The London art scene is massive and overwhelming. Out of hundreds of galleries and thousand of people who work in them, how do you know where to go and who to listen to?
In early 2015 Art Map London decided to tackle the issue. We asked the London arts community: artists, curators, dealers, collectors, and museum professionals to vote for their favourite galleries and museums in London. We took the results, added them up, and interviewed the top 70.
All interviews took place in 2015 and they have not been edited to reflect the changes that happened in the galleries in the past year. We wanted to emphasise the fast pace of the London art scene. In fact, it's so fast paced that some galleries we interviewed have since closed down, or moved, and some people we interviewed have since moved on to other organisations.
Joe Turnbull is an arts critic and cultural commentator who has written for the likes of the Guardian, Frieze, Apollo Magazine, Garageland and this is tomorrow. In 2011 he helped set up Novel Magazine, a culture publication that was based in the North East. Joe’s writing often explores the lines of intersect between politics and culture, looking not just overtly political art, but at the politics of cultural production and reception.
Tatiana Wiesner-Pavlova is a Courtauld Graduate (BA, MA) with an interdisciplinary higher education (History of Art, Global Conceptualism and International Business). Working for several London-based art businesses ranging from start-ups to high-end dealerships to an auction house, she specialises in marketing and branding of post-war & contemporary art.
Mary Ashton Ellis is an entertainment and fashion photographer based in Central London. She’s studied Art History at the University of Alabama and Photography at Fine Arts College Hampstead. Her primary interest is artistic portraiture and live events. She most enjoys writing about collaborations between artists and musicians.
Jenny Judova started her career in the London art scene as the founder of Art Map and an exhibition producer exploring the grassroots artist’s projects and the relationships within the art market. After being involved with Tom’s Etching Studio and Clarion List, she has published two books about the art world dynamics: ‘How to Approach a Gallery?’ and ‘Who to Know in London?’ Currently she is the travelling exhibitions manager at Vastari, she still manages Art Map London, and her book How to Approach a Gallery was recently published in Dutch by SEA Foundation.