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Underground graffiti tells story of 138 years at the Royal Albert Hall
Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent22 Apr 2009
THE Royal Albert Hall is going underground with a new exhibition of graffiti art.
The show is being put on in the loading bay three floors below ground.
Young urban artists are invited to record moments from the hall's 138-year history, from a TV broadcast by Winston Churchill to Muhammad Ali's fights.
The show, Load, will cover 1,125 square metres of wall space with giant murals of stars who have performed at the hall.
These range from Jimi Hendrix to Pavarotti, via Eric Clapton, The Killers and Frank Sinatra. The Suffragettes will also be remembered. They used the hall for meetings but also disrupted concerts to draw attention to their cause. One protester even hid in the organ. Lucy Noble, head of programming, said it was part of their efforts to open up more of the venue to the public and commission artwork.
"It's a massive space, quite industrial-looking and I think it will look fantastic," she said.
The auditorium is now in use for 350 days of the year so events are increasingly being held elsewhere in the building.
Artists from the Daydream Network collective will have five days and nights to work in the bay, which will not be in use for a few weeks during the run of The King And I.
A spokesman said: "The Daydream Network is proud to be involved in taking the graffiti and street art movement and mixing it with the British love affair with music, arts and entertainment. We look forward to making our mark at this world-famous cultural landmark."
The exhibition is free on Monday 22 June and offers a rare chance to see the underground workings of the building.
