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Fine Art in a Container – Shipping Container Galleries Around the World
When you think of shipping containers, fine art isn’t often the first thing that comes to mind. But shipping container galleries are popping up more and more in the art world.
Shipping containers make ideal pop up galleries due to their ease of transport to virtually any location, can easily be modified and prove to be a significant cost saving over traditional buildings. Popping up all over the world, you’ll be hard pressed to find a major city that hasn’t been host to a transient shipping container art space over the last few years. Here are some of our favourites that have stood out recently.
Check out these great examples of shipping container art galleries from around the world:
GAD Shipping Container Gallery, Norway
This shipping container art gallery was constructed from containers to create a multi level art gallery that can be constructed and deconstructed in a matter of days on it’s location in Oslo, Norway. The ground floor of the gallery is constructed from five shipping containers, while the second floor is created from three shipping containers arranged in a “U” shape. More containers on the third and final courtyard provide more exhibition space as well as access to the terrace on the roof on the containers.
Large, full height windows on the end of each container provide natural light to the gallery as well as circular skylights in the rooftop. The entire gallery is painted white, giving the illusion of far more space than its footprint on the site. Check out Designboom.com for even more photos of this amazing cargotecture structure.
Image © eirike førde
Image Source: Designboom
ArtBloc – A Crowdfunded Shipping Container Gallery & Performance Space in New York
Fully funded via a kickstarter campaign, ArtBloc is a simple but effective gallery and performance space. Designed to be modular and portable, it’s constructed from two modified shipping containers, which can either be placed side by side, length to length or on top of each other depending on intended use or configuration. The project was successfully funded and is now host to a whole load of parties and art events in New York.
Image Source: Kickstarter
SE9 Container Gallery, London
The SE9 Container Gallery is the first art gallery to be constructed from recycled shipping containers in London, United Kingdom. It’s located on the grounds of Saint Thomas Moore Catholic Comprehensive School in Eltham and exhibits the latest in modern and contemporary art. Made out of what looks like four 40 foot shipping containers, with a clean white and checker-plate aluminium layout, there is plenty of space for the latest artwork from students in the school and the community at large. The gallery is currently home to artist in residence Terri Hawkins, who is documenting the schools 50 year history with her exhibition “50”.
Image Source: SE9 Container Gallery
Shipping Container Gallery, Tokyo
This rather interesting shipping gallery is a result of getting around Japanese Building regulations that prevent common forms of shipping container architecture. Containers cannot be stacked as buildings in Japan so the architects got around this restriction by building a wooden frame and attaching the containers to this, resulting in the interesting off kilter stacked appearance that you see below. It’s actually quite refreshing to see this sort of layout which breaks up the normal boxy type design that we’ve all become accustomed to with shipping container buildings and is a great concept for an art gallery.
Image Source: Treehugger
A.R.T.S in Phoenix, Arizona
This shipping gallery is now in it’s second location – directly across the road from where it was originally installed in Phoenix, Arizona. Constructed from three second hand shipping containers, the gallery is three stories high and constructed from three 40 foot shipping containers according to newspaper reports (but the plans suggest otherwise), that have been cut in half and reassembled. The original space was planned to be temporary, but the gallery is now housed in a permanent location (making the name Adaptive Reuse of Temporary Space a little redundant). The containers house the “Hot Box Gallery”, which we are hoping isn’t referring to a lack of air conditioning in the hot Arizona climate and will be expanded to include an artist living space, work space and further gallery spaces.
Image Source: Phoenix New Times
Ready to start your own pop up shipping container gallery?
It doesn’t matter whether you are a budding artist, photographer or sculpter in need of a workspace, or a museum curator or collector in need of a new gallery. Shipping containers come in a wide variety of sizes and with some simple modifications can make the ideal exhibition space. Contact our team of shipping container experts who will work with you to find the ideal container for your needs, and your art will be gracing its steel walls in no time.
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