On June 23, Kensington Gardens once again became the setting for one of the cultural calendar’s most anticipated gatherings as the Serpentine Summer Party returned for its 2026 edition. The annual fundraiser, Serpentine’s most important event of the year, brought together artists, architects, filmmakers, designers, philanthropists, and cultural leaders for an evening centered around this year’s Pavilion commission by Mexico City–based LANZA Atelier.
Isabel Abascal and Alessandro Arienzo of LANZA atelier. Photo: © Pia Riverola.
Hosted by Michael R. Bloomberg, Chairman of Serpentine’s Board of Trustees, alongside CEO Bettina Korek and Artistic Director Hans Ulrich Obrist, the evening also welcomed co-hosts Salma Hayek Pinault, Alfonso Cuarón, and Alejandro González Iñárritu. Together, they helped celebrate a summer program that continues Serpentine’s commitment to presenting ambitious contemporary art while remaining free and accessible to the public.
A Celebration Centered on LANZA atelier’s Pavilion
Serpentine Pavilion 2026, ‘a serpentine’, designed by LANZA atelier, founded by Isabel Abascal and Alessandro Arienzo. Aerial view © LANZA atelier. Photo: Iwan Baan. Courtesy Serpentine.
At the heart of the evening stood a serpentine, the 2026 Serpentine Pavilion designed by LANZA atelier. Built from a rhythmic arrangement of brick columns that shift between openness and enclosure, the structure creates a dialogue between Mexico and London while referencing the historic brick architecture of Serpentine South.
Serpentine Pavilion, 2026, Exterior View, courtesy of Serpentine.
This year’s gathering also marked an evolution in the relationship between the Pavilion and the Summer Party. For the first time, the Pavilion architects collaborated with an artist to help shape the event itself through creative commissions, culinary experiences, and artistic interventions.
Guests explored the Pavilion alongside highlights of Serpentine’s summer exhibitions, including presentations by Cecily Brown and David Hockney, as well as Jesús Rafael Soto’s immersive public artwork Pénétrable BBL Jaune, which invited visitors to move through a suspended field of vibrant yellow strands.
Reflecting on the significance of the commission, Salma Hayek Pinault noted the importance of Latin American voices within global culture, while Cuarón praised the Pavilion’s ability to merge space, light, and structure into a living experience. Alejandro González Iñárritu highlighted the dialogue between Mexican and British traditions embedded within the architecture, describing the Pavilion as a meeting point between cultures.
A Global Guest List Across Art, Fashion, and Entertainment
LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 23: (L to R) Oliver Cheshire, Jessie Ware and Pixie Lott attend The Serpentine Summer Party 2026 at Serpentine South on June 23, 2026 in London, England.
Photo Credit: Dave Benett.
The Serpentine Summer Party has long been known for bringing together an extraordinary cross-section of creative industries, and this year was no exception. Guests included artists Anish Kapoor, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Wolfgang Tillmans, Alex Israel, Francesco Vezzoli, Marc Quinn, and Yinka Shonibare alongside architects Maya Lin, Es Devlin, Ron Arad, Lina Ghotmeh, and Sumayya Vally.
The worlds of fashion and entertainment were equally well represented. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Alexa Chung, Sienna Miller, Maya Jama, Naomie Harris, Marisa Tomei, Michael B. Jordan, Jeff Goldblum, Rebel Wilson, Richard E. Grant, Jessie Ware, Peter Gabriel, and Caroline Polachek were among those in attendance.
LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 23: Adwoa Aboah and Georgia May Jagger attend The Serpentine Summer Party 2026 at Serpentine South on June 23, 2026 in London, England. Photo Credit: Dave Benett.
LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 23: Salma Hayek attends The Serpentine Summer Party 2026 at Serpentine South on June 23, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Serpentine).
For a second consecutive year, business leader, philanthropist, and arts patron Isha Ambani served as Chair of the Summer Party Host Committee. Ambani’s continued involvement reflects her longstanding support of cultural exchange and public access to the arts, values that align closely with Serpentine’s mission.
The Host Committee also included a notable group of cultural leaders and patrons, among them Adwoa Aboah, Sou Fujimoto, Maja Hoffmann, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Eugenio López, Sumayya Vally, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.
Art, Food, and Performance Shape the Evening
Laila Gohar, Rafael Prieto; Photo by BFA, Courtesy of Serpentine.
Throughout the night, artist and culinary creative Laila Gohar transformed the experience of gathering into an artwork of its own. Inspired by the Pavilion’s spiraling form, Gohar’s culinary program unfolded as a sequence of shared moments centered around ingredients with deep cultural resonance, including corn, tamales, chocolate, mole, hibiscus, mango, and guava.
The evening also featured Gohar’s installation The Weight of Air, created in collaboration with Serpentine and inspired by Indian textiles, movement, and craft traditions. Commissioned in recognition of Isha Ambani’s ongoing efforts to champion Indian art and design globally, the installation introduced silk forms that responded to air and motion, creating a poetic visual language throughout the celebration.
Music carried guests through the night with performances by DJ Wolfram Amadeus, DJ Carlita, and Danny L Harle. Mariachi Las Adelitas added another memorable layer to the festivities, bringing warmth and spontaneity through an acoustic performance that underscored the evening’s celebration of cultural exchange.
More than a social event, the Serpentine Summer Party remains a vital fundraiser supporting the institution’s year-round exhibitions, education initiatives, public art projects, and interdisciplinary programming. Against the backdrop of LANZA atelier’s Pavilion, the 2026 edition demonstrated how architecture, art, food, music, and community can come together to create a singular cultural experience—one that continues to define Serpentine’s role at the center of contemporary culture.
LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 23: (L to R) Wretch 32, Nabhaan Rizwan and Foday Dumbuya attend The Serpentine Summer Party 2026 at Serpentine South on June 23, 2026 in London, England.
Photo Credit: Dave Benett.
Serpentine Pavilion, 2026, Interior View, courtesy of Serpentine.
