Southbank Centre commemorates 50 years of the Undercroft Skate Space with multimedia exhibition Skate 50

To mark 50 years of the Undercroft Skate Space, the Southbank Centre will present Skate 50 (30 April – 21 June 2026), a multimedia exhibition telling the history of the iconic skateboarding space and the communities it has fostered over the past half century. Developed alongside active members of the Southbank skate community, Skate 50 will include new commissions utilising photography, moving image and sound to delve into the stories that have shaped one of the most recognisable spaces in skate culture.

The Undercroft Skate Space is widely considered as the birthplace of British skateboarding. A space left open to the public when the Queen Elizabeth Hall was built in the 1960s, its concrete ledges, ramps, and pillars were then adopted by skateboarders in the mid 1970s. Fifty years on and it is now one of the oldest continuously used skateboarding locations in the UK, home to a community that spans five generations and a cornerstone of creative expression.

From archive footage, to fashion-forward portraiture of the noughties and contemporary depictions of the skate space today, Skate 50 will present a variety of documentary style films made up of moving image and photography, interspersed with stop-frame animations and soundscapes to tell the story of the Undercroft Skate Space. Keeping the skate community at the heart of the project, Skate 50 stems from a series of workshops facilitated by filmmaker Winstan Whitter, bringing together different generations who have used the space over the years to identify notable events across the five decades.

Featured artists – all of whom have a personal connection to skateboarding – include filmmakers Winstan Whitter, Dan Magee and Jack Brooks, founder of skatewear brand Palace, Lev Tanju, animator Sofia Negri, skate collective Keep Rolling Project and sound artist Beatrice Dillon.