“The fifth edition of Mayfair Art Weekend will take place this summer coinciding with the landmark 250th anniversary of the Royal Academy, presenting an opportunity to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Mayfair and St. James’s as one of the world’s most historic and thriving art quarters. Mayfair Art Weekend will be joined by the Royal Academy, over 40 galleries, auction houses, artists and the wider creative community to showcase the unparalleled artistic expertise, quality and diversity on offer in Mayfair and St James’s. Inviting art enthusiasts to explore the Capital’s worldclass galleries, the 2018 programme includes a series of free talks, tours, exhibitions and pop-up installations taking place throughout the weekend. The Royal Academy Annenberg Courtyard will once again act as a hub on Saturday and Sunday, providing a space for public talks, workshops, food and entertainment, with tours departing regularly, visiting galleries across the district”.

Not sure when an event became an “edition”, an edition was always a book or a print or a limited edition red vinyl release of a red vinyl  Ruts seven inch single to me, and yes, Mayfair and St. James may not be the natural hunting ground for us East London scumbags and we may not be the biggest fans of the Royal Academy and their ways but art is art and art must be explored again and again. Art excites. Here’s what we know, let’s have it tight ‘ere, here’s what we’ve cut ‘n paste from the official press release, down there underneath the next set of stolen imagery…

Mayfair & St James’s throws open its doors for a free weekend of art & events to celebrate 250 years of creativity across a world-leading cultural district.Mayfair Art Weekend happens from Friday 29 June until Sunday 1 July

Over 40 of Mayfair & St James’s galleries, auction and fashion houses and over100 artists will stage a rich array of exhibitions, tours, panel discussions and installations.

Join the Long Artists’ Lunch (Sunday 1 July, 12-5pm) in Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts, hosted by acclaimed British artist and Royal Academician Bob & Roberta Smith.

A major installation will see the central Victorian gallery of Mayfair’s famous shopping gallery, Burlington Arcade transformed with 2000 paper flowers by French designer Mathilde Nivet.

The weekend will kick off with the Gallery HOP! (Friday 29 June, 6-8pm) with late openings and such on the Friday evening…

Royal Academy of Arts, will present an extensive programme of exhibitions, events, talks and tours across Mayfair & St James’s. Mayfair Art Weekend celebrates the diverse offering of this historic cultural district, internationally renowned as a vibrant hub of creativity and craftsmanship, where the worlds of art, fashion and luxury converge. Over 40 galleries, including David Zwirner, Gagosian, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac and Hauser + Wirth, will participate in this year’s Mayfair Art Weekend. New galleries for 2018 include Cardi Gallery, Christie’s, kamel mennour, Mall Galleries, Mimosa House, Olivier Malingue, Peter Harrington Rare Books, Richard Saltoun and Senesi Contemporanea.

THE GALLERY HOP? WHAT’S THAT?

The Gallery HOP! will launch the weekend with over 35 galleries hosting special evening viewings and events from 6-8pm on Friday 29 June with drinks sponsor Sipsmith Gin.
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Lévy Gorvy gallery have invited London based DJ Cedric Bardawil to perform for their Gallery HOP! event, where he will play music in response to their exhibition featuring the works of artists Yves Klein and James Turrell. Exhibitions on view over the weekend include works by internationally acclaimed artists such as Richard Prince at Skarstedt Gallery – showing early ‘Joke Paintings’ previously unseen in the UK; Howard Hodgkin at Gagosian – an exhibition of the artist’s last paintings ; Christo & Jeanne-Claude at Stern Pissarro Gallery presenting preparatory works for some of their most important and iconic public works. This year’s programme has a strong showing of British artists, with over a third of the exhibitions on view including British names, which range from street artist Ben Eine to Victorian artist Sir Walter Sickert. Many participating galleries will shine a spotlight on female artists, with American installation artist Carol Bove at David Zwirner, contemporary video artist Tejal Shah at Mimosa House, and groups shows such as Land of Lads, Land of Lashes at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac – showcasing sculptural works by three outstanding pioneers of Minimal and Post-Minimal Art and Hypnagogia at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery – an exhibition of female artists whose paintings offer a distilled interpretation of reality. Creative partner, Max Mara will host a talk on Saturday 30 June, 11am, with Whitechapel Gallery director, Iwona Blazwick on the importance of supporting female artists and the history of the Max Mara Art Prize for Women. Within the Royal Academy, UAL student curators – using the RA’s Collection as a starting point – will takeover the RA’s newly re-launched Burlington Gardens spaces to programme

And on goes the long press release, you get the general idea, you can overlook the over use of ‘iconic’ and ‘vibrant’,these words always pop up in press releases, it looks like fun to us, exploring art is almost always fun, and it often doesn’t cost you very much besides your time, we artists starve for your entertainment… The website link is down there, go have a look and maybe see you out there on Friday night for the hop or whatever they’ve called it, more coverage next week if, as expected, it proved to be worth covering… (sw)