Vans to open creative space in London

Footwear and apparel brand Vans is opening a permanent venue dedicated to “creative expression” next month called the ‘House of Vans’ that will be a “physical manifestation of the culture and creativity at the heart of the Vans brand”. Opening on August 9, the “unique and participative”

space will occupy 3,000 square metres in the Old Vic Tunnels near Waterloo Station and will feature a music venue, gallery, artist labs, cafe, cinema, bars and skatepark, as it looks to nurture artistic talent.

There

will be an 850 person capacity gig space, which will offer an open music platform through free ticketing, live streamed events and crowd-sourced event curation. While other tunnels will be made into a VansLab artist incubator space available to both emerging and established artists, free of charge, and will allow artists in residence to hold workshops for the local community.

Two tunnels of the venue will be dedicated to London’s only permanent indoor skatepark, featuring a street course and miniramp section, catering for all abilities, while the deep concrete bowl allows for pool-style skateboarding. These creative areas will be joined by a cafe, bar and cinema space to allow visitors to refuel and relax.

Vans to launch ‘House of Vans’ in London

Vans VP of marketing, Jeremy de Maillard, said: “The House of Vans London is the physical manifestation of the cultures and creativity at the heart of the Vans brand. London is the perfect city to expand this original concept first established in Brooklyn and it’s an honour to take over this iconic venue from the Old Vic.

“We’re looking forward to building on this legacy, working closely with the local communities and key stakeholders involved in the project.”

House of Vans London will be open five days a week to “everyone” and will always be free. A full schedule of events to be released closer to the opening, however the fashion brand has stated that new art shows will be held every eight weeks.

The European edition of the House of Vans concept opens at the Old Vic Tunnels in London on August 9.

Image/Video: House of Vans