The Atrium Gallery provides a space for exhibiting a range of creative work produced by or in collaboration with the LSE community. We aim to promote a programme of high quality art exhibitions which reflect creative activity and research interests.
We select exhibitions by proposal submission. Selected exhibitions showcase innovative, ambitious new work that contributes to the School’s learning and research activities, and is a source of pleasure and inspiration to students, staff, visitors and the wider LSE community.
The gallery space is not for external hire.
Proposal Submissions
You must be a student or member of staff at LSE at the time of the proposed exhibition. LSE Arts has no dedicated source of funding. Therefore, we expect proposals to come with a minimum level of funding to cover core exhibition costs. Estimated exhibition costs are outlined in the 'Guidelines for organising exhibitions at LSE'.
Proposals will be judged termly for exhibition the following academic term. However, given the high demand for our gallery space, proposals are often considered up to a year in advance of their desired exhibition dates. When submitting a proposal, please list your first choice of dates and any alternate dates that would also work. Please also note that not all applications will be successful.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us at arts@lse.ac.uk
Display questions
As seen in our guidelines above, LSE Arts recommends vinyl-lettering (of a cut-out letter style, not a single sheet style) for the title of your exhibit and an A1 introduction panel. This looks best at the start of the exhibition wall, or on the far wall just below the LSE Arts and Atrium Gallery logos. We do not permit single sheet vinyl titles on the walls. If you feel it is within your budget and stylistic interests, you can invest in single-lettering vinyl for your exhibition description, but this is something to be discussed with LSE Arts before confirming.
All text to be displayed in the Atrium Gallery must be approved by LSE Arts.
If you plan on connecting with LSE Design Unit, you can also request smaller boards in your order to go next to or below your materials. We do not recommend using vinyl for this, as lightweight foamboard is often easier to read for smaller lettering and pops more visually.
The material attached to the wall between the Atrium Gallery and the Student Services Centre that gives the windows an opaque look is itself vinyl, so no vinyl is permitted to go on top of that. If you wish for posters or boards to be affixed to the wall, when done with removable material and not above the height of the vinyl already in place, you are welcome to do so.
Yes, you are welcome to be creative with your use of the wall under the condition that it is restored to its original condition (white, repairs made, etc.) after your exhibition ends. Please note that such work cannot extend beyond the installation period (two days at most).
No, the banners are a permanent fixture in the Atrium Gallery.
No, there is electrical equipment behind that wall. Exhibitions should begin on the gallery wall.
There is a small table available for use in the Atrium Gallery that is commonly used for this like displaying QR codes or a guest book for viewers to write comments. Beyond that, if you needed additional tables or other items, you would need to coordinate that furniture separately.
There are no permanent television displays in the Atrium Gallery, but there is power running throughout the room. If your exhibit contains an audio-visual component, LSE Arts recommends directly coordinating with DTS about how best to display the material for either a specific event or continually while the exhibition is running.
Cabinet-specific questions
There is some automatic lighting in the cabinets, but these lights can sometimes be unreliable. There is no power or plugs within the cabinets themselves. If you would like additional lighting on your displays, consider battery power LED spotlights or thin LED strips that can be attached to the shelves of the cabinet.
If you were hoping to include an audio-visual component in the cabinet, LSE Arts would strongly recommend against it due to power issues.
Certain shelves can sometimes be moved into a different position. However, this is to be discussed with the LSE Arts team during the installation process.
Again, the shelves in the cabinets can sometimes be removed from the cabinets but such a move ought to be discussed with the LSE Arts team beforehand to discuss storage.
No, the cabinets are permanent fixtures in the Atrium Gallery. Because they are not moveable, we strongly encourage exhibitors to have materials prepared to go inside or around them.
Yes, with some conditions. Fabric can be draped over the top if it is affixed somehow so passersby are not in danger of knocking it down. As for affixing vinyl to the outside glass, this is discouraged. If strongly desired, all vinyl must be tested at least one week before installation to ensure it is completely removable from the glass. You can ask LSE's Design Unit or whichever vinyl company you elect to use for a sample and coordinate with LSE Arts as to how to test the vinyl.
