WHY OURHISTORY ARCHIVES

CELEBRATING THE UNITY OF PEOPLE AND CULTURES AND THE INCLUSION OF THE BRITISH HISTORY OF DANCE CULTURE WITHIN A EUROPEAN CONTEXT.

Ourhistory began in 2008 with an exhibition celebrating 20 years of acid house. Originally launched at the London/Newcastle project space on Shoreditch’s Redchurch Street, it quickly moved to London’s Selfridges, before travelling onto IMS Ibiza, Tokyo, and Shanghai. Red Gallery subsequently collaborated with esteemed time out club editor Dave Swindells to deliver 'Spirit of Ibiza', an exhibition and book publication that celebrates 1989's second 'summer of love, documenting the birth of British club culture in Ibiza. '89, coincidentally the same year the berlin wall came down, provides the focal point for another ourhistory project. The then desolate post-war city of the 1980s GDR was fertile ground for the birthplace of European techno. In 2015 Red Gallery assembled a photography and film exhibition entitled 'After the Fall'. documenting the seminal berlin techno club Tresor, the exhibition chronicles the nucleus of a movement that has now been exported worldwide.

Following Berlin, Red Gallery embarked on a series of ethnographic exhibitions, showcasing the various cities that helped grow subculture scenes into one global and coercive cultural and political force: Paris, Milan, Madrid, Estonia, and Tokyo.  Whether it’s the iconic photography of Ouka Lee and Miguel Trillo (which captured “La Movida”)or curators Kiwa and Terje Toomitsu documenting the parallel world of Estonian hippies, or Chris Low's DIY ethic in photographing Tokyo’s punk scenes, Red Gallery presented their own take on how, under the influence of drugs, alcohol, music, politics and literature, these entities came together to turn thoughts and dreams into a powerful subversive movement. Each show highlighted the personal memories and journeys that came from these subcultures and gave credence to the cultural echo of these cities that could and can be heard on UK shores and beyond.

Ourhistory archives gave a voice to the forgotten people and communities that continue to shape our world and addresses the cultural sanitisation that is ubiquitous in subculture history. The projects provided a space for meaningful dialogue and continue highlighting these movements' cultural, social, and political significance which also came to recognise that many of these experiences related to a larger set of events and a wider, more complex cultural landscape – but again, predating the online revolution, they too remain untold. History’s now being written by the people.

ABOUT THE COLLECTION:

Ernesto leal and Red Gallery have worked meticulously to curate and deliver a number of keynote exhibitions, collectively grouped under the Ourhistory series. Over time the audiences of these exhibitions changed from jaded 50-somethings to a younger crowd with a much livelier interest in culture, history and the arts. 

Known for their subversive tendencies, subcultures are the living experiments, dreams, and ambitions of people that ultimately are looking for a better future – or at least an alternative one. From punk to rave, and everything in between, subcultures have not just been at the forefront of collective social evolution, but are in fact the basis, the source, of our wider culture and society today. 

Ourhistory archives will continue this work to reset the global balance of our historical narratives. Each of the Ourhistory archives has tours and off-site shows in place, while the online dialogue continues to grow and evolve. 

archives and exhibitions so far include:

• BERLIN TECHNO: TRESOR ARCHIVE: 8/17 - JUNE 2012, red gallery exhibition and collaboration between DIMITRI HEGEMAnN /TRESOR PRIVATE COLLECTION and Ernesto Leal. see archive here

• After the fall, Berlin club culture - 1/15 OCTOBER, 2015: a red gallery exhibition WITH PHOTOGRAPHS FROM TILMAN BREMBS & BEN DI BIEL. see archive here

• MILAN'S ITALO DISCO: SPAGHETTI DISCO ARCHIVE 19/25 SEPTEMBER, 2016 – a red gallery exhibition and COLLABORATION BETWEEN ERNESTO LEAL AND LORENZO CIBRARIO. see archive here

• LA MOVIDA MADRILEÑA: MADRID'S CLUB CULTURE 1978/1885 - 9/27 NOVEMBER 2016 - a RED GALLERY EXHIBITION and collaboration WITH PHOTOGRAPHS FROM MIGUEL TRILLO, OUKA LEELE AND JAVIER ASTUDILLO'S PRIVATE COLLECTION see archive here

• SOVIET HIPPIES: 1970S ESTONIAN PSYCHEDELIC UNDERGROUND CULTURE - 2/18 SEPTEMBER 2016 – a red gallery EXHIBITION IN ASSOCIATION WITH TERJE TOOMISTU AND KIWA NOID SOVIET HIPPIES ARCHIVE. see archive here

• FRENCH TOUCH: A JOURNEY THROUGH FRENCH ELECTRONICA 14/25 March 2017 – A red gallery EXHIBITION IN COLLABORATION BETWEEN ERNESTO LEaL AND BEN OSBORNE (NOISE OF ART).see archive here

• TOKYO PUNKS: UP! TOKYO PUNK & JAPANARCHY TODAY –a red gallery exhibition and COLLABORATION BETWEEN CHRIS LOW and Ernesto Leal. see archive here

• USA RAVE CULTURE: TREE CARR PERSONAL ARCHIVE 1990-1994. see archive here

• NEW YORK CITY PARTY CULTURE 1970-83 - CREATIVITY, COLLECTIVITY, CONVERGENCE! – A red gallery exhibition and COLLABORATION BETWEEN TIM LAWRENCE AND ERNESTO LEAl. see archive here

• UK CLUB CULTURE: (WORK IN PROGRESS) CREATIVITY, FREEDOM, PASSION. EXCESS, POLITICS AND CLUB CULTURE. see exhibition here

  PHOTOGRAPHY:

  ALLA BOGDANOVIC, ANDREAS BLECKMANN, DAVE SWINDLLES, KEVIN MARTIN, CHRIS LOW, DAVE SWINDELLS, DEBBIE BRAGG, DOUGIE WALLACE, DUNCAN TELFORD, GALA NETYLKO, GAVIN MILLS, HENRY HARRINGTON, INNES REEKIE, JAN BERNET, JASON MANNING, LIGHT SURGEONS, NICK ENSING, MATT SMITH, MATT KELLY, MICHELE BARON, MOLLY MACINDOE, NORMSKI, ROGER NELL, ROSLYN GAUNT, TODD GRAFT, VICKIE PARKER, VISIONARY UNDERGROUND.

  GRAPHICS FROM:

  ARTHROB, BASEMENT JACKS, COCO VARMA, DARREN BARTLETT, DAVE LITTLE, DAVE DORRELL, DEREK YATES, FIONA CARTLEDGE/MARTYN PASSEY, GEORGE GEORGIU, JAMIE REID, JASON KEDGLEY, JIMMY CAUTY, JUNIOR TOMLIN, MARK ARCHER, MARK WIGAN, MARTIN BROWN, MARTIN WOLLERSTAM, OLI TIMMINS, PATRICK LILLEY & NORMAN JAY, ROGAN JEANS, SUDDI RAVAL, TREVOR JOHNSON, TOM HINGSTON, TONKA, WAYNE ANTHONY.