London Burning Portraits from a Creative City

Hossein Amirsadeghi, Maryam Eisler

An exploration of the personalities, diversity, and pulsing energy that make London an international hub for creativity and innovation

London Burning celebrates Britain’s capital as today’s international headquarters for creativity and innovation. The book features more than 100 new interviews and hundreds of specially commissioned photographs that introduce creative personalities young and old, highbrow and populist, Establishment figures and newbies, set against the variegated scenes they inhabit.

Tracing the city’s sparking of change across architecture, cinema, theatre, literature, dance, fashion, media, music, technology, design, and the visual and culinary arts, London Burning also explores the dynamics that have always underpinned the city’s creative scene and the forces behind the city’s unique drive.

The book draws on a broad spectrum of people in the public eye and behind the scenes, among them Nicholas Serota, Director of Tate; sculptor Antony Gormley; Alastair Spalding, Chief Executive of Sadler’s Wells; artists Gilbert & George; Alan Yentob, Creative Director of the BBC; director Guy Ritchie; Matthew Slotover, the founder of Frieze Art Fair; groundbreaking chefs Fergus Henderson and Ruthie Rogers; British Vogue Editor Alexandra Shulman; critic Jackie Wullschlager; artist and Reith Lecturer Grayson Perry; conceptual guru Hans Ulrich Obrist and many more.

London Burning brings this powerful creative center to life through the eyes of its most influential and innovative denizens.

Reviews

The book - which has been expertly edited by Hossein Amirsadeghi and features an essay by Gregor Muir, director of London's ICA - also gives insights on the tribal dynamics and unique drive that underpin the city's creative landscape.

— Artnet

Contributors

Hossein Amirsadeghi

Edited By

Hossein Amirsadeghi is a writer, publisher, editor and documentary film maker, and the driving force behind many books, including Sanctuary: Britain’s Artists and their Studios, Art Studio America, Nordic Contemporary, and Contemporary Art Mexico.

Maryam Eisler

Edited By

Maryam Eisler holds a BA from Wellesley College (where she is a trustee) and an MBA from Columbia University. She has had executive editorial roles on publications including Unleashed: Contemporary Art from Turkey, Art and Patronage: The Middle East, Sanctuary: Britain’s Artists and their Studios, and Art Studio America: Contemporary Artist Spaces. Eisler is a member of the Tate International Council, a trustee of the Whitechapel Gallery and co-chair of Tate’s MENAAC acquisitions committee.