Nahmad Projects: Mayfair’s New Performance Art Space

Nahmad Projects is an initiative launched by London-based gallerist Joseph Nahmad, the latest member of the Nahmad art dynasty to set up a space in the city. In collaboration with former Sotheby’s coordinator Tommaso Calabro the gallery sets out to bring a radical change to Mayfair’s contemporary art scene. Through a programme of multidisciplinary exhibitions, from performances to site-specific art installations, the new space aims to contribute to contemporary culture by investigating and challenging the boundaries of contemporary art practice.

The young scion is filling the shoes of his brother Helly Nahmad who used to occupy the Cork Street space and has moved his own gallery, Helly Nahmad London, to St James’s Square. Emerging and established artists from around the world, together with leading international curators will be invited to reflect upon the most pressing issues surrounding contemporary art today.

For the inaugural exhibition, Nahmad chose to present a selection of innovative performance artists. Francesco Bonami, art critic and curator, developed a programme of artists whose work is inspired by the renowned performance artist Tino Sehgal, famously known for his “constructed situations”. Earlier this summer, 20 artists were invited to perform over a 30 day period for an exhibition entitled, “I am NOT Tino Sehgal.” Each day a different artist utilised the space, presenting time-based performance works, rather unusually for a Mayfair gallery.

Nahmad Projects – 2 Cork Street, London W1S 3LB

Text by Tamara Akcay