ADAM meeting the Mayor of London, 2021

ADAM is Hannah Dinsdale, Helen Wilson, Millie Laing-Tate and Alastair Kwan; four RCA Sculpture students who have been based in a vacated office at Number 10 Adam Street off the Strand, since September 2020. ADAM came about through a collective desire to promote an artistic community during the pandemic, when the streets of London were empty and the studios at the RCA were closed.

“10 Adam Street has a famous-looking front door. You can pose in front of its glossy black paint, brass metalwork, and stone steps, pretending to pay a visit to that other Number 10. However, I would suppose, the mood inside both buildings couldn’t be more different.

Helen greets me when I arrive, with shoes off and facemask on: the first indication that ADAM is both homely and a workspace. “ADAM is the name of the project, not a person”, she explains. As a Strand nerd, I had guessed as much. But other visitors have asked, not aware of the history of the area. In short, ADAM is christened after Adam Street, which is named after John, Robert, James, and William Adam. In the eighteenth century, the brothers cleared marshland along the Thames’ Strand bank and sunk their money (bolstered by fundraisers) into the neoclassical Adelphi buildings. Although much of the Adam-built estate was demolished in the 1930s, the new art deco block and street names remember the brothers and their ambitious project.

Helen Wilson, Alastair Kwan, Millie Laing Tate, and Hannah Dinsdale are four of the newest residents. They are all in the second year of their two-year MA in Sculpture at the RCA, and each have their own practice, other jobs or teaching work. Together, they can be found at both 10 Adam Street and their virtual home @adamthestrand on Instagram.”

Francesca Allfrey, 2021
Read the whole article on Strandlines here︎︎︎