Overview

Christie's is the world famous auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's, London. It has step free access and accessible toilet. We visited one of Christie's Lates. These are occasional evening openings of the auction house galleries to view the lots with special events such as guest speakers, DJ and bar. Please note the galleries are also open during the day, without the special events, and this should be a less busy time. This review is about our experience attending the Vivienne Westwood Christie's Late on 20 June 2024. Overall there were many positives, very well organised event with lots to see and do, there is step free access and a huge shout out to Graeme Maddison, head of security, for his help and support.

Transport & Parking

Christie's is a short walk from Green Park Tube station which has step free access and Piccadilly where several buses stop. It is then a short walk down hill to Christie's. Alternatively, you could get a bus to Trafalgar Square and walk along Pall Mall if you want a flat route.

Access

Overall the venue is step free, however generally signage could be improved to make it easier to navigate the building. CONTACT WITH CHRISTIE'S BEFORE VISITING The Christie's Lates have to be pre-booked. On their website they say that "There will be one queue for all and registering does not guarantee priority. A high volume of guests is expected and once at capacity, entry will follow a one-in, one-out system." I therefore wrote to them, explaining my disability and that I could not queue and I got a very quick and positive reply: "Dear Ms. Hodgkinson, Thank you for your message and interest in our lates event. Please kindly note that we do have systems in place for clients, like yourself, to be able to bypass the queue. We also have a lift available may you wish to use it. Please kindly note that I have forwarded your message to our events team and security so that they are aware and are able to accommodate you upon your arrival. Please do not hesitate to contact us further with any other enquiries you may have. Kind regards, Holly" ARRIVAL We came to King Street via St James's Street and the first door we arrived there were two members of Christie's staff to directed us to the next door down, which was the main entrance. We spoke to the staff at the main entrance and was offered to go further down the road to the step free entrance or we could enter via the main entrance which had 3-4 steps. Although there was a queue we were allowed to enter immediately. The short staircase had been cordoned off so I only had access to a handrail on the left hand side, but it was manageable as there was only a couple of steps. I used the step free exit on the way out, so read below under Exiting. INSIDE CHRISTIE'S Once inside the building is step free, with lifts to the upper floors. The foyer was very busy when we arrived and we spoke to a member of staff to find out where the talk we want to attend was taking place. We were directed to the lift. When we got there another member of staff came towards us and used her staff pass to permit. When we got upstairs it was even busier and although step free it was difficult to navigate through the crowd. We saw no signposting for where events were taking place and we asked again a couple of members of staff as the first did not point us in the right direction. When we got to the East Room, the talk had already started. There were no seats and everyone was standing. Either my friend or I asked a member of staff and they very quickly went and got me a chair, with back support but no arms. However, he left it where I was standing at the back of the group so when I sat down I could not see anything (see photo) and it was difficult to follow. At the end of the talk my friend went to speak to the staff, and someone came and took us both to see the dress that had been discussed in the talk. This was very much appreciated. On the way to the talk we had walked through the gallery and noticed that there was no seating, so we kept the chair and took it with us, so I could sit down when I needed to. Although there were arrow markings on the floor directing people round the gallery, they were not being used to direct the crowd that evening. People were walking in all directions and there were also groups of people hanging around with drinks, chatting with friends in the gallery area. Twice, during the evening, I had someone walk directly into my crutch, and when I got home, I found that the ferrule had been damaged (I had only replaced it 2 days earlier as it had warn down), and it now needs replacing again. We decided that we would attend a talk in the West Room. This room had double manual entrance doors and a member of staff was on the door. He left us through and I ended up needing to take the chair with me to sit down on as it was so busy. We stayed for two talks and really enjoyed them. We then went outside to try to view the gallery again. However, it was difficult to get out of the room as people were blocking the area near the doorway. Some of the people were waiting to get in but others were just hanging around and chatting. A member of the public offered to take my chair for me and place it somewhere I could sit down. However, I decided within about 2 minutes I couldn't take anymore of it, after the second person walked into my crutch. I split up with my friend so she could take a quick look at the exhibition and I made my way down to the ground floor to meet her. On route I stopped at the accessible toilet, see that section for details, and then went down in the lift with a member of staff, and we were taken into a quiet room where we talked to Graeme Maddison before we left. EXITING On the way out we used the step free entrance. The step free entrance has a short permanent ramp leading to double doors. On the left hand side is an intercom and the staff open the doors automatically. This leads into a small gallery and there is a platform lift, which will take you into the main foyer. This was a very easy and straightforward route.

Toilets

There was accessible toilets, one on the ground and one on the first floor. I only used the first floor one. It is in its own little corridor which it shares with the lift. It had a manual door. It was a long rectangular space. It was quite cluttered as there was a bin next to the toilet and one by the dry. There was a large washing basin vanity unit which took up a lot of space, both in it being large and protruding, but very deep which will make it difficult for wheelchair users to get their legs under comfortably. I took a photo to try to show how little space there was to comfortably put your knees under when sitting on the toilet, to try to emulate a wheelchair user's height. The unit's corners are quite sharp. While it looks very impressive, it is not very practical in an accessible toilet. There was little space, even standing, to reach the hand dryer, due to the unit being in the way and there also being a bin, which was remote accessed, so as soon as I leant over to dry my hands it automatically popped up. There were grabrails round the toilet and at one side of the sink and mirror, but no hand rail on the right hand side of the mirror or on the back of the door. The accessible toilet, is clean and looks beautiful with its marble unit and wooden handrails, but the layout of the toilet is not well designed for access from a disabled users' perspective. While I was in there I dropped my crutch. I tried to bend down but could not reach it. So I decided to pull the emergency cord for help. The alarm went off and the lights in and outside the room went on. However, no one came to help me. I ended up texting my friend after a couple of minutes when it seemed no one would come, and she went to get help for me, and it took over 6 minutes for a member of staff with my friend to arrive at the toilet. If I had fallen and couldn't reach the my phone or did not have one with me, I don't know how I would have managed. Graeme Maddison, head of security, is looking into this, and hopefully it will be addressed.

Staff

ARRIVAL Staff were very helpful when we arrived at the entrance. INSIDE CHRISTIE'S In the foyer we were just directed to the lifts, and then another member of staff came over to use her staff pass to operate the lift. On the first floor some of the staff we asked did not know where to direct us to. Others were very helpful, especially the man who went and got me a chair. USING THE EMERGENCY CORD IN THE ACCESSIBLE TOILET No one responded to the emergency cord being pulled in the accessible toilet. I had to message my friend and she went and got help. POST ACCESSIBLE TOILET When I came out of the toilet, we were taken into a quiet room and met with Graeme Maddison, head of security was fantastic. He showed a very genuine concerns about what had happened, and was extremely apologetic. He also spent a considerable amount of time, on what was a very busy evening for him, talking with us as I explained how I found the access in the building, and not just the incident with the toilet. He actively listened, he took notes and we swapped email addresses. When we said we were not going to stay, he understood and invited us back, and he would personally ensure that we received good accessible service. He personally escorted us out via the step free route and we had follow up emails. In the end we decided not to return to see the exhibition again just because I had a meeting to go to the day after the only day we could manage, and it felt too much. Mr Maddison showed extemporary customer service and talking to him I felt heard and that he would actively take steps to ensure access was improved.

Anything else you wish to tell us?

On reflection, I had thought that the gallery viewing and talks would be in one area, operating on a museum/ gallery style and the bar, DJ, drinking and socialising would happen in a different part, so we could come and do as much or as little as we wanted, without having to be in the socialising area. How it is currently laid out for Christie Lates this is not possible, if you go you will need to navigate the crowd. Personally, with its current format, I don't think I would return for a Christie Late, which is a shame as the quality of the guest speakers and the well put together programme of talks is impressive. However, I would be willing to come back for their regular opening times and see the exhibitions when they are less busy. Maybe they could video their talks and put them on their website for people who don't want to come when it is so busy, or to advertise what the Christie Lates are like. A few suggestions to improve access 1) Have more detailed information on their website about access, including photos. 2) Improve signage and also staff also having a better idea about what events are taking place in what rooms/ areas. 3) Introduce seating around the galleries that have back support and arms to assist with transferring. 4) To provide some seating for all talks and that seats are arranged so those on them can see what is happening. 5) Consider if there is a better way to manage customer flow, so that doorways/ routes/ individual exhibits are not blocked by people standing around socialising, and the possibility of a socialising area and /or a quiet seated area. 6) I think this will have already happened, but for the procedure for staff dealing with the emergency alarm in the accessible toilet going off to be reviewed, and regular checks that the alarm is working, similar to fire checks. 7) First floor accessible toilet layout to be reviewed, in short term to see if bins can be changed or repositioned, and additional grab rails installed on the back of the door and by the mirror and in longer term, to see if the unit can be replaced to something smaller (so will create more space) and more suitable for wheelchair users. Huge thanks to Graeme Maddison for his help and support. If he would like to write a response, I am happy to add it to this review. Hopefully with a few changes regarding access we will return to Christie's soon, as they have some fantastic exhibition galleries and events.

Photos