INTERVIEW: London's newest gallery
Not-for-profit Paradise Row opens in Mayfair
This newsletter was sent to subscribers on 15 September 2021
Happy Wednesday
Did you enjoy all the red carpet pics from the hot museum event this week? No, not the Met Gala (more on that below) but the glitzy launch of the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition. Ok, there wasn’t a carpet, and there certainly wasn’t Lil Nas X or Billie Eilish, but you can still do some celeb spotting here.
For new readers, this edition is my fortnightly features-packed newsletter where I interview a culture mover-and-shaker, as well as letting you know the hot new trends and brand new things to see, do and watch. My interview this week is a fascinating one, as the notoriously profit-driven commercial gallery sector gets a, er, not-for-profit addition. Read on to find out more.
And remember, I’m always looking for sponsors for this newsletter, which continues to grow at pace. If you want your brand (or event or product) to lead a future edition, then reply to this email and ask for my media pack.
Maxwell
Love art, museums and galleries? Then my newsletter is for you, keeping you up-to-date on what to read - and what to see. Subscribe below (it’s free!)
barometer
What’s heating up and cooling down in the world of museums, art and galleries this week:
going up
Step aside Reels and jog on TikToks because the hot new social content is, er, the 30-year-old internet meme! Monday’s 2021 Met Gala, AKA the lavish lovechild of the fashion and museum industry, saw the event covered by “Instagram’s first-ever Meme Correspondent.” Yes, someone was creating memes live from the red carpet, for actual money. Ricky Sans, who is *checks notes* ‘Instagram's strategic partner manager for memes’, said he was “really excited to watch the meme community continue to play such an influential role in driving cultural commentary.” To be fair, the correspondent did a fun job. Your move V&A Summer Party.
going down
Britain’s soft power. The British Council, the U.K.’s main cultural and diplomatic institution overseas, is to close 20 offices across the globe as part of a restructuring programme made necessary by cuts to the aid budget and a shortfall in commercial income. The closures span the world from Belgium to the United States and from Australia to South Sudan, and the Foreign Office has asked them to come up with a five-year spending programme that will see an overall cut in spending of £185m. Global Britain eh?
curated
My curated list of what’s new to see, do, watch, read and more.
NEW INSTALLATION
L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped
For just over two short weeks, one of Paris's most famous landmarks will be covered in giant sheets of fabric as part of an art installation paying tribute to the late artists Christo. The 50-metre high, 19th century arch will be wrapped in some 25,000 square metre of silver-blue fabric, which will posthumously bring Christo's 60 year ambition to fruition. Opens Saturday
NEW EXHIBITION
Summer Exhibition 2021 at the Royal Academy
For the second year in a row, the RA’s flagship annual show is moved to the autumn. See over 1,300 works of art selected by coordinator Yinka Shonibare and a panel of artists, under the theme of ‘Reclaiming Magic’. Opens Wednesday 22 Sept
NEW TV SERIES
Inside America’s Treasure House: The Met
Hot on the heels of the Met Gala, this new three-part documentary series was filmed inside America's biggest art museum as it prepares for its 150th anniversary, only to endure closure due to Covid, demands for greater diversity and financial disaster. Mondays 21:00 on BBC Four, catch up on BBC iPlayer
interview
“I don’t think Instagram posts and generic statements of support are going to cut it anymore.”
London has a brand new art gallery - but this one’s got a twist. And I say new, but it’s actually the resurrection of a gallery which closed in 2014 after eight years in East London. But from tomorrow, Paradise Row returns to the capital with a new home in the heart of Mayfair, and the twist is that it’s going not-for-profit. For one year, the sale of the works on show will generate funds for critical social and environmental issues. 20% of the proceeds will be given to charities and causes chosen by exhibiting curators and artists, selected in accordance with each show's theme and content. Additionally, Paradise Row Projects will be donating all profits from the exhibition.
It’s certainly novel, and is promising to “bring compelling, ground-breaking group shows and cultural experiences rarely seen in London’s central gallery district.” It will be no easy feat with such well established (and plentiful) neighbours.
To mark tomorrow’s opening day, I’ve spoken to the Gallery’s Director Nick Hackworth to find out what people will be able to see, and what success for them looks like.
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Why did you want to set up a non-profit gallery?
This new incarnation of Paradise Row experiments with the commercial art gallery model, evolving it into a social and activist enterprise. Our model encourages collective action, where both the gallery and the exhibiting artists donate a good portion of direct income from sales to raise funds for collectively selected social and environmental initiatives. In addition, the gallery donates all profits.
This is our response to an age of compounding crises. Can we, individually and collectively, adapt what we do professionally so that we can keep doing things we love doing, whilst at the same time meaningfully support initiatives directly addressing these crises, humanitarian and environmental?
What are some of the exhibitions visitors will be able to see?
Hawala, curated by Shezad Dawood, is an extraordinary multidimensional show, inaugurating both our physical and metaverse spaces with the work of London-based artists of South Asian descent, with proceeds going to mangrove conservation in South Asia.
Our second show, Ka’a Body: Cosmovisions of the Rainforest will be a historic moment - an incredible presentation of indigenous art and thought from Brazil, curated by indigenous Brazilian curator Sandra Benites, the first international presentation of its kind. It couldn’t be more timely. Indigenous people across Brazil are facing an existential threat from the current regime and the destruction of the Amazon. Proceeds will be donated to Instituto Maraca, an indigenous cultural foundation, and AmazoniAlerta, a new app designed to report environmental crimes and other violations across the Amazon.
In 2022, we’ll have an immersive installation by Children of the Light, a duo of Amsterdam-based visual artists whose work brings together light and healing, a project with ANO and a gallery take-over by Credit, an initiative supporting emerging art projects in London.
You've said that this format will help you "have more of a social impact." Should more galleries and commercial art organisations be looking to do the same?
Our project is just getting started, so we’ll have to see how successful we’ll be in achieving our social and environmental ambitions. However, I think everyone in the contemporary art world is aware that there is a lot of talk about social justice and generating positive environmental impact but far less action. I think this is true of both the commercial and non-commercial sectors. I don’t think Instagram posts and generic statements of support are going to cut it anymore.
The original Paradise Row was in East London, so why the relocation to Mayfair?
During one of the early lockdowns, Pippa Hornby, my partner in the project, and I discussed whether we could find a great space to pop-up in with a reincarnation of the gallery. Pippa reached out to Grosvenor Britain & Ireland. Wonderfully, they loved our proposal and agreed to support it through subsidised rent, given we are a non-profit. It’s a privilege to be in the heart of Mayfair with Gagosian and Sadie Coles as neighbours. It’s especially exciting to be presenting a radical programme as a non-profit in this context.
What does success look like for the gallery at the end of the 12 months?
Success will come in two forms - having platformed an outstanding programme of exhibitions and art and having made significant contributions to initiatives that we, collectively, have chosen to deliver impact in their respective fields. We’ll want both outcomes to materialise.
Apart from Paradise Row, what else is on your art radar this autumn?
The exhibition I am most excited to see this autumn is the extraordinary exhibition of Jenny Saville across most of the major museums in Florence. Saville is one of the few truly accomplished figurative painters working today. To see her work presented alongside a slew of Renaissance masterpieces will be fascinating. Modern Forms, the collection I curate for founder Hussam Otaibi, is loaning a work, which is an honour.
Paradise Row opens tomorrow. Follow the gallery on Instagram @paradiserowprojects
and finally
Primarily known for his sculpture, Sir Anish Kapoor says he's always been a painter. Now, he's launching a series of paintings, created before and during the coronavirus pandemic, at London's Lisson Gallery. Watch this excellent interview with him for BBC Newsnight.
Love art, museums and galleries? Then my newsletter is for you, keeping you up-to-date on what to read - and what to see. Subscribe below (it’s free!)