In London, from October 16 to 19, 2025, coinciding with Frieze, the first edition of Echo Soho, an independent art fair dedicated to galleries directed by women, will be held. Conceived by India Rose James, founder of the gallery Soho Revue, the event will take place in the spaces of the Artists House, an elegant Georgian building in Soho.
With an agile and selected format, which will include 12 exhibitors, Echo Soho is created to offer a platform to emerging galleries and underrepresented artistic voices. The name of the fair is indeed a tribute to the mythological figure of Echo, the nymph condemned to repeat others’ words but here reinterpreted as a symbol of amplification of voices that have so far been unheard.
«I have always wanted to launch a fair and after the support received from fellow gallery owners, I decided it was the right time. Since I have been directing Soho Revue, I know how difficult it is to find space and visibility in the traditional fair system», declared James who, in addition to being a former enfant terrible of posh London, is also the granddaughter and heiress of the wealthy entrepreneur and publisher Paul Raymond, known as the “King of Soho” and famous for opening the first London strip club.
The initiative is part of a renewed wave of “alternative” fairs that complement more institutional events: from Minor Attractions in London, to Basel Social Club in Basel, up to Esther in New York. But it is not the first time that a fair chooses a gender focus: already in 2023, WIAF – Women in Art Fair was launched in London, directed by Jacqueline Harvey, with the declared intent of rebalancing female representation in the art system. In this sense, Echo Soho seems to confirm a trend that focuses on accessibility and collaboration, also shifting towards a more fluid curatorial line compared to the big fairs.
The booths of Echo Soho will be hosted on the first floor of the Artists House, while the ground floor will accommodate a bar and a concept store. The contained costs for the spaces – starting from 850 pounds for 6 square meters – and the included services, such as installation assistance, artwork management, stand photography, shared PR, aim to make participation sustainable even for the smaller entities.
Among the already confirmed exhibitors are galleries such as Pipeline and Gillian Jason Gallery, in addition to the online platform Wondering People and the association AWITA – Association of Women in the Arts, which will present Resonant Spaces: Curating Echoes, a group exhibition born from an open call, set up in the building’s former chapel. The themes? Memory, repetition, feminist leadership, and sound, in harmony with the vocation of the fair.
Echo Soho will also offer workshops, talks, performances, and a special preview hosted by the Contemporary Art Society. As with any respectable fair, there are awards: the Soho House Prize, awarded by Kate Bryan and Jack Lazenby, and the Echo Soho Cass Art Award, which will provide a selected artist with art materials and mentorship with the founder of the art supplies site Cass Art, Mark Cass.
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https://www.echosoho.com/
