2020 was proclaimed by many as being the worst year ever, which you may think a bold statement but remember, it was the year that the UK left the European Union (sigh), and a few months later we would all dutifully plunge into a national lockdown. The palindromic date of 02/02/2020 was a brief light amidst that darkness, during which time we were collectively experiencing another cultural spectacle: the 2020 iteration of Condo. Little did the London art scene know, but it would be the last time anyone would bask in the collective art exhibition’s convivial magic for four years.
Since the first iteration of Condo sprawled out into London back in 2016, emerging with its harsh gothic font and black and yellow graphics, the strange beast of a collaborative exhibition, founded by Vanessa Carlos of Carlos Ishikawa, has repeatedly foregrounded the communal spirit of London’s art scene. Since Condo has been absent from our streets, separate iterations have appeared throughout other cities from New York to Shanghai, replicating the same model; host spaces open up their gallery doors to international colleagues, either dividing their space up and showing works or co-curating exhibitions together, with both spaces thereby reciprocally broadening their reach and recognition.
It’s a model ingenious in its simplicity. The 2020 edition was the largest ever staged, with many of the city’s new spaces taking part amongst older more established galleries. So, upon Condo’s impending return this weekend (the opening days are Saturday and Sunday, 12-6 pm) it feels pertinent to reassess its enduring appeal, question why, after its four-year hiatus people are still hooked, and explore what sets it apart from the rest of events on the art world’s calendar?
“I felt Condo was essential when it first started. In the same way that I think it’s essential now,” says Cornelia Grassi, co-director of Kennington-based Greengrassi gallery. “It’s an act of opening out, not looking in, which is actually essential work for galleries to be doing”. Greengrassi has been a part of Condo consecutively for several iterations, as well as recently taking part in 2023’s Condo Sao Paulo. This year they are collaborating with their neighbour Corvi Mora to host the Iranian Delgosha Gallery. The essential nature of Condo that Grassi speaks of is reflected best in its divergence from other art-world events, when contrasted against the likes of Frieze London or London Gallery Weekend, one art-world source remarked, “those events focus way, way too much on PR, mailing lists, collectors. They’re not doing anything different, that’s just your regular programme, right?”
What makes Condo unique is how it provides space for younger and more established spaces to work together and support each other. Ehrlich Steinberg, a newly opened LA-based gallery is joining Condo this year for the first time, hosted by London veterans Herald St. “We opened in November 2023 – and so being hosted by Herald St is incredibly special,” says Tabitha Steinberg, the gallery’s co-director, “It also highlights the distinct non-hierarchical structure within Condo, as a gallery as new as ours can have a collaborative exhibition with a gallery like Herald St.Both galleries benefit by bolstering each other’s individual and overlapping engagements with culture on micro and macro levels.” For their Presentation, Ehrlich Steinberg is restaging a decade-old Herald St exhibition with new works, highlighting the influence and power of their host gallery, while also joining each space in a reflective synergy.
As Grassi explains, Brexit has made instances of cultural collaboration at this level incredibly difficult. “Any effort one makes to open things outward is a positive thing. Condo reaffirms the curiosity one should have for one’s colleagues, whether they be in the same neighbourhood in the same city, in the same country, or in another country!” Condo in a sense makes visible what usually sits beneath the surface or may be overlooked – it foregrounds the importance of community and hybridity. 2024 is Condo’s comeback year – let’s hope there are many more to come.
