Happenings sixth annual Monday Muse Dinner at Claridge’s
Monday 4 March marked the sixth edition of the KTW & The Wick annual Monday Muse dinner, held in Claridge’s private dining room and curated by Maison Margaux, with an array guests who out-sparkled in conversation.
A long, long table of influential women in the arts, including artist and stage designer Es Devlin, writer and curator Péjú Oshin, author and academic Emma Dabiri, Director of Chisenhall Gallery Zoe Whitley, former Turner Prize-winner Tai Shani and independent curator Fatoş Üstek, Global Chairman of Phillips Cheyenne Westphal honoured female cultural leaders, game-changers and future thinkers, driving positive change.
Syncing with International Women’s Day, and this year’s theme ‘Inspire Inclusivity,’ the Monday Muse dinner developed its own narrative. Founder of KTW and The Wick Katy Wickremesinghe chose to recast the theme as ‘Belonging,’ speaking over dinner about her own strong feeling of belonging to and love for London, her diverse home town, as a Londoner with dual British and Sri Lankan heritage.
The evening began with a champagne reception in The Painter’s Room, an elegant space wrapped in art and design history. Created by interior designer Bryan O’Sullivan, the Art Deco style room, with its gorgeous bar, a sweep of soft rose quartz, features a striking monochrome mural of cavorting characters punctuated by vibrant stained glass panels, by British artist, sculptor and previous Monday Muse Annie Morris.
Morris herself was deep in convo with the Hayward Gallery’s new Chief Curator Rachel Thomas and Evening Standard Culture Editor Nancy Durrant as the guests mingled before dinner. Designer Lara Bohinc MBE, curator Fru Tholstrup, gallerist Kate McCarry and artist Martha Freud were amongst, alongside the Black Cultural Archives Lisa Anderson, musician Bishi and CEO of Walpole Helen Brocklebank.
The dinner was held Claridge’s private dining room curated by Maison Margaux. The table was adorned with pretty spring tulips by Rob Van Helden, and the menus for the evening were printed with a glorious artwork ‘A Gelato Kiss’ by Sinta Tantra.
The menu? Artichoke salad, Herefordshire beef fillet, and a vanilla caramel mille-feuille delighted all and Emma Dabiri stood to deliver a beautiful speech on the subject of belonging, that resonated deeply. “I grew up in an environment where my belonging was always contested,” she said. “The power and the role of the arts in facilitating belonging, I really strongly feel cannot be underestimated.”
Katy Wickremesinghe also shared her reflections on a decade of the initiative Monday Muse and two years of The Wick, amplifying the importance of a sense of community and empowerment among women in the creative industries.
“We’ve committed our time to connecting the culturally curious,” she said. “That means forging new connections, new conversations, cross pollinating industries and …. I think we can create a community and work together which is incredibly powerful.”
Following Katy’s address, the evening segued into igniting ideas, and reinforcing camaraderie and each guest left with a copy of Emma Dabiri’s book, Disobedient Bodies as well as the signature Wick blue candles, for guests to continue lighting up their worlds with arts and culture.
