Scaffolds

Dates: 12 September – 5 October
Public opening event: Thursday 11 September, 6–9pm
Gallery hours: Thursday–Sunday, 1–6pm
Admission: Free

Scaffolds is the inaugural exhibition at SET 91, curated by Ellie Dobbs (Curator, SET) and Verity Monroe (Assistant Curator, SET). Bringing together UK-based and international early-career artists, the show explores how rules, structures and self-imposed frameworks shape image-making today.

The exhibition features works by Albie Richardson, Archie Fooks-Smith, Jessie Evans, Lucinda Purkis, May Darbyshire, Kevin Jerome Everson, Natasja Mabesoone, Oliver Offord, Sam Marshall Lockyer, Chloe Soloman, Sofie Vandevoorde, and Tawfik Naas. Many of these artists are part of the wider SET community, including current and former SET Studio members, while others join from international contexts, reflecting the gallery’s aim to foster connections across different artistic networks.

About the exhibition

Scaffolds looks at how artistic constraints can encourage experimentation, whether they are formal, environmental, or self-imposed.

The exhibition title takes its cue from a past call for submissions, which proposed that “games exist to scaffold play.” Misremembered as “rules are the scaffolds of play,” this phrase became a starting point for reflecting on how frameworks and imposed limitations, like those in opens calls, can spark the imagination.

Artists in the show use grids, patterns, repetition, and playful juxtapositions as tools to push their work into new territory. From fragile assemblages and everyday materials to collaborative and sculptural experiments, Scaffolds highlights the inventiveness of early-career artists navigating contemporary practice today.

Further details

Rather than seeing constraints as limitations, the works in Scaffolds treat them as points of departure. Several artists use overlooked or everyday materials (inkjet printing, makeup, hand-foraged London clay or found objects) reflecting DIY and grassroots approaches that align with SET’s ethos. Others draw on historical methods of production, or embrace repetition, pattern, and collaboration as structuring devices.

Together, these practices expand process-led experimentation and environmental responsiveness, generating new and unexpected outcomes.

By bringing together 12 artists from different disciplines, the exhibition fosters dialogue between SET studio members and international contributors. In doing so, Scaffolds reflects SET’s commitment to supporting early-career and underrepresented voices, while establishing SET 91 as a space for experimentation in the heart of one of London’s most vibrant art districts.

Curators

Ellie Dobbs – Curator, SET

Verity Monroe – Assistant Curator, SET

Programme

Scaffolds marks the start of a six-month programme of curated shows at SET 91. This programme is led by the SET curatorial team, SET studio members, and invited guest curators, and encompasses exhibitions, performance, moving-image research, and cross-disciplinary projects.

More details on future exhibitions will be announced soon.

Follow @set91set on Instagram and join our mailing list for updates.

About the space

SET 91 is SET’s first in-house curated contemporary arts gallery, located in Old Street. Dedicated to supporting early-career contemporary artists, the gallery provides a non-profit platform for experimentation, collaboration, and the presentation of new work beyond commercial pressures.

Learn more

Contact us

For general enquiries, email ninetyone@setspace.uk

For press enquiries, email press@setspace.uk