The Archivist's Archives

Before the MAD-ness, there was a Proud Archivist. Situated on the banks of the Regent's Canal in Haggerston, east London, The Proud Archivist was one of London's first hybrid cultural spaces, bringing together a cultural events space with a gallery; a café/bar; a restaurant; several terraces; a library; and a workspace (before anyone had heard of WeWork.) Within a year of launching, we were programming over 30 events a week; hosting exhibitions by the likes of Storm Thorgerson and Horace Panter alongside events with the likes of Russell Brand, Harry Hill and Richard Curtis; and attracting over 100,000 visitors per year. We even renamed the neighbourhood the Haggerston Riviera (as a joke) - only for the name to be adopted by Time Out and Instagram. A victim of its own success, the venue was subject to a takeover in 2018, nudging us towards the idea of a nomadic adventure that led to our regeneration as the MAD Gallery in summer 2022.

Previous exhibitions from the archivist:

charity

Comic sans for cancer

collectors item

The IKEA collection

immersive

Eureka Moments

Dig deeper still into the archives we come to an even bigger idea - to the progenitor of The Proud Archivist, the Idea Generation Gallery. Launched in 2007 by our sister company, Idea Generation, the IG Gallery was a veritable powerhouse of a space, producing over 60 photography, design and illustration exhibitions in five short years - and in the process playing our own colourful part in the extraordinary rise and rise of Redchurch Street in the late noughties.