Black Panthers, Gucci bags, and Hollywood stars: my night at London's strangest art opening

Dear Londoners — the museums are preparing to welcome the summer-holiday goers into their galleries, the theatre producers are working to accommodate the coaches on Shaftesbury Avenue and the publishers — well, it's nearly time for the publishers to put on their out of offices and go on holiday for the rest of summer, as is traditional. But more importantly, it's high time for your next culture edition. Once again, our editor, Hannah, will take you on a no-holds-barred tour of the city's culture goings-on, both good and bad — from the disgraced gallerist who appears to be attempting a career renaissance to a debate over whether people should be making fashion TikToks at an exhibition about the Black Panthers. Enjoy.

Wait, am I the only non-model here?

Some facts I realise perhaps fifteen minutes into the opening event of the exhibition Black Panthers & Revolution: Stephen Shames at Amar Gallery: there is no white wine, only orange; the person glowering from beneath a scuffed-up baseball cap is controversial actor Ezra Miller; I am the only one eating the canapés; and, perhaps most disconcertingly, nearly every other person here is a model, or an actor, or both.

I probably should’ve realised this earlier. Almost everybody in attendance is very tall, very young, their skin clear, the bones in their faces as exquisite and fine as lace. The men dress in expensively cut denim and tasteful Gucci cross-body bags; the women wear short party dresses, heels and tiny, impractical Alaïa shoulder bags, and all are laughing, talking and taking endless videos of each other. I ask three separate people why they came tonight, and get the same answer: “my agent invited me.” It’s a phrase I hear many times throughout the evening.