Raven Row
Encyclopedia
Raven Row is an art gallery
in Spitalfields
. It was constructed from numbers 56 and 58, Artillery Lane. These properties were built about 1690. The area was formerly used for testing artillery
and this portion of the lane was known as Raven Row until 1895. The buildings have previously been used as shops of Huguenot
silk weavers and traders. They were converted into a gallery in 2009 by Alex Sainsbury
who established a charity to run it. The inaugural exhibition was of work by New York artist Ray Johnson
.
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
in Spitalfields
Spitalfields
Spitalfields is a former parish in the borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London, near to Liverpool Street station and Brick Lane. The area straddles Commercial Street and is home to many markets, including the historic Old Spitalfields Market, founded in the 17th century, Sunday...
. It was constructed from numbers 56 and 58, Artillery Lane. These properties were built about 1690. The area was formerly used for testing artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
and this portion of the lane was known as Raven Row until 1895. The buildings have previously been used as shops of Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
silk weavers and traders. They were converted into a gallery in 2009 by Alex Sainsbury
Sainsbury family
The Sainsbury family founded Sainsbury's, the UK's third largest supermarket chain...
who established a charity to run it. The inaugural exhibition was of work by New York artist Ray Johnson
Ray Johnson
Raymond Edward Johnson , known primarily as a collagist and correspondence artist, was a seminal figure in the history of Neo-Dada and early Pop art...
.