In this special London issue, Elephant traces the rise of the city as an art capital, examining the changes that have taken place over the last two decades. In stylistic, economic and geographic terms, we look at shifts east being followed by moves back to the centre, or slightly off-centre, or south, or further east. Ossian Ward draws a genealogy of the YBA phenomenon, while James Cahill asks whether there is such a thing as a ‘London School of Painting.’ Grayson Perry walks us through the changes in attitudes over those two decades, Billy Childish gives a typically provocative interview, while Marcus Harvey presents a compelling picture of the lure and the danger of mass media. Nicholas Logsdail tells us how as a young man he missed a train, went for a walk and found his way into the pages of art history. These are accompanied insights from art figures ranging from John Stezaker and Maureen Paley to Matt Golden and Robert Orchardson.