Avivson Gallery opened on Highgate High Street in June 2018, the third gallery space founded by Janus Avivson, who has organised contemporary art exhibitions across Europe since 1967, in cities including Krakow, Aarhus, Stockholm and Paris before settling in London. The gallery runs a rolling programme of exhibitions by contemporary artists, mixing painting, sculpture, print and photography, with each show typically running for several weeks before changing over. Avivson set up the space partly in response to the closure of a number of smaller commercial galleries in London, aiming to keep a low-cost, independently run venue where emerging and lesser-known artists could show alongside more established names. The gallery does not represent artists on a permanent roster in the way larger commercial spaces do, instead working exhibition by exhibition. Viewing is free during opening hours, with private viewings arranged around openings, and Avivson is often on site to talk to visitors about the current show.
Surveyed