Tiwani Contemporary to Close After 15 Years as London Market Pressure Deepens
Tiwani Contemporary, the London gallery that became a key platform for artists from Africa and the diaspora, will close after 15 years. Founded by Maria Varnava in 2011, the gallery built a reputation for identifying artists early and helping bring them into wider view across the British art scene.
In a statement posted to Instagram, Varnava said the decision was driven by “the current economic climate and the shifting landscape of the London art market.” She described the move as painful but necessary, adding that the gallery’s London space closed today. The Lagos gallery, which opened in 2022, will also stop operating in its current form as the business restructures in the months ahead.
The closure is notable not only because Tiwani was one of the few highly visible European galleries with a stated focus on the African diaspora, but also because it had a track record of supporting artists before they became widely known. Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Simone Leigh were included in a two-person exhibition in 2013, while Barbara Walker had a solo show that same year, years before her Turner Prize nomination. Manuel Mathieu also had one of his first significant gallery exhibitions there in 2017.
The gallery’s roster also included Joy Labinjo and Emma Prempeh, both of whom benefited from its platform, as well as Theo Eshetu, who had three exhibitions with the gallery, and Zina Saro-Wiwa, who had a solo show and another exhibition she curated. Other artists who showed with Tiwani included Maren Hassinger, Virginia Chihota, Penny Siopis, Michaela Yearwood-Dan, Dawit L. Petros, and Pamela Phatismo Sunstrum.
Tiwani’s closure comes amid broader strain in the commercial gallery sector. It is the second major London gallery to shut in the past year, following Stephen Friedman Gallery, which closed in February after going into administration. For London, the loss is more than another market casualty: it marks the end of a gallery that helped shape how African and diasporic artists were presented to collectors and institutions alike.
