Overview

The Louise Blouin Foundation is one of the largest non-government funded, not-for-profit cultural spaces in London. The Foundation features exhibitions of both established and emerging international contemporary artists alongside a lively programme of lectures and events. Since 2005 the Foundation has hosted a series of contemporary art exhibitions around the theme of cultural dialogue at its exhibition space in Holland Park, London. The Foundation has featured renowned Chinese artist Wang Guangyi, installation artists Gary Hill and Gary Judah, as well as submissions to the Kandinsky Prize, a competition for emerging Russian artists. In January 2009, the Foundation organized ART+HOPE, a project in collaboration with artist Ross Bleckner and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, to provide art-based therapy to former child soldiers in Northern Uganda. Other Foundation initiatives include Bring Back New Orleans, a research effort that enabled the city of New Orleans to obtain a $300 million federal earmark for development of the city’s cultural sector; the commission of a research report by the OECD on the contribution of cultural industries to national economies entitled, International Measurement of the Economic and Social Importance of Culture; and support for A Soldier’s Tale, a theatre production by Iraqi and British actors in London’s Old Vic Theatre.

The Philosophy

The philosophy of the Foundation is experimentation, questioning, debate, and learning, and there are two focuses of activity. The first is to present the work of individual artists through temporary exhibitions, installations, performances and screenings. We also promote a lively programme of events such as lectures, debates, workshops, think tanks and summits related to the Foundation’s areas of interest.