Hypha Studios is set to open its most ambitious project to date this month, transforming an empty office building near Tate Modern into a major new cultural destination in the heart of Bankside.
Opening on 25th June, Hypha Gallery South Bank will bring together nearly 9000 sqft of exhibition space, more than 4000 sqft of artist studios, a dedicated project space and a permanent showroom for Hypha Curates. Developed in partnership with HUB and funding partner Bridges Fund Management, the initiative continues Hypha Studios’ mission of activating underused buildings through culture while providing vital support for emerging artists.
Located on Southwark Bridge Road, the new site will occupy the ground floor of the building for the next year while longer-term development plans are realised, demonstrating how vacant urban spaces can be transformed into thriving centres for artistic production and public engagement.
The scale of the project makes it one of the largest artist-focused initiatives currently operating in central London. Hypha estimates the site will support around 600 artists through a combination of exhibition opportunities, studio provision, public programming and sales platforms.
Alongside three large galleries, the complex will include a flexible project space designed for experimental exhibitions, pop-ups, live events and community collaborations. A dedicated showroom for Hypha Curates, the organisation’s artist-first sales platform launched in 2025, will also be housed within the building. The platform returns 70% of sales directly to artists, with the remaining 30% reinvested into Hypha’s wider charitable programme.
The new hub opens with three exhibitions exploring themes of connection, movement and ecological systems.
Bridging the Gap, curated by Hermione Allsopp and Poppy Whatmore, takes inspiration from neighbouring Southwark Bridge, using infrastructure as a metaphor for connection and division through a series of sculptural works examining themes of separation, repair and collective experience.
A second exhibition, curated by Lydia Anne Seaman, Sarah Hopper and Jonathan Hadari, brings together site-specific works exploring movement and the layered histories of Southwark, considering how the area’s past continues to shape its present.
Meanwhile, artist-led platform Hyella presents a bio-sonic listening installation investigating relationships between atmosphere, microbial life and fungal systems. Part immersive environment and part living laboratory, the exhibition invites audiences to consider listening as a collaborative process extending beyond the human.
All three exhibitions open on 25th June and run until 26th July.
The project also includes free studio provision for 17 artists from newly formed collective Lobby, selected through an open call. The collective will occupy the studios for a year, developing new work while contributing public events and programming to the wider site.
Over the past five years, Hypha Studios has become one of the UK’s most active organisations supporting artists through temporary use projects. The charity has delivered more than 170 exhibitions across 70 sites nationwide, including 142 exhibitions in London alone, while providing free studio space to dozens of artists.
For Hypha, the South Bank development marks a significant expansion in both scale and ambition.
Will Jennings, Interim Managing Director of Hypha Studios, said:
“Hypha Studios is heading towards five years of delivering affordable creative space across London and the UK and there’s no better way to reach that milestone than by opening our largest site to date in Bankside on London’s South Bank.
“Our work has numerous benefits, from helping developers activate spaces and understand the value of culture, to building a wide ecosystem of support for artists through workspace, exhibition opportunities and sales to new audiences. Hypha Gallery South Bank brings all this together and we’re thrilled to be partnering with HUB to transform this building into one of London’s most exciting new cultural destinations.”
With galleries, studios, public programming and artist-led initiatives all under one roof, Hypha Gallery South Bank signals a major investment in London’s creative ecosystem at a time when affordable space for artists remains increasingly scarce.
Hypha Gallery South Bank Opening: 25th June 2026, Southwark Bridge Road, London SE1. Opening exhibitions: 25th June – 26th July 2026
MORE: hyphastudios.com/hypha-gallery-south-bank
