This year Frieze is set to be the highlight of the Autumn art season and London does it bigger and better than anywhere else on the planet. As usual, the fair will be showcasing today’s most significant artists across its main and curated sections, this year’s fair brings together more than 160 of the world’s leading galleries in a bespoke structure designed by Universal Design Studio. Besides the fantastic displays by leading international galleries Frieze and Frieze Masters offer a number of world class projects, films, and talks. Here are the key events.
New section: The Nineties : Selected by Geneva-based curator Nicolas Trembley, 14 galleries will revisit seminal exhibitions from the 1990s that have had a lasting impact on contemporary art—including Aperto ’93 (Massimo De Carlo, Milan), Wolfgang Tillmans’s very first exhibition (Buchholz, Cologne) and Fountain of Youth (cleanliness is next to godliness) by Karen Kilimnik (303 Gallery, New York).
Live: performance and participation: Advised by museum curators Jacob Proctor (Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society, University of Chicago) and Fabian Schöneich (Portikus, Frankfurt), the pioneering section for performance and participatory art returns, with new and historical projects including artists Martha Araújo (Galeria Jaqueline Martins, São Paulo & PM8, Vigo) and Christine Sun Kim (Carroll/Fletcher, London).
Focus: emerging talents: Also advised by Jacob Proctor and Fabian Schöneich, Focus is the definitive destination to discover emerging talents from Berlin to Shanghai, featuring 37 galleries all under 12 years of age. A wave of new-generation London galleries joins Focus for the first time this year, including Arcadia Missa, Chewday’s and Southard Reid, alongside newcomers from Guatemala and Taiwan.
Frieze Talks: This year’s programme, co-curated by Christy Lange (Frieze) and Gregor Muir (ICA and incoming International Art, Tate, London) will include a special daily series focusing on a single, urgent theme—”Borderlands”—with contributions from leading cultural figures including Fatima Al Qadiri, Alexandra Bachzetsis, Hannah Black, Josh Kline, Jill Magid and Ben Rivers, as well as a keynote lecture by Lee “Scratch” Perry.
Frieze Projects & Frieze Artist Award : Supported by the LUMA Foundation and curated for the first time by Raphael Gygax (Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zurich), the non-profit programme of artist commissions will feature Sibylle Berg & Claus Richter; Martin Soto Climent; Coco Fusco (UK debut, co-commissioned with Liverpool Biennial); Operndorf Afrika (Opera Village Africa); Julie Verhoeven; and Samson Young. The winner of the 2016 Frieze Artist Award is Yuri Pattison.
Frieze Film: Samson Kambalu, Rachel Maclean, Shana Moulton and Ming Wong will present new artist films, premiered at Frieze London and broadcast on national television. Curated by Raphael Gygax as part of the fair’s non-profit programme, Frieze Film 2016 continues its long-standing partnership with Random Acts, Channel 4’s short-form strand dedicated to the arts.
Frieze Sounds: Curated by Cecilia Alemani (High Line Art, New York) and presented with BMW, Frieze Sounds will present the UK premieres of new sound commissions by Giorgio Andreotta Calò, GCC, and Liz Magic Laser.
Institutions at the Fair: Tate, Contemporary Art Society & Allied Editions: This year sees the realization of two acquisition funds for national museums, including the return of the Frieze Tate Fund, this year supported by WME | IMG; and the launch of The Collections Fund at Frieze with the Contemporary Art Society, making possible the acquisition of a major new work for a regional museum. Allied Editions will also return to the fair with an increased presence and guest regional partner Nottingham Contemporary.
Reading Room: Returning for the second year, the Reading Room will create a space for visitors to discover a curated selection of the world’s best arts publications, hosting an exciting schedule of hourly events.
Frieze Masters: Encompassing expertly vetted art and antiquities from the ancient era to the late 20th century, Frieze Masters fosters new discoveries across art history, in a space designed by Annabelle Selldorf.
Spotlight: Rare Presentations of 20th-Century Artists
Curated for the first time by Toby Kamps (The Menil Collection, Houston), Spotlight builds on its reputation for thoughtfully designed, museum-quality presentations, revealing foundational movements in art through pioneering figures worldwide—including Mrinalini Mukherjee (Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai), Wolfgang Paalen (Gallery Wendi Norris, San Francisco) and Li Yuan-Chia (Richard Saltoun, London)
Collections with Sir Norman Rosenthal: Following its acclaimed debut in 2015, the Collections section returns curated by Sir Norman Rosenthal. The section features an array of extraordinary historical art and objects of the highest quality, from exceptional Suprematist ceramics (Sophia Contemporary Gallery, London) to exquisite icons and Byzantine works (Axia, London).
Frieze Masters Talks: Featuring speakers including Judith Clark, Marlene Dumas, Okwui Enwezor, Gabriele Finaldi, Philippe Parreno, James Rondeau, Alastair Sooke, Sheena Wagstaff and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Frieze Masters Talks explores the history of art and its significance in contemporary practice. The programme is co-curated for the first time by Tim Marlow (Artistic Director, Royal Academy of Arts) and Jennifer Higgie (frieze & Frieze Masters Magazine). Frieze Masters Talks is supported by Gucci, Associate Sponsor of the fair.
Reading Room: A new addition for 2016, the Reading Room at Frieze Masters will create a space for visitors to discover a curated selection of the world’s best arts publications as well as an institutional partner the National Gallery, hosting an exciting schedule of events.
Sculpture Park: October 5–January 8 : The Sculpture Park will be open for three months, with free entry to all. Selected by Clare Lilley (Director of Programme, Yorkshire Sculpture Park), 20 works by 20th-century masters and contemporary talents will be placed throughout the English Gardens of The Regent’s Park, creating a free outdoor exhibition at the centre of London. For the first time, Art Fund is the programming partner for the Sculpture Park, presenting workshops for the duration of the three-month exhibition as well the new-look Frieze Sculpture Guide