During a panel discussion at Frieze’s No. 9 Cork Street space, dealer Thaddaeus Ropac argued that London needs lobbying to help its galleries navigate a shifting market, as the sixth edition of London Gallery Weekend launched with over 120 participating galleries. The event runs through Sunday, but faces challenges from Brexit, a cost of living crisis, dwindling arts funding, and political instability, while rival cities like Paris and Milan benefit from chic foundations and friendlier tax regimes.
This matters because London remains the second-largest art market globally, yet its gallery weekend feels commercially superfluous, squeezed between the New York auctions and Art Basel. While the event draws regional curators and fosters institutional relationships, the article argues that a good gallery weekend should not just rally the art world around itself but make the case for why art matters to broader publics, philanthropists, and policymakers. The city’s gallery scene is strong but fragile, and the arts remain chronically undervalued by policymakers.