Antesala Brings Latin American Voices to London's Fitzrovia

A New Platform for Latin American Art

London's Fitzrovia district will welcome Antesala this October, a commercial venture that seeks to address what its founder sees as a significant gap in the city's cultural landscape. The space, occupying the first floor of a mid-century industrial building in Tottenham Mews, represents a hybrid approach to exhibiting work from Latin American artists.

Flavia Nespatti, a Brazilian-born collector and patron, established the project after identifying what she describes as a lack of nuanced representation for Latin American art in the UK. "The region is often treated as one homogeneous entity," she notes, "yet it encompasses vastly different artistic traditions and histories."

Hybrid Model, Clear Purpose

Unlike traditional galleries, Antesala will not represent artists directly. Instead, it operates as a collaborative platform working with existing galleries, foundations and artists to present selling exhibitions spanning both primary and secondary markets. The model combines flat fees with commission structures, tailored to each participating client.

Nespatti emphasises the commercial reality of the venture: "This must pay for itself. I don't have the resources to run a private foundation."

The space will also house an advisory service for collectors and institutions, many of whom Nespatti suggests view Latin American art as something of a blind spot. Gallery partnerships will focus initially on those based in Latin America and Europe, with plans to collaborate with established London dealerships such as The Mayor Gallery.

Building on Community Foundations

The project evolved from Anteroom, an informal salon series Nespatti organised for unrepresented artists. Her motivation stemmed partly from observing how intimidating traditional gallery spaces could be for emerging practitioners. "Many of my friends were terrified about entering white cube environments," she recalls.

Nespatti's own journey into collecting began just over a decade ago following a 15-year career in equities sales and time spent in Madrid. Returning to London, she pursued consecutive degrees at the Courtauld Institute, focusing particularly on revolutionary art movements in Latin America and Eastern Europe. This academic work illuminated aspects of her own upbringing across South America, including Brazil and Venezuela, where political realities were rarely discussed openly.

Programming and Partnerships

Antesala joins a growing cluster of London spaces championing under-represented voices, including Ibraaz's Global Majority initiative and YDP's focus on Sinophone art. Nespatti sees this concentration as reflective of London's unique character: "The city has an inherent appetite for the unknown."

Despite concerns about Brexit's impact on London's international standing, Nespatti has demonstrated her commitment through property acquisition: "Buying the entire building is me reifying my commitment to this city."

The inaugural exhibition will examine drawing practices across generations of Latin American artists, featuring works by Gego and Mira Schendel among others. Future programming includes an archival project developed with Chile's Il Posto foundation.

Laura González, senior director and co-runner of Antesala, brings extensive experience from her role founding Phillips' Latin American department in New York in 2011. Together, the team aims to foster meaningful connections between Latin American artistic production and London's collecting community.

Nespatti's previous support for Latin American art in the UK includes funding the Barbican's survey of Beatriz González and various projects at Nottingham Contemporary, where she observed genuine community engagement during Alan Weber's 2025 exhibition examining the city's Brazilian delivery driver population.