Cheer up Londoners, art school graduates have never had it so 'rosy'

Is London really so bad for artists? At a panel discussion organised by Create London last night (2 December), leading cultural figures debated whether the capital’s days as a creative leader were over. While the majority of the panellists bemoaned the cost of living and lack of funding in London, Niru Ratnam, the director of START Art Fair, disagreed. “The art world is much rosier for artists coming out of schools right now. There are lots of rich people with cash for the market,” he said. The audience gasped, but Ratnam went on to say that high-net-worth individuals, the same people who are buying luxury properties in the capital, also fund some of the most exciting works. His controversial comments came in response to discussions about artists being out-priced out of London due to the rapid gentrification of the city. The London-based artist Adham Faramawy, also on the panel, responded to Ratnam’s remarks saying: “While I like you as a person, I’m disgusted by everything that you’ve just said.” Ratnam later tweeted: “Well I think that went well apart from my panellists saying they were deeply depressed by what I was saying.”