The Serpentine Summer Party 2024 Featured Judy Chicago’s “Participatory Quilt” and Giant Strawberry Tarts
This year’s Serpentine Summer Party in London brought together everyone from Sadiq Khan to Zadie Smith, Caroline Polachek to Steve McQueen, Yinka Ilori to Charlotte Tilbury, for a Ruinart-fuelled evening in and around the 2024 Serpentine Pavilion.
Designed by Minsuk Cho of Mass Studies and titled “Archipelagic Void,” this summer’s installation is inspired by madang, the open courtyards found at the center of traditional Korean homes, and consists of five “islands” radiating out from a “void” at its center. There’s “Gallery,” filled with piped-in recordings taken in Kensington Gardens and fused with Korean vocals by composer Jang Young-gyu; “Tea House,” which nods to the Serpentine South building’s original function as a tearoom; and “The Library of Unread Books,” filled with never-before-opened volumes by artist Heman Chong and archivist Renée Staal. Equally interactive is “Play Tower,” which encourages visitors to climb its fluoro orange netting, and “Auditorium,” intended to serve as a gathering and performance space.
Co-hosts Peggy Gou, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Venus Williams led the arrivals on the night, with guests invited to pose in front of Judy Chicago’s “What if Women Ruled the World? Participatory Quilt,” featuring Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova—on display as part of Serpentine North’s monograph Judy Chicago: Revelations, open through September. DJ Soulscape, Gilles Peterson, and Más Tiempo provided the soundtrack for the evening, while Notting Hill’s Farmacy served dishes based around produce from its biodynamic farm in Kent and Spring’s Skye Gyngell dreamed up desserts with a Korean inflection and adorned with blossoms.
As ever, of course, fashion was also central to the evening, with British designers attending alongside their muses. See all of the best looks from the night, here.
