Art Map London; art community, gallery reviews, and creative opportunities in London

This month CuratorSpace speaks with Jenny Judova from Art Map London. We find out how and why she set it up, what services the organisation offers artists to artists and curators, what their plans are for the future, and how you can get involved.

What is Art Map Map London?

“Art Map is now a peer-to-peer professional development network for artists and curators, but it originally started as an art events listing website.

“Before moving to London I lived in Glasgow which has an incredibly active art scene. Most of the galleries synchronise their private viewings, and every month you have the same crowd going from one opening to another. Even if you do not really know anyone there is a sense of community.

“In Glasgow going to gallery events became my lifestyle, but when I moved to London I found out that there wasn’t a similar resource for private views. It was also a shock to realise that, because there are so many galleries in London, there isn’t the same sense of community I had encountered in Glasgow. In London it is just a bunch of strangers going from one private view to another.

“I set up Art Map to fill these gaps and try to bring some of what I had experienced in Glasgow to the streets of London. Artist and curators started flocking to Art Map and it quickly evolved from a listings website into a peer-to-peer professional development network with, at its core, the idea of art events and viewings as places where artists and curators can develop and network.”

Who are the people behind it?

“Art Map started of with just me and my laptop. The plan was that I would run a blog while I looked for a job after my postgraduate degree. Eventually, it became obvious that a blog was not enough for what Art Map was becoming, so digital director, Adrian Raudaschl joined the team. A few months after that the third member of the core team, Bhavani Esapathi, joined to take over our social media.

“The core team Art Map consists of three people, but we expand when we are working on big projects. At the biggest the team consisted of eleven people, now we have down-sized to six.“

What made you decide to set it up?

“I was not ready to give up my lifestyle of going to art events I had in Glasgow and, like the best of projects, Art Map started to fulfil my own personal needs. Currently I go to around 3 or 4 events each week; it’s a massive part of my life and, thankfully, my job.”

What are your plans for the future?

“Our biggest project in the works at the moment is Gallery Guide London. We realised that there is no industry specific guide for Galleries and Museums in London, as all London gallery guides are written for tourists. We are asking artist and curators based in London to vote for their favourite galleries, and are interviewing the top 70 for the publication.

“So far it has been an absolutely amazing journey. The book will be published as an analogue book, and e-book, and as an app. Keep an eye out for it!”

How do people join/get involved with Art Map London?

“The best way is to come to one of our events and to say ‘hi’. Email works too, or you could also become a member.

“We do a lot of shout outs to the community; especially if we have any opportunities arising. From now on we will also be listing any opportunities on CuratorSpace.”

Find out more

For more information on joining Art Map London go to http://artmaplondon.com/artmap/free-spaces/membership-account/membership-levels/

You can email Art Map London at info@artmaplondon.co.uk

Keep an eye out for Art Map opportunities listed on CuratorSpace.

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