EDITOR’S LETTER
Welcome to The Wick
Dear Culturally Curious,
There are ladies in red and now there is the Lady in Blue – with Tschabalala Self’s newest Fourth Plinth commission Lady in Blue unveiled in Trafalgar Square by Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture & Creative Industries. The ‘Everywoman’ is turning heads in bright bold ambition and might make you dance in the streets – she has already sparked lots of conversation about the role of sculpture in the city.
In less pretty news, on the other side of the pond, Smithsonian’s leader is to resign amid escalating attacks from the White House about how the institution presents American history and values. After a seven-year run Lonnie G. Bunch III, 73, announced on Tuesday that he was stepping down. In an interview with NYT, Mr. Bunch said it was not the pressure but admitted that the period had been stressful.
Can design be transformative? That was the criterion that led to the selection of the winners of the 2026 London Design Medals as the London Design Festival prepares to kick off (12–20 September), with Jonathan Anderson, Sir Christopher Frayling, Anab Jain and Solveiga Pakštaitė picking up the design accolades. They were selected by a jury of global creatives led by the festival’s director Ben Evans CBE and will be celebrated at RH London on 14 September.
This week I had the privilege to chair the Hospital Rooms 10 Year Anniversary conversation with co-founder Niamh White MBE and artist Alberta Whittle at Host | Guest at Victoria Miro ahead of the charity’s 10 year anniversary auction at Bonhams next week. The charity has been committed to transforming NHS Mental Healthcare wards, please do take the time to explore and if you are not in the market to collect definitely nab an anniversary poster for £100 from: Grayson Perry, Chantal Joffe, Celia Paul, Jules de Balincourt.
Check out the lots on Bonhams and start bidding to support Hospital Rooms’ Future Fund, helping to expand the charity’s pioneering work to increase access to artist-led projects and creative programmes within mental health settings across the UK. We are eyeing up Nengi Omuku’s wall work and Victoria Cantons fruit.
With the season upon us diaries are being marked, FROW & Frieze – the hot ticket being the new Coco / Koko Chanel Beauty house crushing it with Coco Mademoiselle. London Fashion Week is afoot but alongside catwalks, we are heading to Selfridge’s to check out Paul Smith and his Corner Shop, we might take a sneaky detour via the new M&S Pantheon for some frieze cheat outfits.
Happy weekend from Katy and the KTW Family.
Katy
There are ladies in red and now there is the Lady in Blue – with Tschabalala Self’s newest Fourth Plinth commission Lady in Blue unveiled in Trafalgar Square by Justine Simons OBE, Deputy Mayor for Culture & Creative Industries. The ‘Everywoman’ is turning heads in bright bold ambition and might make you dance in the streets – she has already sparked lots of conversation about the role of sculpture in the city.
In less pretty news, on the other side of the pond, Smithsonian’s leader is to resign amid escalating attacks from the White House about how the institution presents American history and values. After a seven-year run Lonnie G. Bunch III, 73, announced on Tuesday that he was stepping down. In an interview with NYT, Mr. Bunch said it was not the pressure but admitted that the period had been stressful.
Can design be transformative? That was the criterion that led to the selection of the winners of the 2026 London Design Medals as the London Design Festival prepares to kick off (12–20 September), with Jonathan Anderson, Sir Christopher Frayling, Anab Jain and Solveiga Pakštaitė picking up the design accolades. They were selected by a jury of global creatives led by the festival’s director Ben Evans CBE and will be celebrated at RH London on 14 September.
This week I had the privilege to chair the Hospital Rooms 10 Year Anniversary conversation with co-founder Niamh White MBE and artist Alberta Whittle at Host | Guest at Victoria Miro ahead of the charity’s 10 year anniversary auction at Bonhams next week. The charity has been committed to transforming NHS Mental Healthcare wards, please do take the time to explore and if you are not in the market to collect definitely nab an anniversary poster for £100 from: Grayson Perry, Chantal Joffe, Celia Paul, Jules de Balincourt.
Check out the lots on Bonhams and start bidding to support Hospital Rooms’ Future Fund, helping to expand the charity’s pioneering work to increase access to artist-led projects and creative programmes within mental health settings across the UK. We are eyeing up Nengi Omuku’s wall work and Victoria Cantons fruit.
With the season upon us diaries are being marked, FROW & Frieze – the hot ticket being the new Coco / Koko Chanel Beauty house crushing it with Coco Mademoiselle. London Fashion Week is afoot but alongside catwalks, we are heading to Selfridge’s to check out Paul Smith and his Corner Shop, we might take a sneaky detour via the new M&S Pantheon for some frieze cheat outfits.
Happy weekend from Katy and the KTW Family.
Katy
Objects of Desire
Object Plinth Round Set of 2 Coffee Tables in Blue Gloss and Oak by MADE x Barbican
Monday Muse
Interview “Public Art Belongs to Everyone”: Jo Baxendale on How Art Changes a City
Spotlight
Spotlight Valerie Amani’s Art Gives Folklore a Contemporary Life
Video Interviews
Interview The Wick x The Long Now
Visual Arts
