A Get Together of London Galleries
London’s new Gallery Weekend will land in early June, with nearly 90 contemporary art dealers already signed up to participate. The initiative comes after more than a year of limited opportunities to galvanise attention on the capital’s art trade. “We are lots of little businesses but are a real community,” says Jeremy Epstein, co founder of Edel Assanti gallery and initiator of the new event. “And when we come together, we are quite a force.”
A range of galleries, from the tiny to the mega, is on board; each will pay between £300 and £3,000, depending on their size. All will co-ordinate shows to open on Friday 4 June and, because of the sprawling nature of London’s galleries, there will be a different geographic focus each day. Central London takes June 4, with south London on June 5, and east London on June 6. Most spaces will also be open late: “It will have an all-day, all-night vibe,” Epstein says.
London’s galleries have been in their third lockdown since December but are due to reopen from April 12. The aim is for this year’s London Gallery Weekend to widen the local audience and then to attract global visitors from 2022, Epstein says.
As participating south London gallerist Sid Motion puts it: “It is so important for young galleries, emerging artists and new voices to be shown alongside internationally established names from the very beginning.” Central London exhibitor Niru Ratnam, who opened a new space mid-pandemic last year, says: “It’s an excellent initiative to get that sense of community back and get people doing that thing they used to do, visiting a round of galleries over the weekend.”
