A month of fairs and festivals: where to go in London in October

Sarah Lucas at Tate Britain

One of the most famous British conceptual artists Sarah Lucas has long accustomed the public to the fact that all her works are literally imbued with epatage along with ghostly allegories and sharp humor. Meanwhile, much of the artist’s work is dedicated to exploring relationships and feminism. In order to dialog with the audience, she uses any improvised materials and objects. In short, the big retrospective has been a long time coming, which makes it all the more anticipated.

Where: Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG
When: until January 14

You can purchase tickets for the exhibition here.

Marina Abramovich at the Royal Academy of Arts

The solo exhibition of Marina Abramović, one of the founders of performative art, was postponed several times and for various reasons, but this fall the global retrospective still took place – at the Royal Academy of Arts. The concept of the exhibition involves a large-scale integration of iconic works from the artist’s 50-year career: we will once again see extravagant and in many ways shocking exhibits that are designed to tell the story of the life of one of the pioneers of conceptual art.

Where: Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly, W1J 0BD
When: until December 10

You can buy tickets at the link.

Frieze Masters and Frieze London at Regent’s Park

The “vanity fair” from the art world returns to the British capital once again this year. By the way, for Frieze Masters, which will feature works by artists from before the 2000s, this time will be an anniversary, as it will be the 20th time it will be held.

In Regent’s Park, which has already become a traditional location for Frieze, hundreds of galleries from 46 countries from all over the world will present masters already known to the art world and young up-and-coming artists who are yet to become famous. As always, Frieze is a chance for artists to make a name for themselves, and for collectors and art dealers a battleground for well-known old names and intriguing new ones.

Where: The Regent’s Park, London

When: October 11-15.

Purchase tickets for Frieze here.

PAD London Design Fair

Another iconic mid-fall fair for all art lovers, only in the case of PAD it’s primarily about interior design. This year, for the 15th time, PAD will present in London trends and trends from more than 60 galleries, which in many ways are the trendsetters of the design market.

According to the founder of the fair Patrick Pellen, today in the art world there is a global transition from the design of the XX century to the XXI. “Contemporary design has matured as a style and as a market. This is the major change in the last 15 years,” Pellen believes. This year’s PAD will feature many new and emerging designers and galleries who have something to show the public – so skipping the fair is not recommended.

Where: Berkeley Square, London W1J 6EN

When: October 10-15.

You can buy tickets for the fair here.

Philip Guston at the Tate Modern

Controversy has long surrounded the Canadian-American artist’s solo project. The reason is works with Ku Klux Klan symbols, which many saw as supportive of racism. As a result, the exhibition was not shown in the United States, where it was originally scheduled to be held. But, after a while, it was decided that the author’s paintings are about racism and hatred of it (it is no coincidence that even the artist himself once described his work, noting that “there is no pessimism here – it’s just doom”). If only for this reason, seeing the all-too-planned exhibition at the Tate Modern is definitely worth it.

Where: Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG
When: from October 5

You can buy tickets for the exhibition on the official website.

BFI London Film Festival

Britain’s biggest film festival returns to London again in mid-October. For a week and a half, even the most avid movie buffs will find a movie to their liking, as the BFI will be showing over 160 films this year, more than 20 of which will be premieres.

The great advantage of the festival is that it doesn’t focus only on national British cinema; instead, dozens of screens in London present a mosaic of high-profile premieres from around the world, auteur cinema, and short films of various genres. As an important and pleasant bonus, the BFI regularly selects a few iconic people from the world of cinema and publishes in-depth interviews with them: this year one of the profiles will be about the living classic of American films, Martin Scorsese.

When: October 4-15.

You can buy tickets for the film festival here.

Affordable Art Fair in Battersea

Another important London art fair, held in the large-scale space of the newly restored Battersea Power Station. Unlike many art events where you have to spend a lot of money to buy a piece of art, Affordable Art Fair is much more democratic. Most of the works here are capped in the price range of £50 to £1,500, making the fair a very suitable place to look for a piece of art or two to take home.

Where: Battersea Park, Queenstown Road, London SW11 4NJ

When: October 19-22

You can buy tickets for the fair here.

Concert of the rock band “Time Machine”

In the late 1960s, high school students from two Moscow schools were learning to play guitars, arguing about repertoire and could not imagine that in 2006 they would record an album at the famous Abbey Road studio, which today is known to all Beatle fans and rock music fans in general.

The legendary rock collective has already performed concerts in the US, Canada, continental Europe and will finally reach the UK as part of the “We Are Near” world tour. Fans of Mashina Vremeni will be able to hear both the musicians’ cult hits, which changed the Russian rock industry in many ways, and new compositions, which will be performed for the first time.

Where: Troxy, 490 Commercial Road London E1 0HX

When: Oct. 10

You can purchase a ticket to the concert here.

Madonna’s retrospective concert series

The best-selling music artist of all time has announced her big tour, which will kick off specifically in London. To mark the occasion, a series of Madonna concerts will take place at one of Europe’s biggest arenas, The O2. The Celebration Tour is a large-scale retrospective of the singer’s entire oeuvre over four decades, so listeners can expect both old and new hits.

Where: The O2, Peninsula Square, London SE10 0DX

When: October 14,15,17,18, December 5 and 6.

Buy a ticket to the concert – on the website.

Scientific lectures by Ilya Kolmanovsky in London

Science journalist and author of numerous educational projects Ilya Kolmanovsky comes to London with a series of lectures for adults and children. The location is more than suitable: the Royal Insitution, where dozens of Nobel laureates and other brightest minds of different times have given speeches over the years.

What are the major discoveries of recent years that will change our world? What life-saving superpowers do animals have for humans? How to use artificial intelligence only for good and what threats does AI bring? These are just a few of the questions that listeners will seek answers to in theoretical and empirical ways with Kolmanowski.

Where: 21 Albemarle Street London W1S 4BS

When: Oct. 8

You can buy a ticket for the lectures by clicking here.

Maxim Galkin’s standup in London

At the end of October, the famous comedian, known for his parodies and witty jokes, is ready to present his new program in London. The comedian will share his fresh ideas in the legendary Troxy space – in the 1930s, the building was one of the largest movie theaters in the city, later converted into a performance venue.

As always, the audience is waiting for skillful transitions from one genre to another, discussion from the stage of topical problems along with eternal themes that never seem to get old.

Where: Troxy, 490 Commercial Road London E1 0HX

When: October 26.

Tickets for the concert are here.