From a chance meeting in Mexico to reshaping London’s contemporary art landscape, CMJZ Arts founders Christina Zahra and Kylie Poole have built a partnership rooted in instinct, collaboration and fearless creativity.
Through Cramer St Gallery, the duo are redefining what a modern gallery can be – inclusive, experiential and deeply connected to community. In this exclusive interview with Culturalee, Zahra and Poole reflect on their unconventional journey, the shared values that power CMJZ Arts, and the evolution of their curatorial vision.
Zahra and Poole unveil all-women exhibition FORM – Primal Rhythm, opening January 7th, 2026, which brings together artists including Lauren Baker, Nettie Wakefield and Gaby Jonna to explore the female form, intuition and humanity’s primal connection to nature in an increasingly disconnected world.
Your partnership is at the core of CMJZ Arts’ identity. How did the two of you first meet, and what sparked the collaboration that ultimately led to running Cramer St Gallery and building CMJZ Arts together?
Kylie: Christina and I first met in Acapulco, at a completely mad birthday party of a mutual friend and at first, I was intimidated by her – she was all leopard print bikini and curls – I didn’t even try to talk to her that weekend. She literally looked like a rockstar!! Eventually, given I ended up living in Mexico City and she was already a resident there, we were in the same friendship circle and slowly got to know each other.
I always think it’s indicative of our friendship that both of us, who are similarly from the UK and London, met in a city so far away from our home because it speaks to both of our adventurous and inquisitive natures. Her life up until we met was completely unconventional – she’d travelled through and lived in Berlin, California and eventually Mexico. I myself at that point was turning my corporate life upside down. We both were and still are unaccepting of the status quo – if it doesn’t feel or fit right. Together, and as friends, I think we spur each other on to be even braver.
Christina: Living and running a business in Mexico was exotic, exciting, challenging but inspiring everyday because you’re having to work incredibly hard and smart but in a different language and culture, learning new things which even include words in their language, communication skills, mentality of ethic, all the while drinking coconuts on the side of a busy city road actually enjoying mariachi playing on the streets at 2pm in the afternoon and eating the most flavourful food. It’s honestly wild and I loved it. Mexico City has an explosion of creativity everywhere. But it’s moments when you meet new people and connect in a way that’s familiar yet comes from different worlds that is incredibly comforting.
Meeting Kylie was amazing, we both lived the bustling chaotic lifestyle of London, even though I did it through fashion and Kylie finance – our worlds definitely collided. That in itself sparked our connection and due to our friendship Kylie’s interest in the artworld was re-ignited (she passionately studied art at school) and it was wonderful to be a part of this reconnection for her.
The fact we both moved back to London around similar times meant we both were seeing London in a new light. I had a career I needed to build from scratch, in a city I hadn’t lived in for 16 years, Kylie needed more to her London life, so when I started to network and build my opportunities it was Kylie I leant on for advice and we quickly realised how valuable Kylie’s skill set in the finance world is in the art world. I excel in many areas but can’t do everything, building a business is all about knowing and relying on other people and their expertise. A structure needs pillars and Kylie became a pillar.
CMJZ Arts was founded with a clear vision for presenting art in dynamic, interactive ways. What inspired you both to create CMJZ Arts, and how does its mission – to bring exceptional art to broader audiences through inventive, avant-garde productions – shape your curatorial approach today?
Kylie: Christina and I formed CMJZ ARTS and eventually Cramer St Gallery when we’d both moved back to London and had noticed, as compared to the accessible and dynamic art scene in Mexico, that the industry in London is more stoic and difficult to integrate with (if you’re not in the right clique). We wanted to change that. Our gallery is deliberately experiential, inclusive, and welcoming – we want people to stay a while in the space – we’re all about encouraging interaction, community, and creative connectivity.
Practically, also, when we founded CMJZ ARTS we’d been friends for a while and could see how complementary our skillsets were. Christina has exemplary gallery operation and production experience, and I have communication and strategy skills honed from years of working in finance. Collectively, we had the whole package.
Now we’ve been working together for nearly 2 years, it’s evident our personalities also balance well in business – e.g. I can sometimes be too risk-averse (and miss some opportunities), whereas Christina wants to jump at everything – together we find a happy medium.
Christina: My career background comes from Fashion, studying and working in haute couture in London, which evolved into many professional lives from vintage fashion buying, freelance designing, fashion production etc. My last role before becoming a gallerist was fashion director for a photography magazine in Mexico. I love to produce editorials, photo shoots, catwalk shows and even music videos etc.
This led me to open Dolores 54, which is a creative space and kitchen in Mexico City. Originally the concept was to rent out the space for creative productions and build connections and community to produce my own content, however gallerists and artists ended up also wanting to use the space for exhibitions. I would produce the opening and closing events for them, but the time in between felt static, and I wanted to elevate the gallery experience. This led me to produce performance evenings, life drawing classes and fine dining experiences where a chef would curate a course meal related to the art inside the gallery.
Building relationships with the artists sparked a whole new level of connection to their artwork. It wasn’t just a piece of art anymore, but knowing and understanding the idea, concept and reasoning made me realise I want others to feel and know this. So producing events where people can connect to the art and artists more became my passion.
Artists are so diverse, from introverted to extrovert, it’s such an incredible eclectic mix of talent, so to be able to communicate broadly and create a safe space for them to express their artistic gifts and build relationships with them is what this is all about for me.
Christina, your journey spans continents and art worlds, from directing a gallery in Mexico City to curating pop-up exhibitions in London penthouses. How have these experiences influenced your curatorial vision, and in what ways do they inform the programming at Cramer Street Gallery today?
Christina: Of course through life experiences, travelling, trauma, and upbringing we all form a style and lived culture which influences our artistic ability. However if I’m truly honest for me it’s all about energy and connection. I absolutely appreciate incredible artwork but it’s all relative right?! For me it’s about communication, connecting with someone on a personal level, instantly knowing there is not just a business plan but a friendship. I’ve worked with many artists who I absolutely adore and but it’s different when you just connect on a deep level. Instinct, gut feeling, I try and follow that as much as I can – in broader life decisions I also echo this strategy and sometimes I reflect on things and think – how the hell did I get myself into that!!
Once that connection of friendship and understanding is built I then evolve that to make the productions. Feeding off each other’s creativity, growing together, that leap of faith, and love for passion is my greatest strength.
Life has taught me that you cannot control your emotions or directions in life. The more you force or expect the bigger the disappointment. There is so much opportunity out there most of the time they come to you – not via you chasing it, you just need to be going in the right direction. So I need to live life with my arms open, welcome opportunities that arise, create a space where people can express themselves and also be confident comfortable and creative – and then that’s when magic happens. The connections we have made in just two months of opening has been phenomenal and it’s what keeps me going.
Cramer St Gallery has become known for its collaborations, including the acclaimed Frieze Week exhibition POST HUMAN VII x Thames Carpets. Can you talk about your ongoing relationship with Thames Carpets and Missy Decor – long-term exhibitors at the gallery – and how presenting handcrafted Iranian rugs and vintage furniture as artworks expands the gallery’s definition of contemporary art?
Christina: My ethos when it comes to producing art curations and events is art engagement, creating a safe space for artists – welcoming what everyone says and learning new things is the core of creation as I have mentioned before. My journey to becoming a gallerist stemmed from directing a creative space in Mexico which was a Spanish colonial building with high ceilings, textured walls, wooden floors etc, never a white cube. I feel the concept of a white gallery can be beautiful but also holds limitations on freedom and comfortability. So when I was introduced to Thames Carpets through Tobias and such a creative curation, it was the perfect match for the Cramer concept. This then led us to Missy Decor, a close friend of Kylie who curates incredible Italian vintage furniture, adding to the environment in an artistic way – this gives guests the space to relax and to extend their admiration of art to design.
Kylie: At its core our gallery is by definition more of a fluid creative safe space than it is a conventional gallery. What is artistic and defined as art in our eyes is equally as far-reaching and so exhibiting craftworks and furniture artworks fits perfectly into that.
Similarly, Christina and I stand for openness and inclusivity in the art world and craft pieces like the ancient art of rug weaving we believe should be recognized for their profound artistic impact and skill and so opening our gallery during Frieze with contemporary pieces highlighting such an ancient craft was aligned with our culture at Cramer St Gallery.
Missy Decor items are also so beautifully selected – every piece has a story and we’re proud to showcase Annalisa (the business owner’s) incredible taste and talent for picking / curating gorgeous furniture.
You’ve recently curated major shows, from Chris Moon’s Day in the Life to the upcoming all-women exhibition FORM – Primal Rhythm opening January 7th 2026. What can you share about the themes of ‘Form’, and how artists like Lauren Baker, Nettie Wakefield and Gaby Jonna are exploring the female form, its connection to nature, and its evolving place in contemporary art?
Christina: FORM: Primal Rhythm is the second movement of the FORM curation which CMJZ ARTS first exhibited in 2024 at Principal Tower in collaboration with Concord London – returning to softness not as an aesthetic alone, but as an instinct. Where FORM explored curvature, allure and the quiet strength of gentle femininity, Primal Rhythm listens more closely to origin: to intuition, to roots, to the unseen exchanges of energy that bind us to one another and to the earth.
This edition brings together a selection of female artists whose practices are guided by an inner knowing, a sensitivity to natural cycles, organic growth and the intelligence held within the body. Their works evokes knowledge and guidance through nature and history like sound vibrating through air, nourishment travelling from root to stem like the delicate emergence of mushrooms pushing through soil. There will be an array of sculpture and artwork filling the environment with textures that will be soft and inviting, yet feel earthen and grounded. Forms appear grown rather than constructed, shaped by repetition, rhythm and exchange. Colour and tone suggest twilight and soil, breath and pulse, a gentle slow depth that speaks of both tenderness and resilience.
This exhibition is important in a world where this is an ever-evolving society where disconnecting on a human level is growing faster than ever. We are so consumed with technology, self-care and escapism that we are slowly forgetting the importance of being vulnerable, living in communities, relying on each other, and holding space when we are imperfect. FORM is to reignite that truth in us, that depth we have and need to nourish and wanting and needing each other to achieve that! I believe that’s a direction in the contemporary art world we are all starting to see and feel, and that we all need it.
Christina and I formed CMJZ ARTS and eventually Cramer St Gallery when we’d both moved back to London and had noticed, as compared to the accessible and dynamic art scene in Mexico, that the industry in London is more stoic and difficult to integrate with (if you’re not in the right clique). We wanted to change that. Our gallery is deliberately experiential, inclusive, and welcoming – we want people to stay a while in the space – we’re all about encouraging interaction, community, and creative connectivity.”
CMJZ Arts Founder Kylie Poole
Life has taught me that you cannot control your emotions or directions in life. The more you force or expect the bigger the disappointment. There is so much opportunity out there most of the time they come to you – not via you chasing it, you just need to be going in the right direction. So I need to live life with my arms open, welcome opportunities that arise, create a space where people can express themselves and also be confident comfortable and creative – and then that’s when magic happens. The connections we have made in just two months of opening has been phenomenal and it’s what keeps me going.”
CMJZ Arts Founder Christina Zahra
FORM – Primal Rhythm runs from 7th January until 1st February at Cramer St Gallery, Marylebone Square, 13 Cramer Street, London, W1U 4EA. Find more information here.
