Brown's Hotel Announces the First Brown's London Art Weekend

The first Brown's London Art Weekend will take place on 5 and 6 July 2014 as part of London Art Week. Joining forces with Master Paintings Week and Master Drawings and Sculpture Week, the London Art Weekend offers the public over 75 exceptional exhibitions spanning three thousand years of art, from antiquities to contemporary. With almost 100 free talks and tours, the Brown's London Art Weekend offers a unique opportunity for art lovers to explore the capital's greatest private galleries. The weekend demonstrates the incredible diversity and expertise offered by the art trade in St James's and Mayfair and the reason why tens of thousands of international collectors return regularly throughout the year, generating billions of pounds in revenue for the capital. Brown's London Art Weekend sets out to welcome everyone with an interest in art, from collectors and artists to the simply curious.

The initiative has been led by Brown's Hotel, situated on Albemarle Street, surrounded by these galleries. The understated elegance of Brown's Hotel and its location make it a popular choice for art collectors, gallery owners and artists. Brown's Hotel will be a base for London Art Weekend, offering accommodation packages and a sumptuous Hix Art Brunch, created by Mark Hix, as well as specialist tours around the participating galleries.

Mark Hix said of the event; “Being a long-term patron of the arts and supporting both well-known and new artists, it makes sense that we should have a bit of fun and celebrate by hosting Brown's London Art Weekend, home of HIX Mayfair, in the hub of the West End Mayfair gallery scene. In between gallery hopping, pop into Hix Mayfair for an art break brunch and a glass of bubbly.”

Each participating gallery will be open from 12 noon until 6pm over the weekend, offering regular tours and talks. Guests are advised to sign up to attend talks at www.brownslondonartweekend.co.uk from 1 June 2014. A large team of volunteers will be on hand to help visitors navigate their way between the discrete upstairs salons of old master dealers to the cavernous white halls of the leading contemporary galleries and auction houses, and whilst it will prove almost impossible to take in everything on offer, the most athletic art lovers can take part in a special high-speed tour from Brown's Hotel which will aim to cover 12 galleries in just two hours.

Munira Mirza, Deputy Mayor for Culture and Education said “The Brown's London Art Weekend is a great opportunity to celebrate London's world renowned art galleries in Mayfair. With the concentration of so many high quality art galleries and art dealers clustered in a relatively small area of central London over a period of over 100 years, Mayfair is to art lovers what Savile Row is to fashionistas. This weekend will delight curious minds as well as art connoisseurs to discover London's art quarter and the works of art that lie at the heart of the global art trade, without the need to dig deep in your own pocket.”

The London Art Weekend comes at a critical time for Mayfair's galleries many of whom are facing unprecedented pressures from steeply rising rents. The art trade is keen to prove that they are not only a vital part of Mayfair's heritage, but also offer irreplaceable cultural, educational and economic benefits for Londoners in the future. Westminster Council and the Mayor's Office have already expressed their deep concern about the potential loss of the art market from this area, but as retail markets and rents continue to boom in this part of the West End, and planning deregulation escalates, it has seen local authorities increasingly lose their ability to safeguard the long-term survival of unique cultural destinations like Mayfair's art district. With the recent threat to Cork Street averted through a 15,000-strong petition, it is hoped that initiatives such as the Brown's London Art Weekend will once again demonstrate the vital role played by London's art market to the capital's vibrant cultural life.

The full programme of talks that will be taking place over Brown's London Art Weekend will be released on 5th June 2014.

Twitter and Instagram : #brownslondonartweekend

Visit website: Brown's Hotel, London