10 years of Summer Salon!

Summer Salon 2016

When Eleanor Pearce became Director of Art at Islington Arts Factory she had a new vision for our Gallery programme, one that was inclusive, supporting emerging talent and local artists and opening the doors of IAF to the community. We are now celebrating 10 years of one of her flagship programmes created in this ethos - Summer Salon!  

Eleanor and Gallery Assistant Scheherezade hanging the first Salon

The Salon started in 2007 as Eleanor's response to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, she envisioned an exhibition open to everyone, free to apply with floor to ceiling hanging inspired by 18th century French Salons. She put out an open call for any 2D work without knowing what would happen. The response was fantastic, that first year we had 65 Artists and 100 works of art! Since then the Salon has grown from strength to strength and last year we had over 100 artists and 200 pieces of art filling our gallery.

Press from the first Salon

Summer Salon 2010

The Salon is now one of the most important parts of our calendar and it's something people really look forward to. A lot of artists return to us year on year keen to show their new work as part of this established community event.  ​

Salon 2016

“The Summer Salon embodies Islington Arts Factory’s ethos of creating an atmosphere where everyone feels welcome to participate, and providing a launch pad for local and emerging talent,” says Eleanor Pearce “The idea for the show grew from French salons where people would meet to discuss the arts and exchange ideas.”.

Collection day 2016

The call for entry for Summer Salon 10 is now open, see our Summer Salon page for details or contact us on 020 7607 0561