Tiwani Contemporary a gallery focused on artists from Africa and its diaspora announces its move to a new gallery space at 24 Cork Street, Mayfair, London.
Tiwani Contemporary, temporarily based in Cromwell Place in South Kensington will move to its new gallery space at 24 Cork Street, Mayfair, London. The gallery will inaugurate the new space in autumn 2023 with events, and solo exhibitions by British–Nigerian artist Joy Labinjo whose large-scale figurative paintings often depict intimate scenes of historical and contemporary life, and Miranda Forrester whose work addresses the invisibility of Black women in the western history of art.
The gallery will be situated on the ground floor corner of Burlington Gate, a newly finished mixed-use building by renowned architect Richard Rogers. It will be designed by Matheson Whiteley architectural practice (London), with interiors and furnishings by designer Nifemi Marcus-Bello (Lagos).
MATHESON WHITELEY’s design for the gallery imagines a surprisingly complex set of spaces, while at the same time introducing a new patina to the Richard Rogers building. The new space will consist of two exhibition spaces, a viewing room, office and support spaces. The ground floor 800 square-foot gallery will be light-filled, with a hand-made earth floor designed to contrast with the industrial finishes of the Rogers building. A new timber stair connects to the 560 square-foot lower ground floor gallery space, viewing room and support areas. Here an existing concrete floor will be reused, lending a raw quality to the spaces. Nigerian industrial and furniture designer Nifemi Marcus-Bello (nmbello Studio), who collaborated with Tiwani Contemporary on its Lagos gallery will design bespoke furniture for 24 Cork Street, creating further synergy between the London and Lagos spaces.
Tiwani Contemporary will join a group of prestigious modern art galleries that call Cork Street home. The Pollen Estate spearheaded an initiative aimed at re-establishing Cork Street’s reputation as the most prestigious, dedicated street for art in the world in 2016. This initiative tripled the available gallery space. The first gallery to sign up in 2019 was Goodman Gallery, followed by No.9 Cork Street – Frieze’s first permanent exhibition space for international galleries – in 2021. Stephen Friedman and Alison Jacques will also open gallery spaces on Cork Street alongside Tiwani Contemporary.
Jenny Casebourne – Head of Portfolio, The Pollen Estate said, “Tiwani Contemporary’s arrival as the final permanent gallery on Cork Street ushers in a dynamic new epoch in the street’s impressive history, affirming its reputation as one of the most prestigious and dedicated streets for art in the world.”
Tiwani Contemporary which loosely translates as “ours” or “it belongs to us” from the Yoruba language was founded by Maria Varnava in 2011 in Fitzrovia and 2022 in Lagos, Nigeria. Varnava in a statement says;
“Tiwani Contemporary is a global leader in the representation of visual arts practice from contemporary Africa and its global diaspora, and the Cork Street premises are a signal of our continuous commitment, intent and ambition for the artists we represent and exhibit. Together our galleries will be a bridge between the African continent and its international diaspora, allowing us to programme and exhibit art by our represented and exhibited artists on a larger scale, both literally and metaphorically.”
Varnava relocated the gallery to shared quarters at Cromwell Place after the old Fitzrovia premises were flooded in July 2021 and has been looking for a Mayfair location ever since. This move therefore, represents a significant milestone for the gallery.
About Tiwani Contemporary
Across both the Lagos and London gallery sites, Tiwani Contemporary produces between 10-12 exhibitions per year. Since 2022, it has also supported its artists to participate in the Guest Artists Space Foundation (G.A.S.) residency programme, founded by artist Yinka Shonibare CBE RA. Tiwani Contemporary contributes to the arts ecosystem in Lagos through its programme of exhibitions, talks and publications, the latter produced with the support of the A.G. Leventis Foundation, creating opportunities for local students and emerging practitioners to experience international contemporary art in a Nigerian context.
Tiwani Contemporary participates in international art fairs that have included: 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, Frieze London, New York, and Los Angeles, Art X Lagos, and Art Basel Miami Beach. Works by the gallery’s roster of artists can be found in the collections of Tate Gallery, London, The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, The Government Art Collection, UK, Centre Pompidou, Paris, Musée du quai Branly, Paris, and MoMA New York, as well as many other globally renowned institutions.
