An impressive transformation takes place after sunset when the concrete walls of the Hayward gallery, on the south bank of the river Thames, are transformed into colourful cubes by bright red, blue and green lights. Such a transformation represents well the underlying philosophy of the gallery, which has been able to constantly adapt its appearance and reinvent itself to remain at the forefront of the contemporary art scene.

The Hayward gallery started its activity in 1968 with an inaugural exhibition on Matisse unveiled by Her Majesty the Queen. Since then the gallery has played a major role in the creation and launch to international acclaim of the Southbank Centre, the UK's largest arts centre highly integrated with the local community and the rest of the city. Before the inauguration of Tate Modern in 2000, the Hayward gallery was the contemporary art venue with the biggest exhibition surface in London. This enabled the gallery to gain an unparalleled reputation for comprehensive solo shows and in-depth themed exhibitions. The proximity of the Tate Modern challenged the gallery's unique offerings, but it also triggered a transformation of the Southbank area, which now incorporates integrated exhibition spaces and attracts a great number of visitors from all over the world.
The Southbank Centre strategically developed synergies between its different entities including the Hayward gallery. Since 2006 Jude Kelly, the Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre, and Ralph Rugoff, the Director of the Hayward gallery, have expanded the role of the Hayward to shows its arts outside the strict premises of the gallery to the entire Southbank Centre. In an age of increased competition among galleries, Rugoff sees the Hayward's position as part of a wider cultural complex as being one of its biggest assets. In addition to the nearby Tate Modern, the Hayward gallery faces stiff competition from the Serpentine Gallery, the ICA institute and the Whitechapel gallery, all located in central London, and with a similar target audience. Only the clear and innovative vision of its leadership can preserve the gallery's prominent position in this competitive art landscape.

GORMLEY

The major strength of the Hayward gallery is its ability to re-adapt itself to the changing world of contemporary art. A tangible example of this capacity is represented by the different readings on the two solo shows of Antony Gormley, an icon of modern British sculpture, who showcased his work at the Hayward in 1996 and 2007. In 1996 the show ‘Field for the British Isles' filled the gallery building, without any interaction with the outside Southbank area. Nevertheless, the show reached an unprecedented number of arts enthusiasts and gained international acclaim for Gormley. According to a post-event press release: "It became one of the most popular works ever shown at the gallery. As part of the Arts Council Collection, ‘Field' has been touring the UK as part of the Hayward Touring programme and has now been seen by over two million people." A decade later, the solo exhibition of the same artist, entitled ‘Event Horizon' was set up with a radically different philosophy and displayed artworks outside the premises of the Hayward gallery. Sculptures were scattered around numerous locations of the Southbank Centre and the Waterloo Bridge area. Moreover, artworks were made accessible as part of urban decorations to a wider public, rather different from the elitist contemporary art community. According to the exhibition press release, the show featured "a series of brand new monumental works specially conceived for the Hayward Gallery's distinctive spaces, which move Gormley's work in a radical new direction." It included one of the largest ever urban public art commissions, ‘Event Horizon' which featured sculptural casts of the artist's body on rooftops and public walkways across central London, dramatically transforming the city skyline. This opened up a new, unbounded way of proposing modern art, which, according to Ralph Rugoff: "Also creates a new vision of the Hayward Gallery as a more exciting, artist centric space, a springboard for commissioning visual arts across the whole of Southbank Centre site and beyond."

Despite its continued experimentation, the Hayward gallery is highly regarded within the contemporary art community and it has been able to preserve its unconventional and unorthodox flavour in spite of its numerous transformations. The days of controversial shows such as the Robert Mapplethorpe's photographic work in 1996, which displayed controversial images of human bodies, are over, but nevertheless a new way of unconventional contemporary art has found fertile soil in this cultural hub and is quickly being emulated elsewhere.

SAMBA

The ongoing summer show at the Hayward proposes the first British solo exhibition of the ‘carioca' artist Ernesto Neto together with a themed exhibition on art and design entitled ‘New Décor'. For the first time in the history of the gallery, an artist was commissioned to make specific installations to be displayed across the Southbank Centre as part of the local Festival Brazil that runs until September 5, 2010. In this way, the Hayward aims to become a more integral part of the Southbank Centre programme, thereby further expanding its visual art role into the centre's activities. In the view of the organizers, Neto's exotic style would enhance the visitor's experience and let him engage with the surroundings and prompt interaction with other visitors. Ralph Rugoff's view on the show is clear: "We are very excited at the prospect of staging a full-scale exhibition of Ernesto's work here. It will be thrilling to see the dramatic juxtaposition of his physically and visually engaging installations set against the gallery's unique architectural spaces. I believe his ambitious plans will capture the public imagination, and follow in the recent success of Hayward Gallery previous exhibitions ‘Walking in my Mind' and ‘Psycho Buildings'."
In the lower galleries the Hayward present ‘New Décor', which is an international survey of over 30 contemporary artists who explore interior design as a mean of engaging with changes in contemporary culture.
The Hayward is obviously focusing on conquering a wider audience not necessarily driven by a pure interest in contemporary art. Some may say that it is a mere commercial operation to increase the visitors' number and the gallery's revenues. But some others may point out that the Hayward is launching a new trend in contemporary art.
In fact, despite opening its door to an audience unfamiliar with contemporary art, the Hayward maintains its original unconventional flavour. The ongoing shows aim to disseminate art far beyond the conventional gallery premises to offer it to the general public as part of the surrounding urban space. This summer an unconventional Brazilian samba resounds in the Southbank district.

Romina PROVENZI
is a writer and lives in London. She writes on contemporary art.
She is a specialist of the Cuban art market and of the London art scene.

Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, London SE1 8XX, www.haywardgallery.org.uk