Contemporary Art, cheese, and life beyond Mayfair

What would make me travel to a not-exactly-gentrified part of London on a random Thursday? Contemporary art, of course. More specifically, ARCADE on Hatcham Rd, SE15.

This is not the kind of neighborhood you end up in by accident. You can see the stars from here, traffic lights are scarce, and Arab food is excellent. You share your location with friends “just in case” while making your way through what feels like an industrial zone.

The founder, Christian Mooney, has been working with art for over 20 years. The gallery existed in Belgium (neatly wrapped around Brexit) and now operates in London. It survived Covid more or less painfully; the gallery lost its income, and at that point Christian became… a cheesemonger. Cheese production (!!!) turned out to be not just financial support during hard times, but a way to talk to people. Yes, also a social practice. Today, Christian does both. You can find him on Sundays at Borough Market and weekdays in his gallery space.

The space itself is a classic white cube with a kitchen. They host dinners here too — and plan to host many more. Inclusive or cheese-centered, dinners with great chefs or local communities. The logic is simple: to organise a dinner, you need to invite 25 people. “But I know 25 people,” Christian says. All you can do is nod. They also do merch, brew kombucha, and organize workshops. This ILR approach feels very refreshing.

ARCADE has no social media. At all. They deleted everything and made a conscious decision not to support Zuckerberg’s algorithms. There’s only a website and one (!) Google review.

So how do people find the gallery? Very simply: flyers, local communities groups, neighbors. Word of mouth. There’s also a newsletter and an active crowdfunding and volunteering program. Artists bring friends, friends bring friends, and sometimes random people like me wander in and the chain continues. Maybe you’ll come too.

The project operates as a social enterprise, supported by grants, and fits into the area almost too perfectly — British authorities love this kind of thing. Placing art initiatives in underdeveloped areas so jobs appear, life starts happening, and rent prices slowly rise.

Casually, on the website, you can also read that one of the gallery’s artists, Chiara Camoni, will represent Italy at the Venice Biennale this year. So if your capitalist side is on a hunt for treasure, check the gallery ASAP before the Venice-Art Basel effect happened to her.

We left with a pleasant aftertaste of fresh energy and motivation. After Mayfair fairs and galleries, the eye really does get tired, and at some point all art starts to feel unbearable. Sometimes you want to be in a space where art doesn’t follow market rules.

Only sometimes, though.