What does art taste like? It's not a question most exhibitions ask. Then again, most exhibitions don't begin with a bottle of exceptionally crafted British rum.
This November, founder Jiggy Rawal and her luxury spirits brand The Curatist are bringing an ambitious new cultural project to Fitzrovia's NoHo Studios, inviting visitors to explore the relationship between art, flavour, sound and design through a four-day immersive residency.
The Curatist has built its reputation on thoughtful curation, and this latest venture feels like a natural evolution of that curatorial instinct. Rather than focusing solely on what's in the glass, The Curatist Residency shifts the spotlight onto the creative process itself, bringing together contemporary artists, musicians and (literal) tastemakers to examine how inspiration can move between disciplines.
The result promises something far more intriguing than a traditional tasting event or gallery exhibition. Instead, visitors are invited into a sensory dialogue where visual art, music, texture, aroma and flavour come together to ask a deceptively simple question: what does art taste like?
Kaitlin West’s surreal, beautiful phantasms
Five Artists, One Blank Canvas
Taking over NoHo Studios at 67 Great Titchfield Street from 3rd to 6th November 2026, The Curatist Residency centres on a single object: the brand's distinctive sculptural ceramic bottle, which Jiggy created to reflect the essence of The Curatist’s brand and to ensure the bottle lived on after it had been happily drunk dry.
Five contemporary artists were each given the same vessel and complete creative freedom to transform it into an original artwork. The brief was intentionally open-ended, allowing each artist to respond through their own creative language and produce something entirely unique.
The participating artists represent a diverse mix of disciplines, styles and perspectives, allowing gallery-goers to dive into the contemporary London arts scene, cocktail in hand and head full of wonders.
Ella Baudinet
The UK-based Australian artist and winner of First Prize for Painting at the XV Florence Biennale 2025 is known for layered oil paintings that inhabit the space between abstraction, realism and surrealism. Her work explores the shifting relationships between figures, memory and atmosphere.
David Buonavaguidi (Hackney Dave)
Ella Baudinet’s immersive abstract oils
One of London's most recognisable contemporary artists, Hackney Dave has built a reputation through his irreverent visual language and unconventional materials. For the residency, he has applied his signature screen-printing techniques to create a characteristically bold interpretation of the bottle.
Kaitlin West
Working with intricate mosaics, glass, beads and gemstones, Kaitlin West brings a richly tactile dimension to the project. Her transformation catches and reflects light across the bottle's sculptural form, encouraging viewers to consider not only the artwork itself but how it interacts with its surroundings.
Kinsley Rigsbey
The self-taught American painter approaches creativity through instinct, experimentation and curiosity. Unbound by traditional conventions, Rigsbey's work embraces risk-taking and spontaneity, qualities that make her contribution particularly suited to the residency's spirit of exploration.
Kate Mayer
A finalist in the 2025 VAA Artist of the Year awards, London-based abstract painter Kate Mayer completes the lineup. Her circular, multi-layered artwork responds directly to an original soundscape created by musician Satin Beige, creating a fascinating conversation between visual art and music.
Where Art Meets Taste
While the exhibition provides the visual centrepiece, The Curatist Residency extends beyond what visitors see while winding their way around the bottles on display.
Throughout the four-day event, guests will be invited to experience how flavour can become another artistic medium – one that interacts with the senses, evoking emotion and memory, and telling immersive stories of its own heritage, provenance and creation. Specially curated serves and tasting experiences have been developed in response to the individual works, translating colours, textures, moods and creative ideas into liquid form.
It's an approach that feels increasingly relevant in a cultural landscape where the most compelling experiences rarely fit neatly into a single category. Art no longer exists solely on canvas, and food, drink, music and design are becoming part of the same conversation, creating richer and more immersive ways of engaging with creativity.
The Curatist Residency embraces that idea wholeheartedly, and whether you're drawn by the artwork or intrigued by the tasting experiences (or simply curious to see how five artists respond to the same creative challenge), the residency offers a rare opportunity to experience contemporary art through multiple senses at once.
Planning Your Visit
Location: NoHo Studios, 67 Great Titchfield Street, Fitzrovia, London W1W 7PT
Dates: Tuesday 3rd November to Friday 6th November 2026
Opening Hours: 10am to 4pm daily
Admission: Free entry, with advance booking required
Experience Packages:
Neat Tasting Experience: £25
Bespoke Cocktail Flight: £45
In a city never short of exhibitions or tasting events, The Curatist Residency stands out by refusing to be either. Instead, it occupies the fascinating space between the two, inviting visitors to consider how creativity can be seen, heard, felt and, perhaps most intriguingly of all, tasted.
To reserve your place or book a tasting experience, visit The Curatist.
