London Gallery Weekend 2024 announces public performance programme, expanded Curator Bursary Fund, new acquisition partnership and participating galleries

● London Gallery Weekend, the biggest gallery weekend in the world, will return for its fourth edition from Friday 31 May to Sunday 2 June 2024
● In a new partnership for 2024, the Government Art Collection (GAC) will acquire one work on display during the weekend from a London gallery
● The Art Fund Travel Bursary for Visiting Curators returns with support from Contemporary Visual Arts Network to facilitate trips for 20 curators from UK regional museums and galleries to visit and stay in London
● The European Curator Bursary Fund has increased to support travel and accommodation for curators from up to six European institutions to visit London for the weekend
● Nil Yalter and Adelaide Cioni are announced as the performance artists for the 2024 London Gallery Weekend performance programme in collaboration with UP Projects

London Gallery Weekend will return from Friday 31 May to Sunday 2 June 2024 for its fourth edition. A key moment in the international art world calendar, London Gallery Weekend showcases the strength of the London art scene and draws collectors and curators from around the UK and abroad, as well as the city’s art-loving public. With over 130 participating galleries confirmed – ranging from established galleries to emerging spaces and featuring 16 new participants – London Gallery Weekend demonstrates the vibrancy and variety of the London gallery scene. The 2024 edition will also feature the return of the popular public performance programme developed in collaboration with UP Projects, that will see free, artist-led performances taking place over the course of the three-day event. In a new partnership for 2024, the Government Art Collection (GAC) will acquire one work on display during the weekend from a London gallery. LGW is pleased to announce an expanded LGW European Curator Bursary scheme this year alongside the return of the Art Fund Travel Bursary for Visiting Curators delivered in partnership with Art Fund and with support from Contemporary Visual Arts Network.

Each of London Gallery Weekend’s three days focuses on one area: starting with Central London on Friday, followed by South London on Saturday and culminating on Sunday in the East End. The exhibitions will be complemented by a programme of workshops and kids events, guided tours, talks and special performances; all of which are totally free and accessible to all. Participating galleries will be open across the three days, closing at 5pm on Sunday. Jeremy Epstein & Sarah Rustin, co-directors of London Gallery Weekend:
“Momentum continues to build year-on-year as we look towards London Gallery Weekend's fourth edition, with an expanded public offering, more than 15 new galleries participating, and a performance programme including the first London performance of the selected 2024 Venice Biennale Golden Lion Award-winning artist. Now an annual fixture in the art world calendar and drawing an increasingly international attendance, this unique city-wide experience serves as a gateway to the breadth and diversity of London's thriving contemporary art gallery landscape for the public and collectors alike. Underpinned by a range of initiatives that foster more meaningful connections and understanding across the commercial and institutional arts sectors at a time when collaborative support is critical, the vital partnerships we have forged are testament to LGW's aims.”

London Gallery Weekend partners with Government Art Collection In a new partnership for 2024, the Government Art Collection (GAC) will acquire one work on display during the weekend from a London gallery. The announcement of the acquisition of one work from across the London Gallery Weekend exhibition programme will be made at the LGW launch event on Friday 31 May, following consideration by the GAC curators and advisory committee members. The work will be acquired once its respective exhibition has ended.

Art Fund Partnership & London Gallery Weekend European Curator Bursary scheme
As part of the ongoing partnership with Art Fund, now in its third year, London Gallery Weekend will support trips for 20 curators from UK regional museums and galleries to visit and stay in London. The initiative continues to strengthen relationships between London galleries and colleagues in institutions further afield. The Art Fund collaboration also supports 27 Event Assistants with the Student Opportunities bursary. The assistants provide essential support in the delivery of the programme, as well as leading guided walking tours across the weekend.

Dedicated to supporting the development of better networks between the UK’s regional public institutions and London-based commercial galleries, in 2023 London Gallery Weekend and Art Fund collaborated to convene a focus group across museum and commercial gallery professionals. The discussion built on the outcomes of the first LGW x AF focus group in 2022 which resulted in the report, How To Support the Ecosystem: Building Networks Between Regional Museums and Galleries. The 2023 focus group established a unanimous need for a knowledge-sharing resource between professionals across public institutions and commercial galleries, specifically concerning contemporary art, in the form of a digital newsletter, a platform that London Gallery Week is seeking to realise in the future - with seed funding received from Art Fund.