London’s art scene is like no other. With an array of museums, art galleries, festivals, and a calendar bursting with cultural events, it’s possible to visit, see and do something culturally different every day of the year.

But what exactly made London the cultural hub that we see today? Why are so many galleries, and with them, artists and creatives, drawn to the British capital?

The answer is easy: London has it all.

Home to more than 850 art galleries and 170 museums, as well as community art projects, an abundance of street art, and a public hungry for culture.

Throughout its long and rich history, London has always been a patron of the arts, from setting up the Royal Academy of Arts in 1768 and other prominent art schools that followed, to providing funding to artists and exhibition spaces.

Add into the mix, two large auction houses, Sotheby’s and Christie’s, it’s a natural phenomenon for artists to want to be close to other creatives, opportunities to show their work, and reach an audience.

Sounds good, but how does it make London an art city? What is an art city, in the first place?

An art city is a city dedicated to the arts and culture, where these aspects are seen and recognised as central to the identity of the city.

A prominent percentage of the local economy, cultural tourism, and reputation is generated from an established relationship and support of the arts and cultural events.

Naturally, a large number of people from the art city will have a role or work in the creative industries. These industries can include design, visual arts, music, publishing and literature, film and video, crafts, fashion, television and radio, theatre, and performing arts.

LONDON’S CULTURAL SCENE IN NUMBERS

The creative industries in London generate approximately £10mil every hour, and one out of six jobs in the capital city are linked to the creative industries.

According to research carried out by the Greater London Authority, 84 percent of Londoners think that the city’s cultural scene is important in ensuring a high quality of life.

In addition, £7.3bil is generated from cultural tourism, as in those who travel and stay in the city to visit an art exhibition, see a musical or concert, or go to one of the many museums.

It did not happen overnight though. For London, the growth spanned hundreds of years.

Museums began to take shape in the 19th century in the midst of colonial imperialism and long voyage travels, when collections began to be formed and were then eagerly put on display to show a variety of objects and artworks from around the world.

In fact, the British Museum, which is London’s oldest museum, was founded in 1753.

Prominent art institutions began to show works of their students, later evolving into exhibition spaces, even moving away from the commercial aspects of the art world and concentrating instead on its promotion and influence on society.

Many of these institutions are still standing today, such as the Courtauld Gallery, the National Gallery, and the National Portrait Gallery.

As art movements and trends in the art world gained strength, artists were keen to experiment and new exhibition spaces appeared, eager to satisfy these emerging artists and reflect the changes in society.

A BRIEF LOOK AT LONDON’S RECENT ART HISTORY

During the Swinging Sixties, London witnessed a dramatic change in art trends. A period of rebellion, op art, and more freedom in subject matter, artistes began to express themselves in a new and different manner.

David Hockney, Patrick Procktor, Bridget Riley, Cecil Beaton; all influencing each other and their styles, these artists became prominent in their representation of British culture in London of that period.

The late 1980s in London saw the birth of a radical political arts movement: the British Black Arts Movement.

Works by Sonia Boyce, Eddie Chambers and the Black Audio Film Collective (who were based in Dalston, East London) confronted issues of race, gender, and equality – often from a personal perspective.

Lubaina Himid was also part of the British Black Arts Movement, committed to the representation of Black and Asian women in the art world. As well as being an artist, she curated two pivotal exhibitions titled The Thin Black Line at Institute of Contemporary Art in 1985 and Thin Black Line(s) at Tate Britain almost 26 years later.

London’s art scene was also home to the Young British Artists, members of which include Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas and Gillian Wearing.

Mostly graduates from Goldsmiths Fine Art degree, this new generation dominated the 90s art scene with their outspoken and at times controversial pieces, gaining a lot of media coverage.

By the mid-90s, contemporary art was gathering attention and got people talking about whether or not a piece was art.

LONDON’S EMERGING ARTISTS

With over 30,000 art school graduates every year, London continues to attract young artists.

Currently on the radar, some of these contemporary artists include Slade graduate Antonia Showering, who was part of the Palazzo Monti Art Residency.

An artist who also recently exhibited as part of the residency was London-born Eliza Hopewell, whose works span across ceramics, painting, and printmaking.

Somaya Critchlow finished 2022 with a second solo show of paintings at Maximillian William art gallery in Fitzrovia.

Another artist who continues to garner attention is Jade Fadojutimi. Her name has popped up several times in recent months with fantastic success at Contemporary Art auction sales.

WHAT TO SEE AND WHERE TO GO

If you’re looking to immerse yourself in art, there are plenty of places to check out around London. From museums to public spaces, they bring to life overt creativity.

TATE MODERN

Located in London’s cultural heart on the Southbank, Tate Modern is a must.

From an extensive permanent collection, which is free to visit all year round, to intriguing temporary exhibitions to the architecture itself, it is no wonder that Tate Modern welcomed over six million visitors in 2019.

Opened in 2000, the art museum is housed in a former power station along the Southbank of the river Thames, along with the addition of the new Switch House, designed by architecture firm Herzog & De Meuron.

Every six months, an artist or collective takes over the spacious Turbine Hall entrance, with large-scale sculptures or site-specific installations. Currently, a textile installation by Chilean artist Cecilia Vicuña is on show until April 2023.

In past years artists who have transformed this space include Olafur Eliasson, Doris Salcedo and Bruce Nauman.

THE PHOTOGRAPHERS’ GALLERY

Located in Soho, The Photographers’ Gallery was founded in 1971 as the UK’s first public gallery dedicated to photography.

Over the years, it has shown works by renowned international photographers such as Andreas Gursky, Francesca Woodman, Richard Billingham and Rineke Dijkstra, to name only a few.

Currently on show is the exhibition Chris Killip: Retrospective, a collection of photographs by the British artist who documented the lives affected by the economic turmoil of the 1970s and 80s in the North of England.

SAATCHI GALLERY

Advertising mogul and art collector, Charles Saatchi, first opened the Saatchi Gallery to the public in 1985 and since then, has played a prominent role in the capital’s contemporary art scene.

In 1992, the gallery launched a series of exhibitions featuring Young British Artists. The next upcoming show is Beyond The Streets, the most comprehensive exhibition on street art and graffiti to open in the UK.

THE BARBICAN CENTRE

One of London’s best examples of British Brutalist architecture, and listed as a Grade II building, the Barbican was built in the post-war era, when new structures were needed to rebuild an area of the capital devastated by the war.

After ten years of building work, the Barbican was finally opened by the Queen in 1982.

The structure houses over 2,000 flats, a lake, gardens, shops, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the City of London School for Girls, the Barbican library and finally, the Barbican Centre, a multidisciplinary cultural hub.

BOLD TENDENCIES

 Beyond the four walls of the museum and gallery spaces, London offers culture through a different perspective. A particular initiative is Bold Tendencies, a not-for-profit organisation that was founded in 2007 and is based in the rooftop spaces at Peckham Multi Storey Car Park.

Over the years, the project has grown into a multidisciplinary space that supports artists, commissions architectural designs, and brings together the local community in assemblies of live music, poetry, theatre, dance and performing arts.

The theme for their 2022 programme was love, and included installations and works by Nan Goldin, Martin Creed and Rhea Dillon.

OLD KENT ROAD ARTS CLUB

Run by F.A.T. Studio, Old Kent Road Arts Club is a creative community space located in South East London, bringing people and community together through free art events and strengthening the area’s cultural and creative presence.

Following grant applications and a crowdfunding campaign, the Old Kent Road Arts Club opened its doors in 2019 and offers three main programmes (Young Artists Club, Second Life Club and Community Platform), as well as a funded artist residency, which is supported by the local Southwark council.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2023?

Tate Modern presents a busy calendar of exciting exhibitions, including Cezanne (until March 12), the largest retrospective of the French painter.

Hilma Af Klint And Piet Mondrian: Forms Of Life (April 20-Sept 3) will be the biggest presentation of Swedish artist, Hilma Af Klint’s works in the UK to date, as well as the first major UK exhibition in over 25 years to highlight Piet Mondrian’s early works alongside his notable grid pieces with primary colours.

If you’ve seen enough modern art, how about stepping into Yayoi Kusama’s never-ending starscapes: Infinity Mirror Rooms (until April 2).

Always one to embrace new technology in the arts, David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (Not Smaller & Further Away) at the new exhibition space Lightroom (Feb 22-June 4) explores the British artist’s sixty-years-long career through innovative large-scale projections and audio.

The Barbican Centre presents the largest exhibition to date in the UK of American painter, Alice Neel: Hot Off The Griddle (Feb 16-May 21).

There will be film screenings and talks dedicated to the life and art of Alice Neel to accompany the exhibition.

To follow, the Barbican Centre will host a major exhibition of American artist Carrie Mae Weems (June 21-Sept 2), presenting three decades’ worth of works.

The photography event of the year, Photo London (May 11-14) is a four-day photography festival hosted in Somerset House.

Exhibiting both historic examples of photography alongside modern and contemporary works, it is a celebration of the art medium’s versatility and growth.

First established in 2003, London Design Festival (Sept 16-24) has become a destination for designers, innovators, and creatives from a variety of fields. In 2019, the festival attracted over 600,000 visitors.

In mid-autumn, the annual Frieze London contemporary and modern art fair (Oct 11-15) takes over The Regent’s Park.

In the same week during the London edition, there are also Frieze Sculpture and Frieze Masters; each fair specified to its field.

Cover: Ed Reeve. Courtesy of London Design Festival.

Writer | Glesni Trefor Williams

Glesni Trefor Williams is a Bologna-based art journalist/translator from North Wales, who focuses her writing on contemporary art and interlinked exhibition spaces. She has written for Lampoon, Spinosa Magazine, and is an arts contributor on BBC Wales radio. @glesniw

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