Zabludowicz Collection to Permanently Close London Space

The Zabludowicz Collection will shutter its London space, which first opened in 2007. The closure will take place on December 17, concurrent with the conclusion of its current exhibition, a group show titled “All Crescendo, No Reward.” The privately held institution’s founders, Anita and Chaim “Poju” Zabludowicz, have said that they will “concentrate on increasing loans of artworks to institutions and extending our digital presence and offer.” The museum was known for showing cutting-edge art by young artists, among them Trisha Baga, Erica Beckman, Lizzie Fitch and Ryan Trecartin, Donna Huanca, Lu Yang, Haroon Mirza, Shana Moulton, and Josh Smith. “When we set up a project space for the Zabludowicz Collection over fifteen years ago, our goal was to create a supportive environment for artists, to share our collection as widely as possible, and to provide a free, diverse program for the benefit of the public,” the Zabludowiczes wrote in a statement first published inArtReview.Noting that a broad institutional shift toward exhibiting work by younger, emerging artists had rendered their goal of doing so less urgent, the couple appeared to acknowledge forthcoming staff cuts.

“As we look to expand access to the collection, we have made the decision to close the project space at 176 Prince of Wales Road, which very sadly means the team will be significantly reduced in size.”RelatedMANUEL BORJA-VILLEL WINS CCS BARD’S AUDREY IRMAS AWARD FOR CURATORIAL EXCELLENCESTAFF AT BUFFALO AKG ART MUSEUM MOVE TO UNIONIZE The Zabludowicz Collection in recent years had come under fire for the Finnish-born Poju Zabludowicz’s connection to the nonprofit pro-Israel lobbying group BICOM (Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre). The group, which he cofounded in 2001, aims torejectall characterizations of Israel as an apartheid state, as Amnesty International cast it in a 2022report. ( Zabludowicz, relinquished his role as chairman of the organization in 2013 and departed as director in 2019.) Another bone of contention has been his role as CEO of his family’s London-based investment group Tamares.

The conglomerate at one juncture held stakes in Knafaim Holdings and Palantir Technologies, both of which have business ties to Israeli military forces..