Great Portland Estates transforms New Bond Street retail space into immersive art exhibition
Great Portland Estates has transformed its retail space at 95 New Bond Street into a temporary immersive art exhibition as part of plans to reinvigorate the central London shopping destination by offering a range of experiences.
The company has worked in partnership with British contemporary artist LUAP on The Unconscious Therapy five-day exhibition, which will be based around LUAP’s signature motif: The Pink Bear. The life-sized teddy bear with magenta pink fur will be represented through unseen photography, paintings, installations, sound and film.
Running from 13 to 17 October during Frieze London, the exhibition will take over all three storeys of the 95 New Bond Street space. Installations will include a room covered in magenta pink fur and, on some days, there will be a live DJ and cocktails and canapés provided by art-led restaurant The Daisy Green Collection.
Great Portland Estates senior portfolio manager Sarah Goldman said: “The world of retail is evolving. Shopping areas are no longer simply places of transaction. They need to offer experiences to draw back footfall. At GPE we want to help lead the retail recovery and are committed to reimagining our spaces to ensure they reflect what today’s consumers want and need. This exhibition is part of that.”
The show will follow LUAP’s exhibit at Fulham Town Hall’s Art in the Age of Now event, which attracted more than 25,000 visitors from across the country earlier this year.
Paul Robinson, aka LUAP, said: “Art will play a key role in helping to fill the voids, both visual and emotional, that have appeared in the past few years. Creativity will bring our high streets back to life. With this exhibition at 95 New Bond Street, I wanted to demonstrate the creative potential that retail spaces can have.”
