#49 Acme's 40th anniversary
50 stories from The Acme Archive
As we reach the end of Acme’s 50th Anniversary stories, we are looking back to Acme’s last major anniversary in 2012-13 and the activities that supported it.
Two major projects were commissioned to celebrate the 40th anniversary, both drawing heavily on the Acme Archive. The first “Supporting Artists: Acme’s First Decade 1972-82” was an exhibition held at the Whitechapel Gallery from September 2013 to February 2014. The second, commissioned for this exhibition, was the film 72-82 by William Raban, an Acme artist himself, which has become indispensable as a reference to the experience of artists in those early years.
Acme’s artists, both tenants and residents were also celebrated during the year. 12 artists were featured on the website with commissioned works, 300 more were featured in the Postcards From my Studio exhibition at the Acme Project Space. Time and Vision celebrated 20 years of the Australia Council for the Arts London studio residencies with an exhibition, filmed interviews with artists and a publication.
The 40th anniversary year was also a productive year for Acme’s property development. We celebrated the opening of three new buildings within the year- Warton House, High House and the Glassyard - producing 97 new studios and work live units.