Unit (art collective)

Unit was a short-lived but influential artist's collective in East London which organised exhibitions between 1997-1999 - a crucial moment in London's burgeoning contemporary art scene. Many of the artists that participated in Unit exhibitions have moved on to achieve international acclaim. The core members were curator Stéphanie Bacqué and artists John Chilver, Stuart Croft, DJ Simpson, Ben Tunstall and Neil Zakiewicz.

Initially intended as a one-year gallery project at Peary Place in Bethnal Green, London E2, Unit later organised a series of exhibitions at various international galleries and temporary exhibition spaces as guest curators.

A notable exhibition in the first year was "World of Painting" (1997) featuring painters John Chilver, Paul Morrison, Michael Raedecker and Michael Stubbs.

In 1998 Unit was invited by Chisenhale Gallery, a leading public venue in east London, to organise the group exhibition "Post Neo-Amateurism", with Stuart Croft, Rowena Dring, Michelle Griffiths, Yasu Ichige, Ben Judd, Janice Kerbel, Waseem Khan, Klega, Jon Lockhart, Brighid Lowe, Caroline McCarthy, Kate Smith and David Thorpe. In the same year Unit also organised a solo exhibition by the late John Latham at SaliGia Gallery in Clapham.

In 1999 Unit worked with Dresden gallery Büro Für Kunst to realise "Zauberhaft", an exhibition of 21 international artists that included Eberhard Havekost, Enrico David, David Burrows, Liz Arnold and Joël Bartomoléo.