London Art Fair’s programme of daily talks, tours and workshops provide a timely review of the art market today, trends and topics emerging within the contemporary art scene, tips on building your art collection, artist’s talks and more; presenting the perfect setting for both the experienced collector and new art-world enthusiast.
These events are free to attend for all visitors to the Fair.
WEDNESDAY 22 JANUARY 2020 – TALKS
10.30am – 11.45am
Building a collection: Funding, acquisitions and consultancy in regional museums (By invitation only)
Join us for a conversation which explores the unique history of Southampton City Art Gallery’s collection and questions the models of funding and acquisition available to regional galleries. We ask: what are the curatorial responsibilities associated with sustaining and building a collection over time; and how might other institutions, organisations and charities assist with this process?
With Senior Research Curator (History of Collecting) Susanna Avery-Quash and Curatorial Trainee Jemma Craig from The National Gallery, Christine Takengny, Senior Curator of Museum Acquisitions at Contemporary Art Society, Eleanor McGrath, Head of Grants at Art Fund and artist Guy Moreton. Chaired by Clare Mitchell, Curator of Art at Southampton City Art Gallery.
Email liz.thornhill@upperstreetevents.co.uk to reserve your place.
12pm – 1.15pm
Radical collecting: new approaches and contemporary museum models (By invitation only)
Our panelists discuss the ways in which museums are adapting to support changing artistic practice and cultural shifts as well as new technologies and non-object based design. How might new collecting practices be developed in our museums to respond to our contemporary context and how might curators approach the display and mediation of these acquisitions?
Speakers include Corinna Gardner, Senior Curator of Design and Digital and Head of Rapid Response Collection at V&A, Glyn Davies, Head of Curatorial at Museum of London and Sinéad McCarthy Contemporary Curator at Geffrye Museum of the Home.
Email liz.thornhill@upperstreetevents.co.uk to reserve your place.
2pm – 3pm
Living with art: Collecting the Interior
In this panel we consider collecting for the home and the synergy between artworks and the spaces they inhabit outside of a gallery context.
With Caroline Milns, Founder of Zulufish and British Institute of Interior Design Member, Vivienne Roberts, Founder and Creative Director at Aleph Contemporary and Jennifer Guerrini-Maraldi, Director at JGM GALLERY. Chaired by Harriet Forde, President of the British Institute of Interior Design.
3.30pm – 4.30pm
Setting standards: consensus and experimentation in art identification
With multiple solutions to identify artworks and describe associated provenance, inefficiencies and unsustainable practices abound across the art world. Duplication of efforts, incompatibility across systems and loss or distortion of information are some of the key pitfalls. The Art Identification Standard (AIS) consortium was born out of this vision: to build an industry wide standard for artwork identification. In a panel designed to stimulate audience participation, join our speakers to discuss how a universal framework of standards could streamline the underlying matter of provenance.
With AIS representatives from Art Innovators Alliance, Art4Technologies, Artory, AxNA, Furtherfield and MoCDA. Chaired by Marianne Magnin, UK Managing Director of Arteïa.
See also: London Art Fair 2020 Connects the Best Galleries From Around the World
5pm – 6pm
Symbiosis: Art in Science and Technology
How do art, scientific research and technology influence each other and in what ways are the ideas generated at their intersection changing the cultural and scientific landscapes of both Switzerland and the UK? This panel explores the synergies between artistic practice, scientific research and innovations in technology. We ask: how might artists and designers work together to promote and advance new inventions; how might curators display and commission scientific innovation; and what new organisations, cultural centers and awards are being created to support these increasingly intertwined ecosystems of art, science and technology?
Speakers include Monica Bello from Arts at CERN, CH, David Colombini, founder of INT and member of Fragmentin, CH, Dr Katy Barrett, Curator of Art Collections at the Science Museum, UK and Sarah Cook, founding curator of LifeSpace Science Art Research Gallery, curator of NEoN Digital Arts Festival, and curator of 24/7 at Somerset House, UK. Chaired by Carla Rapoport, Founder of the Lumen Prize for Art & Technology, UK.
6.30pm – 7.30pm
What will the UK Contemporary Art Market look like in 2030?
The Future of the Art Market Report surveys the significant changes that have occurred in the contemporary art market over the past 15 years. Commissioned and published by Creative United in November 2019 in partnership with Arteïa, Creative Scotland and DACS, the report explores the dominant issues and trends that are likely to have an impact on the size and shape of the market in the decades to come. In this panel, we discuss: what are the forces and tensions shaping the art market ecosystem today; who is benefitting in the current art market; and should we still participate or seek new ways to operate?
With Lucy Rose Sollitt, writer, curator and author of the Future of the Art Market Report, Anders Petterson, Founder & MD of ArtTactic, Terry Smith, Director of Venice Agendas and artist Jade Montserrat. Chaired by Chief Executive of Creative United Mary-Alice Stack.
8pm – 9pm
Artist cities: Foundations for urban creativity
Venice, Jaipur, Paris, Sante Fe, Berlin, Hong Kong; some cities simple crackle with creative frisson. Whether building upon a rich artistic tradition and historic sites of creativity, or developing a thriving counter-culture in an unexpected setting, many international urban centres support a thriving artistic community. We ask: what makes an artist city; which international hotspots support creativity; and why does artistic production flourish in certain environments, against all odds? Join our panel of art historians and destination specialists from Audley Travel as they consider unique locations across the globe and the perfect conditions for supporting artistic talent, community and innovation.
Speakers include Victoria Leader, visual artist and India specialist, Heather Robinson, art historian/lecturer and Italy specialist and Fenella Murtagh, Central American specialist from Audley Travel.
See also: London Art Fair 2020 Exhibitors Announced
WEDNESDAY 22 JANUARY 2020 – TOURS
1pm – 1.45pm
Art Projects Tour
Led by Pryle Behrman
Meeting point: Art Projects information desk
2pm – 2.15pm
ONSITE INSIGHTS
TAG Fine Arts will host an onsite talk with artist Adam Dant
Meeting point: TAG Fine Arts
3pm – 3.15pm
ONSITE INSIGHTS
Ed Cross will host an onsite talk with artist Cesar Cornejo
Meeting point: Ed Cross Fine Art
4pm – 4.25pm
ONSITE INSIGHTS
Shtager Gallery will host an onsite talk with artists Marina Alekseeva and Alexandre Nuri, led by Denis Maksimov, Avenir Institute
Meeting point: Shtager Gallery
Thematic Tours
Led by Sotheby’s Institute of Art’s students. Tours are 45mins longs and start at the Fair Guide sales point by the ground floor entrance.
6pm – 6.45pm
General Highlights tour
6pm – 6.45pm
Modern British tour
7pm – 7.45pm
Contemporary Art tour
7pm – 7.45pm
Prints and Editions tour
8pm – 8.45pm
Emerging Markets tour
8pm – 8.45pm
Modern British tour
THURSDAY 23 JANUARY 2020 – TALKS
1.30pm – 2.15pm
Pat Douthwaite: The Scottish Gallery presents the colourful career of a celebrated artist
Glasgow born artist Pat Douthwaite studied mime and modern dance with Margaret Morris, before J. D. Fergusson encouraged her to paint. This important influence apart, Douthwaite was self-taught. The artist lived in Suffolk alongside artists Scots Colquhoun and MacBryde, and William Crozier and travelled widely, to N. Africa, India, Peru, Venezuela, Nepal, Pakistan, Ecuador and lived part time in Majorca from 1969. The artist died in 2002, leaving behind a rich legacy of work, at once naive and intellectually loaded, personal but resonating with cultural references.
A conversation with Guy Peploe Director at The Scottish Gallery
2.30pm – 3.30pm
Playtime: Exploring the boundaries between work and leisure
The proliferation of smartphone technologies, freelance economy culture and remote connectivity has impacted artistic practice and audiences alike. In response to London Art Fair’s Screening Room theme, Playtime, speakers debate the positive and negative impacts on artists and art workers in a contemporary society where switching off and opting out is becoming almost impossible.
With Pryle Behrman, Screening Room and Art Projects Curator at London Art Fair, Arjun Harrison-Mann and Ben Cain, Founders of design practice Studio Hyte, artist and Course Scheme Manager of BA Contemporary Art and Design at Writtle University College Samantha Humphreys and Sarah Cook, Professor of Museum Studies in Information Studies at the University of Glasgow and curator of 24/7 exhibition at Somerset House.
4pm – 5pm
Get with the program: DAM Gallery present code-based art
This panel spans the full range of algorithmic, programmed and code-based art, from the pioneers of self-programmed, computer-generated plotter drawings, to the first net artists and today’s offspring of digital natives with interactive virtual art. Led by DAM Gallery Director Wolf Lieser, our speakers consider the legacies and contemporary dialogues surrounding code-based artistic practice.
With Melanie Lenz, Curator of Digital Art at V&A, Damien Borowik creative coder, artist and lecturer at UAL, artist Anna Ridler and Frieder Nake, mathematician, computer scientist and pioneer of computer art. Chaired by Wolf Lieser, Founder and Director of DAM Gallery,
5.30pm – 6.30pm
Threaded Focus: Collecting Textiles
Join industry experts as they discuss the growing interest in textile-based practice, market changes and the textile artists and collections to be inspired by.
Speakers include Agnieszka Prendota, Creative Director at Arusha Gallery and Juliana Cavaliero, co-founder of Cavaliero Finn. Chaired by Platform curator Candida Stevens, Director at Candida Stevens Gallery.
THURSDAY 23 JANUARY 2020 – THURSDAY LATE
7pm – 8.30pm
Performance: Samantha Humphreys
Staged in the Screening Room
7pm – 9pm
Rough Trade Musical Interlude
Our Thursday late partner, Rough Trade takes over the Photo50 café.
THURSDAY 23 JANUARY 2020 – TOURS
1pm – 1.45pm
Art Projects Tour
Led by Pryle Behrman
Meeting point: Art Projects information desk
2pm – 2.15pm
ONSITE INSIGHTS
Crane Kalman Gallery will host an onsite talk with artist Jethro Buck
Meeting point: Crane Kalman Gallery
3pm – 3.15pm
ONSITE INSIGHTS
Artist John O’Carroll in conversation with Lucy Thorman, Director and Curator at Circle Contemporary
Meeting point: Circle Contemporary
4pm – 4.15pm
ONSITE INSIGHTS
Artist Michael Speller in conversation with Luci Stephens, Head of Twentieth Century Art at Clarendon Fine Art
Meeting point: Clarendon Fine Art
Thematic Tours
Led by Sotheby’s Institute of Art’s students. Tours are 45mins longs and start at the Fair Guide sales point by the ground floor entrance.
6pm – 6.45pm
Contemporary Art tour
7pm – 7.45pm
General Highlights tour
7pm – 7.45pm
Applied Arts tour
8pm – 8.45pm
Prints and Editions tour
8pm – 8.45pm
Modern British tour
FRIDAY 24 JANUARY 2020 – TALKS
12pm – 1pm
Collaborate: a celebration of socially-engaged, multi-authored photographic practices
This talk considers the ethics, methodologies and reworkings of socially engaged photography and collaborative practice. Using an experimental panel model, our speakers attempt to break down accepted dichotomies and narrow histories in photography to consider artists using collaborative, multi-authored and participatory techniques. We consider the responsibility of representation, the ethics of engagement and politics of participation while encouraging the fair audience to contribute to the conversation.
With photographers Marysa Dowling, Rosy Martin and Becky Warnock in a conversation chaired by artist, writer and educator Anthony Luvera, Associate Professor at Coventry University and editor of Photography For Whom?.
2.30pm – 3.30pm
Occupy the Void: Photo50 artist discussion
Join the artists of London Art Fair’s Photo50 exhibition. Occupy the Void is an inclusive panel discussion, chaired by Laura Noble, presenting both established names and early-career artists, all of which are female and over the age of 50. Although 85% of women studying photography at university are women, only 15% of the industry is female. This talk, along with the Photo50 exhibition, provides a platform for a diverse group of artists who are commonly underrepresented in the cultural dialogue, and offers them the opportunity to reclaim their space in photography.
With Kim Shaw, photographer and Director of Photofusion in London, Miranda Gavin, freelance writer, photographer, blogger and educator, Samantha Brown, photographer and visual artist and photographer Wendy Aldiss. Chaired by Laura Noble, Director of L A Noble Gallery and Curator of Photo50 at London Art Fair.
4pm – 5pm
Women Photographers Through the Lens of The Photographers’ Gallery
Join Brett Rogers OBE, Director of The Photographers’ Gallery for a panel discussion exploring the last 50 years of women in photography. Featuring Mari Mahr who had her first solo exhibition at the Gallery in the 1970s, Anna Fox who is Professor of Photography at UCA Farnham as well as a photographer who was a shortlisted for the 2010 Deutsche Börse Photography Prize and Jessa Fairbrother a TPG Print Sales artist who’s work pushes the boundaries of photography as she frequently appears in her own images, piercing and embroidering them to employ process as action. Chaired by Brett Rogers OBE, Director of The Photographers’ Gallery.
5.30pm – 6.30pm
Occupy! Regaining territory in photography
This talk explores reclaiming space and visibility for female photographers within (and sometimes without) the contemporary art world. Join the curator of Photo50, Laura Noble, and representatives from a variety of institutions for a discussion surrounding responsibilities and activism in the fields of curating, collecting, awards, commissions and publishing.
With Natasha Howes, Curator at Manchester Art Gallery, Sabina Jaskot-Gill, Curator of Photography at National Portrait Gallery and Emma Lewis, Assistant Curator of International Art at Tate. Chaired by Laura Noble, Director of L A Noble Gallery and Curator of Photo50 at London Art Fair.
FRIDAY 24 JANUARY 2020 – TOURS
2pm – 2.45pm
Photography Highlights Tour
Led by Christiane Monarchi, Founding Editor of Photomonitor
Meeting point: Fair Guide sales point by the ground floor entrance.
3pm – 3.15pm
ONSITE INSIGHTS
GBS Fine Art will host an onsite talk with artist Emily Allchurch
Meeting point: GBS Fine Art
5pm – 5.45pm
Photography Highlights Tour
Led by Christiane Monarchi, Founding Editor of Photomonitor
Meeting point: Fair Guide sales point by the ground floor entrance.
Thematic Tours
Led by Sotheby’s Institute of Art’s students. Tours are 45mins longs and start at the Fair Guide sales point by the ground floor entrance.
6pm – 6.45pm
Photography tour
SATURDAY 25 JANUARY 2020 – TALKS
12pm – 1pm
Architecture in the frame
Join a panel of curators, gallerists, architects and artists as they discuss the ways in architecture is collected, commissioned and curated in a museum, gallery or competition context. We explore developing technologies across hand-drawn, hybrid and digital drawing, and ask: how might our contemporary understanding of architectural practice shape the way in which we approach the display of architectural art and design, as well as its collection?
Speakers include artist Ben Johnson in a conversation chaired by Owen Hopkins, Senior Curator at Sir John Soane’s Museum and judge of the Architecture Drawing Prize.
2.30pm – 3.30pm
The Art of Happiness: Steve Macleod and Hospital Rooms in conversation
Hospital Rooms is an arts and mental health charity that commission world class artists to work with inpatient mental health unit communities to transform their environments. Join photographer Steve Macleod as he speaks about his work with Hospital Rooms, the way in which his landscape photography translates emotional states through the lens, and the transformative nature of art as therapy.
With artist Steve Macleod and founders of Hospital Rooms Tim A. Shaw and Niamh White. Chaired by Kathlene Fox-Davies, Co-Founder & Director of Black Box Projects.
4pm – 5pm
Apollo presents Nature in Culture: Modern British Art and the Environment
In recent years, the climate crisis has grown impossible for society to ignore – and artists have often led the way in examining humanity’s relationship to our environment. This panel will look at how modern and contemporary artists in Britain have contributed to this tradition – from modernist rural landscapes to land art, to contemporary ecological art – and the questions their work has raised. What are the politics underlying the approaches of different works? How can changing contexts of display alter their meanings – and might these forms of art also be considered a type of research or activism?
With academic Rosemary Shirley, Director of Parafin Gallery, Ben Tufnell and artist Rachel Pimm. Chaired by Gabrielle Schwarz, Web Editor at Apollo.
6.30pm – 7.30pm
Threaded Focus: Contemporary musings on the history of textile art
Join a panel of artists, curators and craft experts as they unpick the various threads of textile art; exploring artistic legacies, new techniques and contemporary responses to this traditional practice.
With Alice Kettle, artist and Professor of Textile Arts at Manchester School of Art, Caron Penney, artist and founder of textile atelier Weftfaced and Lotte Crawford, Assistant Curator of UNBOUND exhibition at Two Temple Place. Chaired by Platform curator Candida Stevens, Director at Candida Stevens Gallery.
SATURDAY 25 JANUARY 2020 – TOURS
1pm – 1.45pm
Art Projects Tour
Led by Pryle Behrman
Meeting point: Art Projects information desk
12pm – 12.15pm
ONSITE INSIGHTS
Rhodes Contemporary Art will host an onsite talk with artist Chris Rivers
Meeting point: Rhodes Contemporary Art
2pm – 2.15pm
ONSITE INSIGHTS
Waterhouse & Dodd will host an onsite talk with artist Clive Head
Meeting point: Waterhouse & Dodd
3pm – 3.15pm
ONSITE INSIGHTS
Elizabeth Xi Bauer will host an onsite talk with artist Theodore Ereira-Guyer
Meeting point: Elizabeth Xi Bauer
4pm – 4.15pm
ONSITE INSIGHTS
White Conduit Projects will host an onsite talk with artist Elena Gileva
Meeting point: White Conduit Projects
Thematic Tours
Led by Sotheby’s Institute of Art’s students. Tours are 45mins longs and start at the Fair Guide sales point by the ground floor entrance.
12pm – 12.45pm
General Highlights tour
1pm – 1.45pm
Prints and Editions tour
2pm – 2.45pm
Emerging Markets tour
3pm – 3.45pm
Contemporary Art tour
4pm – 4.45pm
Modern British tour
5pm – 5.45pm
Applied Arts tour
6pm – 6.45pm
Modern British tour
SUNDAY 26 JANUARY 2020 – WORKSHOP
Courtesy of PEER
1pm – 4pm
Interactive photographic workshops with PEER UK and artist Devinya Thomas
An exciting drop-in, interactive workshop, using camera-less photographic processes such as pinhole photography as part of our education programme, inspired by arts charity PEER UK’s local audience programme and led by artist Devinya Thomas and PEER Ambassadors. All ages welcome, children to be accompanied by an adult.
Devinya Thomas is a photographic artist and PEER Ambassador based in Hackney. Her work explores themes centred around black female identity and their relationship with hair, as well as cultural identity through found objects and family archives. Thomas previously conducted her camera-less photographic workshop at Standpoint Gallery.
SUNDAY 26 JANUARY 2020 – TOURS
12pm – 12.15pm
ONSITE INSIGHTS
Standpoint Gallery will host an onsite talk with artist Frances Richardson
Meeting point: Standpoint Gallery
1pm – 1.45pm
Art Projects Tour
Led by Pryle Behrman
Meeting point: Art Projects information desk
2pm – 2.15pm
ONSITE INSIGHTS
Kittoe Contemporary will host an onsite talk with artist Jess Quinn
Meeting point: Kittoe Contemporary
3pm – 3.15pm
ONSITE INSIGHTS
James Freeman Gallery will host an onsite talk with artist Olivia Kemp
Meeting point: James Freeman Gallery
4pm – 4.15pm
ONSITE INSIGHTS
Catto Gallery will host an onsite talk with artist Ian Berry
Meeting point: Catto Gallery
Thematic Tours
Led by Sotheby’s Institute of Art’s students. Tours are 45mins longs and start at the Fair Guide sales point by the ground floor entrance.
12pm – 12.45pm
Modern British tour
1pm – 1.45pm
General Highlights tour
2pm – 2.45pm
Emerging Markets tour
3pm – 3.45pm
Contemporary Art tour
4pm – 4.45pm
Modern British tour
Tickets to the London Art Fair are still available to purchase in advance here. Day passes are available for £17 and Premier Passes are available for £34 which allow entry to all six days of the Fair from 22nd-26th January 2020.
See also: London Art Fair Reports Confident Modern Art Market
