For one weekend every June, London becomes the world’s most exciting free contemporary art fair. Returning for its sixth edition this 5 to 7 June, London Gallery Weekend transforms the capital into a city-wide celebration of art. More than 120 galleries, from leading international names to alternative artist-run spaces, will open their doors for a busy weekend of exhibitions, performances, talks and late-night events.
Unlike the exclusivity of many art fairs, London Gallery Weekend feels exploratory, exciting and accessible. You don’t need to book and there are no expensive tickets. This is about artists, students, collectors, curators and curious art novices coming together as they roam from gallery to gallery with coffees, maps and tote bags in hand. And best of all, it’s free!
Navigating London’s art world
The joy of London Gallery Weekend lies partly in its geography, with the city cleverly divided into three main areas, each with its own art route mapped out for you. Each area reveals a different side of the city’s art scene, from the museum-quality exhibitions in the world-leading galleries of Mayfair and St James, to the more experimental energy of South London, and the creative hubs of the East End, with its network of project spaces, studios and independent galleries tucked away amid converted warehouses and artisan cafés. This really is a chance to see the breadth, diversity and dynamism of London’s arts ecosystem.
Blockbuster exhibitions at the biggest galleries
Many of the ‘must see’ exhibitions are in Mayfair and Fitzrovia. Hauser & Wirth has powerful works by Roni Horn and the late Francis Picabia, one of the most essential artists of the 20th century.
The Picabia show spans five decades of his career, tracing the remarkable shifts that defined his practice: from early landscapes and Dada works through to the Transparencies series, radical figurative paintings and textured abstractions of his later years.
White Cube Masons Yard has Refrain, the first UK exhibition by Chinese artist Shao Fan, bringing together meditative paintings and sculptural works that merge classical traditions with contemporary minimalism.
Alison Jacques is on Cork Street, just up from the Royal Academy. Here you’ll see a survey of work by the visionary surrealist artist Eileen Agar, spanning several decades of her practice and showcasing her radical approach to material.
Over at Gagosian, art lovers are in for a rare chance to see early works by Christo, alongside a large-scale unrealised indoor installation, in an exhibition organised around the theme of air.
Sadie Coles HQ presents five new films by Helen Marten, an extension of the artist’s ambitious opera performance, 30 Blizzards. Ames Yavuz is hosting Australian artist Patricia Piccinini at its Grosvenor Hill gallery.
Niru Ratnam has a presentation of work by pioneering British artist Keith Piper, a founding figure in the emergence of Black British art in the early 1980s. This is a politically charged exploration of race, technology and surveillance – themes that feel increasingly relevant today. And Sprüth Magers has Citizen by Anne Imhof. This solo exhibition evolves the ideas explored in Imhof’s recent projects DOOM: House of Hope and Fun ist ein Stahlbad at Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto.
Discovering cutting edge contemporary art
The real joy of London Gallery Weekend often lies beyond the blockbuster names and major spaces. Wander down an alleyway or off the main road and you can find myriad smaller galleries showing contemporary and experimental works, often by artists you don’t know – at least not yet. You can also discover little pockets of the city you haven’t seen before.
Frith Street Gallery is in Soho’s picturesque Golden Square. They are sure to be a quiet hit, presenting installations and film works that reward slow viewing, including artist walk-throughs with photographer John Riddy.
A must-see for me is Rachel Maclean’s new show Enchantment of Reason at Josh Lilley’s Fitzrovia space. This immersive, experiential show is seductive, darkly funny and increasingly disorientating as reality and simulation start collapsing into one another.
South London offers some of the most adventurous programming with galleries showing sound art, performance art and socially engaged work. The Sunday Painter presents Vinegar & Piss, a large-scale sculptural installation centred on a galleon constructed from reclaimed wooden children’s playhouses by Dominic Watson.
Over at Sim Smith, you can see a duo show by Melissa Joseph and Sutapa Biswas that reflects on the way spaces can embed histories and memories and reimagines identity through the evolving notion of home.
The East End remains London’s spiritual home of contemporary art. In Bethnal Green, Shoreditch and Hackney, independent galleries sit beside artist studios, record stores doing a great trade in vinyl, coffee shops and late-night bars. Maureen Paley’s expanding presence in the area reinforces the commitment to contemporary art, this year showing their first exhibition by Delaine Le Bas.
Nearby, you’ll find some of the weekend’s most daring exhibitions, with High Seas, Closed Skies by New York artist Shahzia Sikander on show at Victoria Miro and Alvaro Barrington’s solo show at Emalin.
New to London Gallery Weekend
Galleries joining London Gallery Weekend for the first time include Matt Carey-Williams on Porchester Place; NORITO and TINA in Soho; DES BAINS, which has relocated to Fitzrovia; General Assembly in Mayfair; the New York-based Sundaram Tagore Gallery, which opened at 27 Pall Mall in 2023; Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery in Fitzrovia; piloto pardo in Farringdon; and Pale Horse, which joins as the newest gallery, having opened its space in Fitzrovia last year.
A new area initiative is also being launched this London Gallery Weekend under the banner of Lisson Grove Galleries. This new collaboration of galleries in the Lisson Grove – Marylebone area is led by Lisson Gallery, and also spotlights artist-led charity The Bomb Factory Art Foundation, Palmer Gallery, Patrick Heide Contemporary Art and The Showroom. It launches on 5 June with a full day of talks and events.
Tips for a successful London Gallery Weekend
The best way to experience London Gallery Weekend is to make it an adventure. Pick your area and be guided by the art maps, but don’t over-plan. Allow yourself to wander, follow the crowds and the music, and see where the art adventure takes you. Be open to serendipity. Ask strangers what they’ve seen.
Start early if you want to avoid the queues and the crowds, or just embrace that as part of the fun. Go on the tube, it’s usually cheaper and often quicker than an Uber – assuming there are no strikes.
While all the participating galleries are open across all three days of London Gallery Weekend, the programming shifts the focus each day: Central London on 5 June; South London on 6 June; and the East End on 7 June. Many galleries are also having opening receptions on 4 June.
It’s the atmosphere and the shared joy of discovering art with friends, old and new, that really makes London Gallery Weekend extra special. Enjoy!