Lab, LFMC and IRAT]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20161220110128/http://www.leeharris.co.uk/LeeHarris/Works/afootsol.htm Lee Harris' involvement with the Arts Lab, 1966-68]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110717001712/http://www.stefan-szczelkun.org.uk/phd101.htm Portsmouth Arts Workshop by Stefan Szczelkun]
*[http://www.internationaltimes.it/archive/index.php?year=1969&volume=IT-Volume-1&issue=66&item=IT_1969-10-10_B-IT-Volume-1_Iss-66_016 BIT Report on Arts Labs around the country, 1969 - compiled by Nick Albery]
*The Generalist - [http://hqinfo.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/david-bowie-arts-labs-movement.html David Bowie and the Arts Labs Movement, 2016] and [http://hqinfo.blogspot.co.uk/2006/08/alternative-society-1970s-arts-labs.html Arts Lab and Worthing Workshop, 2006]
*[http://www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/flatshare-bowie-what-happened-next Mary Finnigan on the Beckenham Arts Lab 'Growth']
{{UK underground}}
[[Category:Arts centres in England]]
[[Category:Counterculture of the 1960s]]
[[Category:1967 establishments in the United Kingdom]]