Art After Dark @ The Louise Blouin Institute

Jul 15 2008 By Christian McLaughlin

Jonathan Barnett, head of the Portobello Film

West London's art scene has stolen a slice of East-End cool.

Art After Dark, at the Louise Blouin Institute, is Ladbroke Grove's answer to Time Out First Thursdays, a monthly night where east London galleries open late to catch the after-work crowd.

Happening Thursdays from 6-10pm until mid-September, this is your chance to mingle with a different contemporary art crew every week.

At last week's opening it was Jonathan Barnett, head of the Portobello Film Festival, who was curator for the evening.

He invited a range of musicians, VJs, graffiti gurus, sculptors and characters of local importance for his event – It Happened Here: a tribute to Ladbroke Grove.

At the little-known yet beautiful space, set up three years ago by the Canadian philanthropist Louise Blouin, there's a kitchen to order food from; a bar with beer, rum and champagne; but most importantly, the artists are there too.

Chatting to graffiti-master Solo One, I learned about the pirate radio scene – represented on the night by legendary Lepke of the Dread Broadcasting Corporation – and listened to frightful tales of how big corporations employ teams of graffiti artists to cover cities across Europe with undercover ad campaigns – a sly technique know as ambush marketing.

Ray Jones and Peirs Thompson were also on hand to explain about Roughler TV, a project originally kicked off as a community magazine in the late 80s, when cats such as Joe Stummer, Neneh Cherry and Will Self strolled the neighbourhood.

Next Thursday it will be the turn of the artist collective CutUP, who will present a night entitled Organised Chaos.

Again, it will primarily deal with art on the street and interventions in public space, with the vast gallery's three floors being transformed by sound and projections.

Come down and help to create the community buzz – more of this and the west could become the envy of the east once more.

Art After Dark is at the The Louise Blouin Institute, 3 Olaf Street, W11 4BE, tucked away between Shepherd's Bush and  Ladbroke Grove, every Thursday until September 11. 6-11pm. Call 020 7985 9620.

For the full list of events see www.ltbfoundation.org/ltbi_artafterdark.html

For Roughler TV, see www.theroughler.com