If you’ve sat in a Soho House and mentally redesigned your own home, Kate Bryan, the group’s Global Director of Art, is chiefly responsible. She doesn’t just contribute to the look of each House; she adds soul, sourcing work from artists with a strong connection to the locale, giving guests an immersive feel. She might work with a collection the size of several museums (she’s sourced well over 8,000 pieces), but this art is far from static, enhancing the revelry that goes on around it.
Throughout her varied career, Bryan has curated Renaissance art in The British Museum, dabbled in dealing, spotlit dynamic female artists on the Sky Arts TV show My Week With… while living in Rome, and recently authored How to Art in collaboration with David Shrigley. Her work with Soho House takes her all over the world, so her travel tips are as trustworthy as her eye.
When curating for a new Soho House, how do you translate the spirit of a destination into an experience that resonates with a global audience?
We work hard to build collections that say something about the place where they will be exhibited. We typically stick to the remit of born, based or trained in the city — this allows us to show contemporary art that speaks of the environment and community. When our members travel to new destinations, we know they love this local-first approach; from the membership to the menu to the art to the interior design.
How do you balance personal taste with relevance and nuance when curating for such a diverse community like Soho House?
We are always looking for a wide array of art — different styles, materials and types of artists, whether emerging or established. Naturally, within that there will be pieces that speak to me personally, which I’d love to own, too; and others that I know are incredibly cool and representative of say, Mexico City, which we just have to acquire.
How do you approach storytelling through curation, especially given that in private members’ clubs, the artwork has to inspire while also fitting into a particular aesthetic?
Storytelling is something that matters to all of us who work on the collection (I have three exceptional colleagues), and we think all the time about how to pull out ideas and themes. Sometimes they’re very subtle, sometimes more direct when we create a thematic space like the Rose Room in Portland (known as the ‘City of Roses’), which mixes various artworks all playing with the idea of the rose.
Tell us about the collaborative process between you, Soho Home designers, the Culinary and Health & Wellness Directors and fellow collaborators when conceiving the look and feel of a new Soho House.
I love my colleagues, especially the design team who we work closely with. That said, we have to maintain a certain separation so that the art doesn’t get subsumed into a design concept. We take an ‘art first’ approach — if it happens to look great with a sofa then fine, but it’s always art first. The things we talk more about are quite practical: where are the best art spots, what to do about lighting, can I do a mural here and so on.
What has been your biggest coup when sourcing artwork/artists?
It was very exciting to get [US contemporary artist] Shepard Fairey to make a large-scale mural for Soho Warehouse in LA. We knew we needed street art in that location; he was the only artist I wanted, and he really delivered.
Which are the most unique/unusual pieces across the houses’ collections?
Probably David Shrigley’s swimming pool in Brighton Beach House. It’s a curved pool and he created a mosaic that depicts a giant yellow banana against a blue background, with text along the pool edge that reads, ‘The moment has arrived: the banana is ripe’.
Which under-the-radar artists are you most excited about right now?
So many, but today I will say Jayne Simpson who we just acquired for Soho House Manchester. I met her in artist-curator Lubaina Himid’s building and was instantly drawn to her work, which is so full of pathos and energy.
Can you tell us about plans you have for the collections at any soon-to-open houses?
[We’re opening] our third House in Barcelona, so it’s great to go back and reconnect with old friends like Bernat Daviu and his gallery Bombon Projects, and include exciting new talent like Eva Fàbregas and Chidy Wayne.
Have you experienced any organic, off-the-cuff creative moments while working for Soho House?
We have an ongoing ‘exquisite corpse’ drawing — a Surrealist game where you fold paper and a different artist creates the next section blindly. I can’t wait to show it; the works have been made across various artist dinners for the past two years.
What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken in your career, and what did it teach you about yourself?
Quitting a job which I was unhappy in — not enough time with artists and too much time spent with endless meetings and budgets. It taught me that quitting can be powerful, and the next job I took was this one. It’s been nine years, and I still count my blessings.
Which artworks would you love to hang in your own home and why?
I’d take any Vincent van Gogh for my bedroom, an Eva Hesse to hang from my lounge ceiling, a Shrigley pool for my tiny garden and a Jeffrey Gibson textile for above the fireplace, please.
What does ‘good taste’ mean to you now?
I talk about the idea of taste and ‘getting one’s eye in’ in [my upcoming book] How To Art. It’s a subject fraught with elitism and snobbery. I’m more interested in authentic connections with art than the concept of taste.
How To Art looks at the accessibility of art — in what ways do you think art can become more attainable to a wider, more diverse audience?
I think people have a collective art anxiety. We all know how to claim books, movies or even good food as our own, but so many people will say something like, ‘I love David Hockney — I mean, I don’t know anything about art, but I do’. You would never say, ‘I love Coldplay, but I don’t know anything about music’.
There is some kind of expectation that you need to know an awful lot about art to be able to talk about it, or go see it, or buy it or — heaven forbid — make it! We all made art as children, and the only way we can communicate with our earliest ancestors is through paintings they made in caves 40,000 years ago. It is absurd to me and completely unfair; we all deserve to have art as an enriching and joyful part of our life. My book, illustrated by David Shrigley, is on a mission to help people do just that.
If you were taking an art trip around the world, which three destinations would be on your route and why?
Los Angeles, as I love its mega museums and the epic studio visits I make while there. Mexico City, where it feels like art is a part of everyday life and where I have never had so much fun building a collection. And Berlin — it’s an endless paradise for artists, full of contradictions and a real mix of the high and the low.
How has your own experience of travel shaped the way you see, collect and curate art?
I get real inspiration from travelling; my entire career is predicated on understanding a place through its art scene. I am always chatting with artists, gallerists, collectors, writers and so on. I feel like a professional art gossip and try to write it all down on my plane journeys home — it’s a high I’d love to bottle. The closest thing to getting that feeling is seeing all the works finally on the walls.
Kate Bryan’s book How To Art is out 18 September 2025. Have your own art-led adventure (or perhaps a global hotel-hop) with our collection of Soho House hotels
Kate Bryan was photographed by Tara Sood at Shoreditch House