From the venue that we didn't know we needed to vibrant arts hub, Kings Place celebrates 15 years

Kings Place from the Regents Canal (Photo: Nick White)

Kings Place is 15! The venue opened in 2008, the brainchild of Peter Millican who conceived the idea of office building founded on an arts centre, a hub for a multitude of arts charities, where business events supported the artistic programme, with spaces and galleries open and free to the public. It was a space that we didn't know we needed and became a cultural beacon in the development of the Kings Cross area.

Over 500 world and UK premieres have been performed at Kings Place since 2008, and the programming each year continues to prioritise new music and the support of contemporary composers. Kings Place has commissioned and co-commissioned 19 works, including pieces by Nico Muhly, Space Afrika/Jack Sheen, Hauschka, Cassie Kinoshi, Tansy Davies, Thomas Adès, Oliver Leith and Judith Weir. Looking ahead to 2024, the venue will see a diverse range of premieres and commissions from Anna Meredith, Jasdeep Singh Degun, LVRA, Donald Grant, Aileen Sweeney, Ninfea Crutwell Reade and Helen Grime. 

The venue's annual Unwrapped series has become increasingly imaginative, after Unwrapping Mozart, Bach and Beethoven, Minimalism Unwrapped (2015) won Kings Place’s first RPS Award and since then there has been Cello Unwrapped, Time Unwrapped and Venus Unwrapped with Sound Unwrapped in 2023 featuring Hannah Peel and Space Afrika as artists in residence, and next year sees Scotland Unwrapped with Karine Polwart as artist in residence and Jackie Kay and Aidan O’Rourke as guest curators.

Full details from the Kings Place website.