The inaugural edition of London Gallery Weekend, a new initiative celebrating art galleries in the UK capital, launches on Friday 4 June 2021. The event runs over three days and features 139 galleries from across the city, beginning with a focus on Central London on Friday, followed by South London on Saturday and culminating on Sunday with galleries in the East End. All participating galleries will be open across the three days, and until 8pm on their respective focus days. Interactive map and curated routes now live

The London Gallery Weekend website, powered by London-based art technology company Artlogic, is now live and includes a new interactive map feature, enabling users to plot their individual route around the city based on their gallery and exhibition preferences. From 3pm today users will also be able to download a series of specially curated routes by leading art world figures including Nicholas Cullinan, Aindrea Emelife and Sarah McCrory. Public programme highlights

Over the course of London Gallery Weekend, participating galleries will stage a public programme of events featuring artists and curators, including exhibition tours, studio visits, book signings and children's events, late openings and performances. L'Épicerie at Claridge’s will serve complimentary coffee and pastries to London Gallery Weekend visitors from 10am-12pm daily.

On Friday, highlights of the programme are to set to include a rare capsule performance of two characters from Jean Dubuffet’s Coucou Bazar outside the entrance of Pace Gallery in Burlington Gardens. Meanwhile, at Thaddaeus Ropac there will be a talk with artist Alvaro Barrington reflecting on the current exhibition Robert Rauschenberg: Night Shades and Phantoms, and on how Rauschenberg has influenced his own artistic practice.

Saturday will see a series of performances by artist Tom Lovelace inside his installation, Bathers, at Sid Motion Gallery, and a conversation with curator Kiki Mazzucchelli to launch The Women’s Century - Female Perspectives in Brazilian Art at Cecilia Brunson Projects.

On Sunday, South African artist Mary Hurrell will stage an audio performance at Nicoletti responding to their exhibition by Hugo Servanin, and artist Claire Hooper will lead a walkthrough of her exhibition at Hollybush Gardens.

Further details about the public programme can be found online here. Children’s guide

London Gallery Weekend has invited the Royal Society of Sculptors to develop a special children’s guide to the event, providing question prompts for children visiting exhibitions at participating galleries including Waddington Custot, Victoria Miro Gallery and White Cube Bermondsey. The guide is available to pick up in the galleries and to download from the London Gallery Weekend website.

New podcast to launchA new London Gallery Weekend podcast series, hosted by Jan Dalley, Arts Editor of the Financial Times, will launch on Thursday 3 June with subsequent episodes to be published at regular intervals throughout the forthcoming year. The magazine-style podcast will feature interviews with gallerists, artists, collectors and curators from across the city, discussing the London gallery scene, trends, art market and more. The podcast will be available to download via the London Gallery Weekend website or your preferred podcast app from 3 June 2021.

The full list of participating galleries and exhibitions can be found on the London Gallery Weekend website.