Tracey Emin: I followed you to the end
Leading British artist, and original member of the YBAs, Dame Tracey Emin has an impressive solo exhibition, I followed you to the end at White Cube, Bermondsey. On show are new works that journey through love and loss, mortality and rebirth. Drawing from a recent, transformative experience, Emin continues her exploration of life’s most profound and intimate moments, with renewed emotional intensity. The exhibition features many paintings and a monumental bronze sculpture. Emin is known as one of the most compelling and singular artists working today for her powerfully expressive, and sometimes primal, artistic approach. The stunning gallery space at White Cube Bermondsey, the largest commercial gallery space in Europe, is the perfect backdrop for these dramatic works.
Free, open Tuesday to Sunday to 10 November, at White Cube, 144-152 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3TQ
Outlaws: Fashion Renegades of 80s London
While you’re in Bermondsey, don’t miss Outlaws at the Fashion and Textile Museum. This stunning exhibition is centred on the legendary London nightclub Taboo. Opened in 1985 by the renowned designer and performance artist Leigh Bowery, Taboo was the place to be in the 1980s. Showcasing radical clothing and accessories from more than 30 designers, including John Galliano and John Flett, the exhibition delves into the underground fashion scene at the time. With a recreation of Taboo’s infamous dance floor, Outlaws highlights the creativity, gender-bending styles and DIY ethos of working-class designers. The exhibition also highlights Taboo’s lasting impact on global fashion and contemporary designers. Accompanied by photography, film and artworks, the exhibition reveals this vibrant alternative arena that was alive with anarchic energy by night and experimental creativity by day.
Ticketed, open Tuesday to Sunday to 9 March 2025, at the Fashion and Textile Museum, 83 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3XF
From Tradition to Modernity: Understanding Nohgaku
Discover the history of Japanese Noh theatre and its place in contemporary Japanese society in this fascinating exhibition at the Embassy of Japan on Piccadilly. Nohgaku (noh and kyogen) theatre holds a place of profound importance within Japanese culture and is deeply embedded in the country’s rich historical tapestry. This exhibition explores its 650-year history and offers a unique opportunity to understand and engage with this classical art form. It covers the multifaceted elements of Noh, from its traditional form to contemporary interpretations and its evolving nature, examining its meaning today and how it continues to inspire new artistic expressions.
Free, open Monday to Friday to 27 December, at the Embassy of Japan, 101-104 Piccadilly, London W1J 7JT
London Literature Festival
The annual London Literature Festival is the longest-running celebration of the written and spoken word to be held in the city. Encouraging readers of every age to celebrate the joy of reading and writing, there are talks, readings, discussions and conversations with well-known authors, rising literary stars, leading cultural observers and those making waves in the world of words. The Festival’s opening weekend is co-curated by the award-winning London-born rapper Ghetts. Showcasing the vibrant and collaborative relationship between spoken word and music, Ghetts will lend his razor-sharp lyricism, humour and wordplay to two nights of music and poetry. Other highlights include Keanu Reeves, Rupert Everett, Richard Dawkins and Hanif Kureishi. The London Literature Festival is held at the Southbank Centre on the banks of the Thames.
Ticketed with some free events, 23 October to 3 November
Nicola L: I Am The Last Woman Object
The Camden Art Centre is presenting this solo exhibition of work by Nicola L (1932 – 2018). For this artist often celebrated in the context of Pop Art, Nouveau Realism, feminism and design, there has yet to be an in-depth exploration of the multilayered and expansive nature of her practice, which ranged into cosmology, environmental concerns, spirituality, mortality, sexuality, soft sculpture, activism and political resistance. This exhibition is the first time the extent of her practice has been shown in the UK. Encompassing sculpture, performance, painting, collage and film, all of which carry an air of wit, playfulness and radical subversion, the show offers an opportunity to experience all aspects of her extensive and multidisciplinary art practice.
Free, open Tuesday to Sunday to 29 December, Camden Art Centre, Arkwright Road, London NW3 6DG.
LAPADA Art and Antiques Fair
LAPADA is the Association of Art and Antiques Dealers in London and its prestigious Fair is one of only two events allowed each year in the beautiful gardens of Berkeley Square. Now in its 15th year, the Fair will showcase collectable works from across the fine art, antiques, design and decorative arts spectrum, including jewellery, furniture, carpets, tapestries, antiquities, clocks, ceramics and silver, from over 100 of London’s leading galleries and antique dealers.
Free, 22-27 October. Berkeley Square is in central Mayfair and is only a short walk from the Royal Academy of Arts and many leading commercial galleries
Frieze London and Frieze Masters
Frieze London and Frieze Masters are on this month in Regent’s Park in central London. Discover international galleries and artists with a bold new floor plan for Frieze London and innovative curatorial direction at Frieze Masters. From modern icons to emerging artists, Frieze offers a comprehensive insight into art today. And with over 60,000 attendees each year, it’s the place to be. Exhibitions include Studio under Sheena Wagstaff and Smoke curated by Pablo José Ramírez. Focus features 34 solo and dual presentations from artists and galleries spanning five continents. The Frieze Fairs take place alongside Frieze Sculpture, which is open now and on view in the English Gardens in Regent’s Park until October 27. Adjacent Frieze events include East End Day on 6 October and West End Night on 10 October.
Ticketed, 9-13 October in Regent’s Park (Frieze Sculpture is free to visit)
Geumhyung Jeong: Under Construction
The Institute of Contemporary Arts is hosting Under Construction by South Korean conceptual artist Geumhyung Jeong. The exhibition features her work with machines and robotics, exploring the space between physical reality and hypothetical reality. This is her first major London exhibition and features a newly-commissioned installation of sculptures and a series of live performances. Jeong uses her body and animatronic figures built from DIY parts to parse the uncanny relationships between people and machines. Artificial skeletons, such as those used in medical practice, replace the human form to consider the potentiality of human and more-than-human. Geumhyung Jeong says, “In addition to an ongoing sculptural project, I think this work is also choreographic, it is also a dance.” A video display in the second gallery space complements the installation pieces.
Free, at the ICA to 15 December with a related program of events including films and performances
1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair
1-54 London is presenting over 60 exhibitors featuring the works of over 160 artists in this, its 12th London Fair. Returning to its home in the iconic, neoclassical building of Somerset House, located in the heart of the city and overlooking the Thames, the Fair is being held to coincide with Frieze. 1-54 is the first and only international fair dedicated to contemporary African art and is the leading global art fair committed to providing visibility to contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora. A program of events is held to complement the Fair.
Ticketed, 10-13 October at Somerset House, The Strand London
BFI London Film Festival
The British Film Institute’s London Film Festival is back this month for its 68th iteration. Discover the world’s best new films, series and immersive storytelling over the 12 days of the Festival. Highlights of this year’s Festival include a personal appearance by Sir Elton John at the gala red-carpet screening of a new biographical documentary Elton John: Never Too Late, co-directed by his husband David Furnish. The Festival opens with Steve McQueen’s new World War II epic Blitz at the Royal Festival Hall. There’s also a timely Donald Trump biopic, not surprisingly called The Apprentice, and Daniel Craig starring in Queer. The Festival is programmed around three key themes: Love, Dare and Debate, and has showings at Southbank, in multiple London venues and some further afield.
Ticketed, with some free events, 9-20 October
Read: Exhibition review: Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers, National Gallery, London
Famous faces on stage
There’s always an opportunity to see a famous face from film and television live on stage in London. This month, Meera Syal plays Queenie in A Tupperware of Ashes at The National Theatre; David Tennant and Cush Jumbo get serious in Macbeth at the Harold Pinter Theatre; Ben Whishaw (“just call me Q…”) stars in Samuel Beckett’s bleak comedy Waiting for Godot at the Theatre Royal in Haymarket, alongside Lucian Msamati from Game of Thrones; and the always wonderful Tamzin Outhwaite takes the lead in Mike Leigh’s 1970s classic suburban drama Abigail’s Party at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East.
