Artist Henry Hudson
Photo: Robin Friend. Copyright of TransGlobe Publishing

London-based creatives might be struggling with ballooning rents and property prices, but there’s little doubt about the enduring status of the British capital as one of the biggest and most exciting art hubs in the world.

Uber-curator and Serpentine Galleries co-director Hans Ulrich Obrist
Photo: Andrea Hamilton. Copyright of TransGlobe Publishing

London Burning, Portraits from a Creative City, a handsome coffee-table volume published by Thames and Hudson, has researched and documented the most important players in the cultural life of the city across the fields of art, architecture, cinema, theater, literature, dance, fashion, media, music, technology, design, and gastronomy.

Tate director Nicholas Serota
Photo: Andrea Hamilton. Copyright of TransGlobe Publishing

But London Burning is not just a directory of who’s who in the city’s cultural scene. The book—which has been expertly edited by Hossein Amirsadeghi and features an essay by Gregor Muir, director of London’s ICA—also gives insights on the tribal dynamics and unique drive that underpin the city’s creative landscape.

Frieze Fairs director Victora Siddall
Photo: Andrea Hamilton. Copyright of TransGlobe Publishing

As the press blurb from the book aptly puts it, “in a time of extreme economic challenges, why and how has London become a creative universe running off its own special brand of fuel?”

In order to understand the idiosyncrasies of the city, London Burning draws on a broad range of people, both in the public eye and working behind the scenes, all wonderfully photographed by Robin Friend, Andrea Hamilton, and Kate Martin.

Polly Staple, director of Chisenhale Gallery
Photo: Robin Friend. Copyright of TransGlobe Publishing

This survey of the city’s vibrant art scene includes Tate director Nicholas Serota; Matthew Slotover, the co-founder of Frieze Art Fair; sculptor Antony Gormley; artists Gilbert & George; creative director of the BBC, Alan Yentob; film director Guy Ritchie; editor of British Vogue, Alexandra Shulman; and uber-curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, as well as a cluster of young artists like Eddie Peake, Celia Hempton, and Prem Sahib.

Frieze co-founder Matthew Slotover
Photo: Andrea Hamilton. Copyright of TransGlobe Publishing

London Burning, Portraits from a Creative City, by author and editor Hossein Amirsadeghi and executive editor Maryam Eisler, and published by Thames & Hudson, is hitting the bookstores on October 19, 2015.

Artists Prem Sahib, Celia Hampton, and Eddie Peake
Photo: Kate Martin. Copyright of TransGlobe Publishing

Artist Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
Photo: Andrea Hamilton. Copyright of TransGlobe Publishing

Artist Julie Verhoeven
Photo: Kate Martin. Copyright of TransGlobe Publishing