Skate 50 Highlights The Undercroft’s Pivotal Role In Pop Culture

If you have ever visited London’s sunny yellow Southbank Centre, you may have been greeted by the echoing clatter, the whoops and cheers, the skids and slides of skateboarders. You wouldn’t expect to stumble across a skate park in the heart of the British capital – and, naturally, it was never intended that way. Instead, the concrete space beneath the Queen Elizabeth Hall building, built in the 1960s with its ledges, pillars, stairs and curves, was left open to the public, before being co-opted by the city’s skating community as early as 1973.

Considered the birthplace of British skateboarding, today, skating at the Undercroft is considered a right of passage, and the space – renovated with new concrete and handy lights in 2017 – is rarely seen unpopulated by convivial crowds of skateboarders. The nation’s oldest continuously used skateboarding location, all across the concrete structure you will spot stickers, spray paint and street art – generations of skateboarders leaving their stamp on this special place. Threatened by redevelopment in 2013, activist group Long Live Southbank is passionate that such marks are left untouched, creating a living document of the skateboarders that have shaped the Undercroft over the past five decades, right in the heart of London and its most creative district.

In celebration of 50 years of the Undercroft, the Southbank Centre has teamed up with active members of the British skateboarding community to curate a new exhibition which spans photography and archive footage to animation, soundscapes and portraiture. Titled Skate 50, it has all been overseen by writer, artists and curator Cedar Lewisohn who has previously curated Street Art at Tate Modern in 2008, Dub London at the Museum of London in 2020 and more. Below, Lewisohn gives us his guide to Skate 50.

Meet The Curator: Skate 50, Southbank Centre

Jenna Selby, M Dabbadie, 2018.

The Background

This year marks the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary. So, it’s a big celebratory year for us. It’s also 50 years since people started using the Undercroft for skating. One of the main things about this project is that it’s about giving a voice to various people from different generations who have used the Undercroft. We started the process with workshops, asking skaters for their input and what they thought about the space. We’ve gone on to work with artists and filmmakers who all have very strong links to the Undercroft.

Undercroft Skate Space, 1989. (© Tim Leighton Boyce/Curtis McCann, Southbank, courtesy The Read and Destroy Archive)

What Is On Display?

The project is formed around a series of commissions. These are by filmmakers Winstan Whitter, Dan Magee and Jack Brooks, the co-founder of skateboarding brand Palace Lev Tanju and the Keep Rolling Project, as well as sound artist Beatrice Dillon and animator Sofia Negri. There are also archival photographs and some other historic information. 

Fifty years of history is a huge amount to tell, so this is a way to share a snapshot of that history, told by the skaters themselves. One of the main themes that emerges from the commissions is the strong sense of community that the Undercroft builds in those who use it, and this is a lifelong community.

The commissions will hopefully all speak to each other. Putting them together, I had the idea of an exploded essay that takes place in three-dimensional space. Skating is a specialist subject, so we’ve tried to get the balance right to ensure that people who know nothing about the subject should be able to enjoy it, while people in the sub-culture are also able to get something from the experience.

Undercroft Skate Space, 1978. (© Tim Leighton Boyce/Russ Howell/Southbank, courtesy The Read and Destroy Archive)

Highlights

The exhibition is full of highlights; the process of working with the community and getting to know individuals and their history with the space uncovered some incredible stories. It was a privilege being able to commission works by artists that truly understand the magic of the space. Their works act as a window into their experiences of the Undercroft, so I think being able to see the history of the space through these artists’ eyes for the first time is the highlight.

I think the depth of the history linked to the space is a surprise – how much of popular culture has been influenced by this slightly strange space that was designed with no real function in mind.

The Takeaway

I hope the exhibition will give people a new perspective of the Undercroft and the stories and communities that have made it such an important place.

Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre. (© India Roper Evans)

While You’re There…

If you visit over the opening weekend of Skate 50, you should definitely go and see the Chiharu Shiota and Yin Xiuzhen’s exhibitions at the Hayward Gallery. They run until 3 May, meaning it’s the last chance to see both artists’ incredible installations. 

Later in the run of Skate 50, a massive Anish Kapoor retrospective is opening at the Hayward Gallery. Anish Kapoor really needs no introduction; it is going to be a colossal exhibition and includes new commissions too, which I am really looking forward to seeing. 

There is also, of course, Harry Styles’ Meltdown from 11–21 June. I’m sure he is going to bring some incredible artists along and everyone is very excited for that. There will also be some great free events on our Riverside Terrace, during Meltdown and across the whole summer, which is a great way to enjoy some after work sun.

The Debrief

There are lots of good food options around the Southbank Centre. If you are visiting over the weekend, you could try Southbank Centre’s food market which has an incredible array of food from across the world. 

If it was me, I might visit the Skate 50 exhibition then cross over Hungerford Bridge and go for lunch at Xi Home Dumplings Bay (43 Chandos Pl, London WC2N 4HS). They do great handmade noodles and dumplings.

Jim Slater, slalom racing, Southbank, 1978. (© Tim Leighton-Boyce, courtesy The Read and Destroy Archive)

SEE IT

The best time to visit is whenever there are skaters skating in the Undercroft. I recommend coming to see the exhibition, and then spending some time watching the skaters use the space.

Skate 50 runs Friday 1 May to Sunday 21 June 2026 at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall (Belvedere Rd, London SE1 8XX). Tickets are free/pay what you can, and time slots can be booked in advance. Skateboarders can enter for free by bringing their skateboard.

BOOK IT