South Kensington art hub ‘will take on the galleries of Mayfair’

Five Grade II-listed terrace houses in Cromwell Place near the V&A will be turned into offices, viewing spaces and warehouses that can become permanent galleries or be rented for short periods if plans get the go-ahead
Hub: art dealer John Martin sat outside the Grade II-listed terrace houses in Cromwell Place which he hopes will become home to 30 permanent galleries
Dan Weill
Robert Dex @RobDexES4 March 2016

A new South Kensington arts hub would “level the field” for galleries and private collectors outside London and give them a base in the capital, it has been claimed.

Five Grade II-listed terrace houses in Cromwell Place near the V&A will be turned into offices, viewing spaces and warehouses that can become permanent galleries or be rented for short periods if the plan gets the go-ahead. Art dealer John Martin, who has joined forces with property adviser Scott Murdoch, said the project’s “hybrid” approach was driven by rising rents in the capital which have forced out some commercial galleries from traditional areas such as Mayfair.

Mr Martin, who founded Art Dubai, the Middle East’s first contemporary art fair, where Picassos and Warhols have changed hands, said: “London is hugely successful, it is where much of the audiences and many of the collectors are and it is where galleries want to be, but that all drives up rents and makes it harder to operate.

“The conventional gallery model is hugely inefficient. Many commercial galleries do 50 per cent of their business at art fairs, so having a permanent gallery just increases overheads.

“There are brilliant galleries doing great work in Belfast, Edinburgh, all around the country, which can’t afford to set up a permanent base in London. This could level the playing field and there are private collectors who could use it to set up short-term shows.”

Latest exhibition reviews

1/16

Mr Martin said he hoped the buildings, with 35,000 square feet of space, could be home to 30 permanent galleries and several associate businesses and will open by 2018 if planning permission is granted. Among its backers are veteran developer Sir Stuart Lipton, who said the gallery would “broaden London’s art world into an interesting new destination”.

Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT