CHARLIE SMITH LONDON is a project based contemporary art gallery with a rigorously curatorial ethos. The gallery presents multiple curated exhibitions and initiatives and places work in prominent private collections globally. Established in 2007 by Zavier Ellis, CHARLIE SMITH LONDON initially curated independent exhibitions and participated in selected international art fairs. The gallery ran a program in a space above The Reliance pub in Shoreditch between October 2009 and January 2021, presenting exactly 100 shows and achieving cult status whilst doing so. During this period Ellis also collaborated with filmmaker Simon Rumley by launching and co-curating THE FUTURE CAN WAIT, an independent museum scale exhibition for emerging to mid-career artists that occurred during Frieze week for 10 years. Between 2011 and 2014 THE FUTURE CAN WAIT was organized by invitation in partnership with Saatchi’s New Sensations. Ellis has also curated exhibitions at museums, galleries and independent locations internationally including Berlin, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Klaipeda, Los Angeles, Naples and Rome.