Sadler’s Wells today unveiled two new large-scale tapestries by renowned artist and sculptor Eva Rothschild RA in the public foyer of Sadler’s Wells East, the brand new purpose built theatre for dance which opens at East Bank in Stratford next month.
Eva Rothschild was commissioned by Sadler’s Wells to create works that respond to the new building, having won a design competition set by a panel including Sadler’s Wells Co-Chief Executives Britannia Morton and Sir Alistair Spalding CBE, Director and Chief Executive of the Design Museum Tim Marlow and Architects of Sadler’s Wells East Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey.
Rothschild worked with West Dean College, the prestigious institution for arts, design, craft and conservation, to create the tapestries. They are the largest artworks to be created on the loom at West Dean Tapestry Studio in West Sussex, and one of the only two professional tapestry studios in the UK – and the first to be created for a Theatre. The tapestries are handwoven and the dyes used were created onsite at the College, so each colour was designed specifically for these artworks.
The tapestries, titled The In Breath and The Out Breath, measure 4 x 5m and hang opposite each other, high on the walls of the main atrium of the building, welcoming audiences into the space. Situated on the left, the arches of The In Breath suggest anticipation, inviting visitors to share the communal experience within the theatre. To the right, The Out Breath conveys a sense of expanded space and an openness. In the foreground of each tapestry, ribbons of colour dance across the geometric forms, with their soft lines denoting movement and gesture.
“I am so delighted to be unveiling these two new tapestries at Sadler’s Wells East. The tapestries have been made in collaboration with the weaving studio at West Dean College and were conceived specifically to relate to both the architecture and the function of the building. It has been an absolute privilege to work with Sadler’s Wells on the creation of an artwork at this amazing new location for dance in my home neighbourhood of East London.
Eva Rothschild
Sadler’s Wells East is a new gathering place, a location for community, movement and collaboration. Tapestries have warmed, softened and humanised our communal spaces throughout history and so, from the outset, both the function and the architecture of this new building made me certain that this would be the best artistic response to the space. The titles relate directly to our most fundamental act and the beginning of every experience we have and hold within the body.”
“Eva’s beautiful colourful tapestries are a wonderful addition to the public spaces of our new building in Stratford. The form of tapestry feels really fitting for a Theatre; it seems the process of creating a tapestry has many similarities with that of producing a dance work – both require a considerable amount of time and craft, and both will be viewed by many people in their final states here at Sadler’s Wells East. Eva’s tapestries are full of movement and the titles feel like an apt nod to the performers that will grace our stage and the audiences who will experience the work.”
Britannia Morton, Co-Chief Executive and Executive Director of Sadler’s Wells,
Sadler’s Wells East is the first public building to open as part of London’s newest cultural and educational district, East Bank, where it will sit alongside BBC Music Studios, V&A East, UAL’s London College of Fashion and UCL East in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The building is a nationwide resource for dance: a space for seeing, creating, rehearsing and participating in the artform. Designed by renowned architects O’Donnell + Tuomey, Sadler’s Wells East is home to a fully flexible 550-seat auditorium, six state-of-the-art dance studios, a public performance space for free performances, a restaurant and a bar.
Sadler’s Wells East is home to two educational facilities: Academy Breakin’ Convention a hip hop theatre school for talented 16–19-year-olds, offering the UK’s first free Level 3 Diploma in Performance and Production Arts specific to hip hop, will welcome its first intake of students in the autumn to coincide with the academic calendar. The Rose Choreographic School is an experimental research project, which enables 13 dance artists to develop their own choreographic practice over a two-year course.
The opening season at Sadler’s Wells East features over 20 productions and will showcase work from local east-London based artists, the best dance companies from across the United Kingdom, as well as platforming leading international choreographic voices. The new venue will present all forms of dance, from hip hop to ballet, contemporary to kathak. Sadler’s Wells East officially throws open its doors with performances of the opening show, Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu’s Our Mighty Groove, starting Thursday 6th February 2025.
MORE: sadlerswells.com/sadlers-wells-east
About the artist
Eva Rothschild was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1971. She lives and works in London. She received her BFA in 1993 from the University of Ulster, Belfast, and her MFA in 1999 from Goldsmiths College, London. Rothschild has mounted solo exhibitions at Modern Art, London (2022); the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne (2018); the Nasher Sculpture Centre, Dallas (2012); the Whitechapel Gallery, London (2012); Kunstverein Hannover, Hanover (2011); Public Art Fund, New York (2011); and Kunsthalle Zürich (2004). In 2009, she became the sixth artist to be awarded the prestigious Duveens Commission at Tate Britain, London. Her 2011 solo Hot Touch was the inaugural exhibition at The Hepworth Wakefield. In 2019, she represented Ireland at the 58th Venice Biennale. Rothschild’s works are held in public collections including the Arts Council Collection, London; the Columbus Museum of Art; the Dallas Museum of Art; MoMA, New York; Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar; Tate, London; and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. In 2026, Rothschild will be the subject of a solo exhibition at Fruitmarket, Edinburgh.
