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Where was your first flat in London? <\/p>\n
A friend\u2019s flat right in the centre in Soho. My mother always said it took her 10 years to really understand LA \u2014 she\u2019d moved there from Chicago \u2014 and I\u2019m only six years into London, so I think of myself as still in the discovery phase. But being thrown straight into the middle of everything, in a city you can actually walk, made me fall for it.<\/p>\n
What was your first job here? <\/p>\n
Before Serpentine, I set up the Los Angeles edition of Frieze Art Fair \u2014 working London hours from LA, so in a way I was half here long before I arrived. I used to stay at the Hotel Caf\u00e9 Royal on Frieze trips, which felt glamorous, and I loved the cheesecake.<\/p>\n
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Hans Ulrich Obrist, Alessandro Arienzo, Isabel Abascal and Bettina Korek at the Serpentine Pavilion<\/p>\n
Getty<\/p>\n
Where would you recommend for a first date?<\/p>\n
Somewhere you can walk, so it can keep going if you want it to. I love Farringdon, you can catch something at the Barbican and then wander off for a doughnut or a glass of wine at St John. And Peckham for the same reason: so many varied options, from something random happening at Copeland Park to the views and art at Bold Tendencies, or Frank\u2019s on the car park roof in summer. There are a zillion little places \u2014 Guacamoles in the market, Hausu (best bathroom in London), C\u00f6\u00f6die cookies, and my soft spot, the Four Quarters arcade bar.<\/p>\n
\u201cLondon is a more extreme version of high and low than LA \u2014 the highs are a lot more intimidating, too\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the best meal you\u2019ve had?<\/p>\n
I met someone very special to me at the River Caf\u00e9 and I am deeply into the pomodoro there. People visiting from LA almost always want to go. Ruthie Rogers is beyond a treasure, and she embodies the idea that sharing food is sharing love. But a couple of weeks later we were sitting on the curb in Soho eating Supernova burgers, and that was just as good. London is a more extreme version of high and low than LA \u2014 the highs are a lot more intimidating, too. I also love Agora in Borough Market, Dover Street Counter, and the chicken pot pie at The Park.<\/p>\n
What would you do if you were Mayor for the day?<\/p>\n
I saw a brilliant presentation by Bompas & Parr about turning London\u2019s empty financial districts into late-night party zones with corporate lobbies as DJ booths, vacant offices as dancefloors, finance by day, rave by night. Cities have to keep reinventing what their spaces are for, and we think the same way about art institutions, which is exactly what we get to experiment with at Serpentine \u2014 supporting artists working on everything from exhibitions to projects that go beyond gallery.<\/p>\n
Who is the most iconic Londoner? <\/p>\n
Virginia Woolf, for the way she saw the city as something you move through and think inside. In her \u201cstreet haunting\u201d essay she invents an errand to buy a pencil just so she can walk London at dusk, and calls rambling the streets the greatest pleasure of town life in winter. The streets of London really are so beautiful \u2014 so different from LA.<\/p>\n
What do you do to have fun? <\/p>\n
I walk! It\u2019s still the thing I find most magical about being here, having grown up in a driving city. The Tube has also grown on me.<\/p>\n
Walking, always. One of the first projects I ever produced was Emi Fontana\u2019s Women in the City with Barbara Kruger and Jenny Holzer, a project built around the idea of the fl\u00e2neur, of moving through a city as a way of seeing it. That idea has stayed with me and I\u2019ve worked with Barbara many times since, from billboards in LA to wrapping cabs in London. London is the first place I\u2019ve lived where I can actually walk like that every day.<\/p>\n
Where do you let your hair down? <\/p>\n
Most recently Lost on Shaftesbury Avenue. It\u2019s a unique vibe. I love that alongside the music they screen classic films, artist projects, vintage commercials\u2026 and it\u2019s good for me to be separated from my phone for once. Also had a really fun night at St Clement, looking forward to more. <\/p>\n
What\u2019s your biggest extravagance?<\/p>\n
Without a doubt, black clothes.<\/p>\n
What are you up to for work? <\/p>\n
We\u2019ve just unveiled the 25th Serpentine Pavilion by LANZA Atelier, alongside exhibitions by Cecily Brown and David Hockney, and we\u2019re heading into our Summer Party with co-hosts Salma Hayek Pinault, Alfonso Cuar\u00f3n and Alejandro Gonz\u00e1lez I\u00f1\u00e1rritu, celebrating Mexican creativity on the global stage.<\/p>\n
![\"Serpentine](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Serpentine-Pavilion-2026_Exterior-View_1_1576-640x427.jpg\")
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Serpentine Pavilion 2026 a serpentine, designed by Isabel Abascal and Alessandro Arienzo<\/p>\n
Iwan Baan<\/p>\n
The Pavilion this year is a bridge between English garden traditions and a contemporary Mexican studio, built in brick. After 25 years, every pavilion is still a miracle!<\/p>\n
Who is your professional hero? <\/p>\n
Hans Ulrich Obrist, with whom I have the privilege of working. His curiosity, energy, enthusiasm and generosity are genuinely boundless. We have a lot of fun.<\/p>\n
What is your favourite work of art in London?<\/p>\n
Right now it\u2019s in our gallery \u2014 A Year in Normandie by David Hockney. A master showing us he can work in any medium, even technology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Where was your first flat in London? A friend\u2019s flat right in the centre in Soho. My mother…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":647185,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,143167,180717,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-647184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-my-london","tag-serpentine","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=647184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647184\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/647185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=647184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=647184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=647184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}