Is Minor Attractions the Alternative Art Fair That London Needs?

This week in the London art world is headlined—as it always is—with the return of Frieze and Frieze Masters. But as well as the packed series of openings, auctions, and other art world events, this year’s Frieze Week will also see the return of London’s newest alternative art fair, Minor Attractions.

The fair, billed as “a new context for London’s buzzing art scene,” hosts its sophomore edition across four floors of The Mandrake Hotel in Fitzrovia, Central London. Over the years, London has played host to several art fairs with a strong emphasis on emerging artists and galleries, from the nonprofit Zoo Art Fair (last held in 2009) to the Sunday Art Fair (last held in 2019), the latter of which presented early-career artists and young galleries in the University of Westminster’s concrete engineering hall. These fairs once served as important platforms for younger galleries and artists, as well as providing complementary satellite events to Frieze during the busiest week in the London art world.

This year, Minor Attractions aims to fill that gap once again with a diverse set of presentations from both established and younger galleries worldwide. Its founders, Jonny Tanna and Jacob Barnes, hope to put London’s vibrant art community at its center.

“London has always been a great place to see and exhibit art,” said Tanna, who is also the founder of North London tastemaker Harlesden High Street. “Minor Attractions showcases how rich the city’s art scene is right now.” The fair’s ethos is rooted in accessibility and community, and aims to create a platform for all visitors, with free entry for all.

An expanded sophomore edition

Throughout the week, Minor Attractions will host a series of performances, parties, and film screenings, and includes an on-site radio station. And in the lavish Mandrake, the fair has found an ideal partner.

“The Mandrake offers a space for business, relaxation, performance, and reflection—a place that remains in a fluid state,” noted Barnes, who is also the founder of London gallery Season 4 Episode 6. “It’s not just about a sterile white-cube space; it’s about making an experience.”

Presentations are a far cry from typical art fair booths, with works placed in hotel bedrooms, bathrooms, bars, the hotel lobby, and stairwells. Its closest comparison, perhaps, is the Felix Art Fair in Los Angeles, which is itself a satellite fair to Frieze L.A. and takes place at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

As well as the new location (last year it was split between spots in London Bridge and Soho), Minor Attractions has expanded its lineup with 45 participants. These include a global array of galleries, including Diane Singer (Melbourne), Bonny Poon/Conditions (Toronto), Gallery Artbeat (Tbilisi), Tatjana Pieters (Ghent), PROVENCE (Basel), Commune Gallery (Vienna), and CYLINDER (Seoul). Outside of London, participating U.K. galleries include Division of Labour (Salford) and Slugtown (Newcastle). Established and emerging London-based spaces at the fair include Ilenia, Harlesden High Street, Kate MacGarry, Vilma Gold, Pi Artworks, Castor, Copperfield, Alice Amati, and Cob.

Creating a buzz around London’s art scene

As Minor Attractions got underway today, there was a palpable buzz during the fair’s opening hours. Artists, curators, and collectors mingled throughout the fair’s eclectic spaces and labyrinthine corridors.

For Mazzy-Mae Green, director at East London gallery Sherbet Green, Minor Attractions offers an opportunity to reach new audiences. “We’re excited to connect with collectors and supporters who might not usually venture out to East London,” she said. Founded in 2022, Sherbet Green is focused on accessibility and experimental programming, and the premise of Minor Attractions feels like a natural extension of the gallery’s broader mission. Occupying a first-floor room of the hotel, the gallery is presenting works by New York–based painter Sof’ya Shpurova, with prices ranging from £7,500–£9,000 ($9,818–$11,782).

A similar view was shared by the Soho-based gallerist Cedric Bardawil. “Minor Attractions is social, democratic, and alternative,” he said. “It’s free to enter, yet the quality of work is high. London’s emerging art scene has never been as vibrant as it is now, and this fair reflects that excitement.”

At the ground-floor bar, the gallery is presenting Turner Prize winner Mark Wallinger’s video work MARK (2010). The film captures scenes from across London, from Clapham Junction to Mayfair through to Camden Town, and many places in between. In the film, Wallinger records himself chalking the word “MARK” within the bounds of a single standard-sized brick. This screening marks the first time the work has been shown in London.

Bardawil also noted the significant increase in collector interest in the fair this year. “Visibility is crucial, and this fair allows my artists to reach new collectors, which is hugely important for their growth,” he said.

Reflecting on London’s past fairs, Miles Thurlow, co-founder of Newcastle and Fitzrovia gallery WORKPLACE, explained that the fair offers an important moment of renewal for the city. “We took part in all of the Zoo Art Fairs in London from 2005 onwards,” he told Artsy. “They were a springboard for us into an international context—I think it was a real loss to both London and Frieze when Zoo stopped.”

Thurlow sees fairs like Minor Attractions as a key component of the broader London art scene. “Satellite fairs create a much wider context for discovery and offer so much more than the orthodoxy that is, by necessity, baked into a main fair,” he said. “Both are necessary and the more, the better.”

In a spacious second-floor hotel room, the gallery is showcasing works by Pei Wang and identical twin sisters Laura and Rachel Lancaster, among others, with works priced within the £5,000–£20,000 ($6,546–$26,182) range. Thurow also noted the fair’s innovative approach to presentation. “Minor Attractions is bold and fearless and is creating its own reality,” he said. “It doesn’t have to play by the same rules, and I hope it keeps on reinventing and challenging itself.”

Other standout presentations from the fair include Salford gallery Division of Labour’s second-floor room, where British artist Rosie McGinn exhibits stuffed fabric replicas of Peroni, Malibu, and WKD Blue bottles, alongside Marlboro cigarette packets. All works are priced under £300 ($393), and come with an added bonus: Buy a bottle and get a free cigarette.

Other highlights abound. London’s Bolanle Contemporary is showcasing a film installation and works by British Congolese artist Djofray Makumbu, while fellow local gallery Ilenia presents Seattle-born painter Scott Young, known for his playful use of trompe l’oeil. In A Modest Show’s room, artist and critic Matthew Collings’s drawings depict surreal worlds steeped in art world mythology, laced with nods to left-wing politics. And in the hotel lobby bar, Kévin Blinderman’s The Leather Man (1978/2024) displays a BDSM outfit on a mannequin. The costume was originally designed by Karl Lagerfeld and Jacques de Bascher for the theater production The Leather Man, and Blinderman’s work is being presented by Toronto’s Bonny Poon / Conditions.

A curated cultural event

In selecting the galleries and artists to participate in Minor Attractions, Tanna and Barnes focused on representing London’s multicultural and varied art scene. “At each juncture, we asked ourselves: ‘Is this reflective of the London we see every day?’” Tanna said.

“Minor Attractions embraces what makes London’s art scene dynamic,” he added. “This year, we’ve built on our strengths by amplifying underrepresented voices and prioritizing curatorial variety.”

As well as expanding its number of galleries, the fair’s program this year has broadened, too. Collaborations with youth-led radio station Reprezent and artist-led community interest company Diasporas Now are among those that highlight Minor Attractions’s commitment to integrating London’s wider cultural scene. “London’s broader cultural scene is the fair,” said Tanna. “We’re keeping our ear to the streets and working with people who aren’t traditionally part of the art world.”