Twice a year, hARTslane opens its doors to its artist members for an afternoon of looking, talking and being looked at. This Saturday, 7 November, was the autumn edition. All eight places were taken well before the sign-up deadline, and by the end of the day the little black-painted building on Hart's Lane had seen an install, a round of speed dating, a proper crit and a window unveiling out on the pavement after dark.
One piece each, and two hours to make it count
The rules are simple: each artist brings a single work, hangs or places it themselves, and is responsible for getting it there and back in one piece. Tables and plinths are on hand; the rest is up to you. From two o'clock the whitewashed brick rooms filled up with paintings, small objects on plinths and the usual negotiation over who gets which wall.
Bringing just one piece changes the conversation. You can't hide behind a body of work or let the strongest piece carry the weaker ones. Whatever is on the wall has to speak for you.
Feedback speed dating
At three came the part everyone half-dreads and secretly enjoys: feedback speed dating. For an hour, artists rotate through quick two-minute rounds, giving and receiving reactions on each other's work. Two minutes is not long enough to be polite. People say the first thing they actually see, and that first impression is exactly what is so hard to get once you've been living with a piece for months.
The tip in the invitation was a good one: bring a notepad. After a dozen rounds the comments start to blur, and the useful ones are often the ones repeated by three different people.
The crit, with The London Group
From four to half past five the format slowed right down. Each artist had ten minutes to present their work and talk about it, followed by an open discussion, with the session guided by Chris Marshall LG.
hARTslane runs these crits in partnership with The London Group, with one of its artist members facilitating each session. The pairing makes sense. The London Group was founded in 1913 by a group of artists including Walter Sickert, Jacob Epstein, Wyndham Lewis, David Bomberg, Sylvia Gosse, Ethel Sands and Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, as an artist-run alternative to institutions like the Royal Academy. More than a century later it's still going, and it's fitting to see its members sitting in an artist-run space in south-east London, talking about work in progress.
Doors open
At half past five the studio opened to the public. The pace changed again: coats, buggies, people crouching to get closer to a surface, and relaxed conversations with the artists about how and why the work was made. After the intensity of the crit, it was good to hear the work discussed by people meeting it for the first time.
'Grow and Bloom' by Usva Inei
The evening ended outside. At 5:30 a small crowd gathered on the pavement for the official unveiling of hARTslane's 2026 Window Project: Grow and Bloom by Usva Inei.
The piece is a spray-painted bouquet in the colours of the trans flag. Each flower was chosen for its history within the LGBTQ+ community, carrying meanings of celebration, remembrance, resistance and representation. It responds to the current climate of anti-trans politics in the UK, and in particular to the recent Supreme Court ruling that left many trans and queer people feeling unsafe and unwelcome. Usva describes the work as an offer of hope and recognition at a dark moment.
Lit by a single work lamp held up against the black brick, it was a good way to end the day.
Next time
hARTslane's Open Studios are free for artist members and run twice a year, along with the annual Window Project open call. If you make work and want honest eyes on it, they are worth keeping an eye out for. Just sign up early.