Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art
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 Location within Central London
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| Established | 2005 |
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| Location | 14 Wharf Road, London N1, England, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°31′49″N 0°05′42″W / 51.5302°N 0.095°W |
| Director | Ziba Ardalan |
| Public transit access | Old Street tube, Angel tube |
| Website | www.parasol-unit.org |
Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art is an educational charity and a not-for-profit contemporary art gallery based in London. Established in 2005, the foundation is housed in a converted warehouse over two floors in a building that was renovated to a design concept by the Italian architect, Claudio Silvestrin. The gallery comprises roughly 5,000 sq ft (460 m2) of exhibition space.
Parasol unit was established by its Director/Curator, Ziba Ardalan. A graduate in the History of Art from Columbia University New York, Ardalan worked as Guest Curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art. She guest curated the exhibition 'Winslow Homer and the New England Coast' at the Whitney's Stamford, Ct. Branch (1984). Ardalan became the first Director/Curator of New York City’s Swiss Institute in 1987, before moving to Zurich, Switzerland, and then relocating to UK and founding Parasol unit. She has curated numerous exhibitions and has also lectured and written about art. Prior to her career in art, Ardalan obtained a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry.
Parasol unit is devoted to promoting contemporary art for the benefit of the public. The exhibition programme comprises work by emerging and contemporary artists in a variety of media: sculpture, painting, installation, video and photography. The institution was developed on the model of a Kunsthalle, with no permanent collection.
Each exhibition is supported by a programme of educational events that engage with the public and local community. Exhibitions are also accompanied by a new publication, an artist’s monograph or catalogue, which is distributed worldwide.
Parasol unit, like publicly funded institutions in London continuously strives to raise funds to cover its running costs and hopes to secure its existence for future generations. The one-time donation by the founder is a reserve that allows the foundation to operate while other funding sources are identified. The reserve currently covers about 60% of the foundation's operating expenses whereas the remaining 40% are financed through Gift Aid scheme, grants from charitable organisations, private donations and sales of merchandise. These have included Arts Council England, Pro Helvetia, Japan Foundation, The French Institute (London), The Goethe Institute (London), The Austrian Cultural Forum (London), Henry Moore Foundation, Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation, The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Portuguese Embassy and Australian Embassy, Tower Hamlets Council. Additional funding has been provided by private companies including Dataton, Deutsche Bank, Gallagher Limited, Goldman Sachs, Key Capital and Schroders.
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