In conversation with… Unit London

Monday, May 21, 2018

We spoke to Joe Kennedy and Jonny Burt, the people behind Mayfair’s hot new gallery, Unit London, to find out what drew them to the area…

Why did you choose Mayfair as the place to open your new gallery?
We have always wanted to provide our artists with the biggest platform possible. After setting up in the suburbs, we moved towards Central London to tell our artist’s stories to more and more people. Having held temporary spaces in Covent Garden and in Soho, we are now proud to nail down our flag in Mayfair and disrupt the traditional art world from it’s geographical heart in London. The opportunity to bring our ethos, our artists and our value systems to Mayfair was irresistible and we can’t wait to show people what’s in store…

Tell us your thoughts on the art scene in Mayfair and what the future holds…
It’s an exciting time for North/East Mayfair, with a cluster of interesting contemporary galleries opening up, and the accessibility that will be offered by Crossrail will have a great positive impact on the area. Right now the overriding narrative is of dealers moving out, struggling to pay rents, shutting down shop and going online, but we think the future of the art world is in the marriage – and optimisation – of the physical and the digital worlds operating in tandem. We are all about creating experiences for people – and you can’t just do that online.

What do you love about working in Mayfair?
Being surrounded by other galleries who represent other amazing artists.

Where’s your favourite place to have lunch?
Benugo’s. Simple pleasures.

If you had a day to spend exploring Mayfair, where would you go and what would you do?
Aside from Unit London? Visit some galleries, have coffee at Cecconi’s, lunch at HIX…

Do you have a favourite street in Mayfair?
Dover Street

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