London art guide September 2026 – quick links
Wanda & Marion Wulz exhibition
The Estorick Collection has a wonderful exhibition on the lives of sisters Wanda and Marion Wulz, key exponents of avant garde photography in 20th century Italy. The show also traces the wider legacy of the Wulz family, whose photographic practice spanned generations.
Their sisters’ father and grandfather were both photographers so there are many images of the sisters growing up. They later inherited the family studio and created their own photographic style, transforming the studio into a centre of artistic and commercial production and working with a diverse clientele that included artists, actors, dancers, athletes and the fashion designer Anita Pittoni. Look out for Wanda’s iconic self-portrait I + Cat from 1932 and my personal favourite Dannunziana, a haunting 1930s portrait of a woman with a magnificent greyhound.
There’s also a fascinating section on Futurism and a small collection of street scenes from the second world war. Enjoy the exhibition then stay for coffee in Estorick’s charming courtyard garden.
Wanda & Marion Wulz: Avant Garde Photography in 20th Century Italy is at The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art in London until 20 December.
Imprint Art Fair
October really is art fair month in London with Frieze London and Frieze Masters, Frieze Sculpture in Regent’s Park, Fair Play Art Fair at One Marylebone, The Other Art Fair at Brick Lane, the Affordable Art Fair at Battersea, 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair at Somerset House, Focus at Saatchi, Parallax at the Chelsea Town Hall, and Minor Attractions at the Newman Hotel. This year, a new fair adds to the October art excitement with the first Imprint Art Fair at RHS Lawrence Hall in Westminster. Imprint offers a gateway to collecting contemporary art and is dedicated to showcasing original prints and editions, bringing together leading galleries, publishers, institutions and international artists. The VIP preview is on 28 October and the fair is open to the public from 29 October to 1 November.
OzLit Festival
The inaugural OzLit Festival celebrates contemporary Australian writing and ideas. Tim Winton will appear live from Western Australia to talk about Songs from the Firefront, his deeply personal new book being released next month; Alexis Wright will discuss A Life in Fiction on-screen from Melbourne, in conversation with her UK editor Tara Tobler; Santilla Chingaipe will speak about Black Convicts, The History Australia Erased; Laura Elizabeth Woollett and Lucia Osborne-Crowley will discuss Bodies of Evidence; Evie Wyld, Intan Paramaditha and Kathy Lette take us on a darkly funny journey through the histories we cannot escape in A Family Haunting; and Heather Morris and Alice Jolly explore how fiction can shine a light on the gaps left in history in Out of the Shadows, Hidden Lives Illuminated. Spanning fiction, family, memoir, history and true crime, this is Australian writing at its boldest. Day ticket holders will be invited to an evening drinks reception to continue the conversations.
The OzLit Festival is at Foyles, Charing Cross Road on 18 October.
Bloomsbury Festival
The Bloomsbury Festival features more than 150 events playing at over 40 venues across Bloomsbury and Camden with the theme of ‘Create and Celebrate’. The festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, marking the milestone with a full program of theatre, music, art, literature and science, along with events for schools and families. Highlights include an evening of city stargazing with astronomers from UCL; an exhibition of unseen memorabilia of novelist EM Forster; a screening of Nosferatu from 1922 with live organ; a new reimagining the Greek myth of the Minotaur in From the Labyrinth; and a treasure hunt at the British Museum.
The Bloomsbury Festival runs from 1 to 31 October.
London Film Festival
This month sees the 70th edition of the BFI London Film Festival. This year, the festival is showing 251 titles, including 33 world premieres, from 88 countries, which range across feature films, shorts, series, and immersive works. The LFF is based at BFI Southbank and the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, with screenings and events also at cinemas and venues across central London. Alongside the main festival, LFF Expanded returns with nine projects spanning immersive art, virtual reality, AI, and video gaming that explore powerful new ways of telling stories on-screen. The immersive installation Water Body, by acclaimed UK studio Marshmallow Laser Feast, takes you on a journey through the hidden flows of our planet.
LFF runs 7 to 18 October.
London Literature Festival
The London Literature Festival is the UK’s longest-running annual celebration of the written and spoken word, held every October at the Southbank Centre. Since its launch in 2007, the festival has become one of the world’s most respected cultural events, drawing authors, poets, journalists and thinkers from across the world, and celebrating both established and emerging writers.
This year’s guest curator is the global recording artist, entrepreneur and founder of the Service95 Book Club DuaLipa, who brings her deep passion for reading and writing to the festival. She is renowned as a champion of marginalised readers, including those affected by book bans and incarceration.
There are author readings and Q&As, panel discussions and lively debates, masterclasses and workshops, a literary fair and bookshop, and events for children and families. The festival also marks the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary and the National Year of Reading.
The London Literature Festival is at the Southbank Centre from 20 October to 1 November.
Live Sculpting at the Actors Church
See acclaimed British sculptor Frances Segelman creating a new sculpture of celebrated actor Richard E Grant live, in person, at the Actors’ Church in Covent Garden. This is a rare opportunity to see a sculptor at work and witness a new piece coming into being. All proceeds from the event will be donated to Longfield Hospice in Minchinhampton, Grant’s chosen charity.
The live sculpting will be followed by a Q&A, giving the audience time to hear directly from Segelman and Grant about the creative process, the experience of working from life, and the relationship between artist and sitter. The event takes place on 18 October, and you can also see Grant on stage this month in Hay Fever with Christine Baranski.
LAPADA Berkeley Square
Launched in 2009, LAPADA is London’s leading fair for art, antiques, jewellery and design, with museum-quality pieces from over 80 specialist dealers, giving it a broader focus than many art fairs. Every object exhibited at the fair has been independently vetted, assuring buyers of the quality and authenticity. Held in the prestigious surrounds of Berkeley Square, it brings together work celebrating centuries of artistic and cultural history. LAPADA’s traditional marquee will be transformed by Adam Ellis Studio with a design that draws inspiration from Mayfair and the wider London landscape.
LAPADA is at Berkeley Square from 27 October to 1 November.
Famous faces on London stages
There’s always an opportunity to see a famous face from film and television live on stage in London. This month, see Gillian Anderson and Billy Crudup in Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf at Soho Place; Oscar winner Sir Mark Rylance in the world premiere season of Tartuffe (Remixed) at Marylebone Theatre; Keira Knightley in The Lives of Others at the Adelphi Theatre; Cate Blanchett in Electra/Persona at the National Theatre Southbank; Matt Lucas starring as Fagin in Oliver! at the Gielgud Theatre; Teri Hatcher as Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada at the Dominion; Tilda Swinton in Man to Man at Royal Court Theatre; and Christine Baranski and Richard E Grant in Hay Fever, Noël Coward’s comedy of appalling manners, at Wyndham’s Theatre.
