London’s biggest week in art (12 – 18 October) is approaching. International crowds are set to flock to the city for Frieze London and Frieze Masters in Regent’s Park, alongside the exhibitions and events taking place across the city. With so much to see, it can feel a tad overwhelming, so Attitude has put together a guide to the LGBTQ+ focused presentations and artists worth discovering across the biggest fairs, museums and galleries.

Gallery and museum shows (free and ticketed)

Alex Margo Arden | Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation, Chelsea (FREE)

One of Chelsea’s trendiest spaces is presenting an -inspired exhibition featuring award-winning artist Alex Margo Arden. In Nothing Personal, Arden restages the personal property of Amy Winehouse – from estate auction catalogues and paparazzi images to backstage interviews and exhibition documentation. The show examines the effects of celebrity ownership and death on the circulation of everyday objects through the artist’s lens. This exhibition runs until 23 January 2027.

Tim Walker’s Fairyland | National Portrait Gallery, Trafalgar Square (ticketed)

Tim Walker’s Fairyland is a must-see show this season. Walker rose to prominence in the 1990s with his unique style of whimsical photography. With 250 specially created portraits of sitters including Isaac Julien, Ian McKellen, Miriam Margolyes and , this exhibition additionally pays tribute to the many people who came together in solidarity and action in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s. Walker’s photographs of nurses and healthcare professionals who developed effective treatments for the disease are displayed alongside musicians who soundtracked the era, including Marc Almond, Holly Johnson, and Jimmy Somerville. Fairyland runs until January 2027.

Salman Toor | Courtauld, The Strand (ticketed)

The Courtauld presents the first solo exhibition in Europe of the artist Salman Toor, acclaimed for his arresting paintings of the contemporary experience and urban life. Speaking of his works, he says they “depict queer and immigrant lives that straddle different cultures and inhabit the tension between intimacy and exposure, belonging and estrangement. What it means to find a community, but also the daily costs associated with visibility”. The exhibition runs until 10 January 2027.

Robin F Williams & Jordan Nassar | No.9 Cork Street, Mayfair (FREE)

Two shows featuring two LGBTQ+ artists. Robin F. Williams (presented by P.P.O.W) has developed a body of work that examines the growing reliance on virtual assistants, most notably Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri. Expect colourful paintings that explore the gothic sublime. Jordan Nassar (presented by The Third Line) explores the tension between the artists background as both an American and Palestinian, using mosaics and stitching across his work to present meticulously-crafted objects that sit between paintings and sculpture.

Curtain Up | Dulwich Picture Gallery, Dulwich (ticketed)

Calling all theatre lovers – Curtain Up shines a spotlight onto the hidden stories found in the art of the stage. From themes of costume and performance to queerness, gender identity, sexuality and more – this display explores connections between paintings in the gallery’s collection (Rembrandt, Poussin, Rubens) and the work of contemporary artists today. With curatorial input from queer activist, author and art-world insider Gemma Rolls-Bentley, the display includes work by Rene Matić, Lulu Bennett and Sin Wai Kin. Open now and running until October 25, 2026.

Mouth Wide Open | The Health Society, Mayfair (FREE)

Outside of a traditional gallery space, Mouth Wide Open is a group show comprising paintings, sculptures, installations, videos and artist interviews. Look out for the humorous work of Judy Maxwell-McNicol. Known for extending lesbian and queer motifs through striking sculptures, her installation places self-cast tongues in a very suggestive position. Alicia Radage also joins the lineup, blending spiritual practice with more casted body parts. Expect a very tongue-in-cheek presentation. Running until 11 November 2026 at The Health Society, Mayfair.

Frieze London | Regent’s Park (Ticketed)

Arguably the reason London Art Week exists, the coveted Frieze fairs return with 318 exhibitors across two marquees in Regent’s Park. Running from 14–18 October, this is one of the biggest moments in the international art calendar. For a fashion-world comparison, think Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel shows. Ticket prices vary.

At Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, rising-star KV Duong presents striking latex works inspired by his queer Chinese-Vietnamese identity. Taking inspiration from the French-colonial history of rubber plantations across Vietnam, Duong equally implies queer narratives through the sticky and sensual properties of a familiar latex-friend. Having only graduated from the Royal College of Art in recent years, KV has already exhibited at Art Basel and Frieze consecutively in addition to a group show at Hauser & Wirth and a solo show at Pippy Houldsworth, Mayfair.

Make sure to visit the booth of Arcadia Missa, a London-based gallery with significant LGBTQ+ programming across its yearly calendar. Representing the likes of award-winning artist Rene Matic (Turner-Prize Nominee 2025), this years’ presentation sees artist duo Hannah Quinlan & Rosie Hastings take over the booth. Their collaborative work is linked to ongoing research and exploration into the relationship between public space, architecture, state infrastructure, gender and sexual identity.

Across the lavatories in Frieze London, esteemed artist Gray Wielebinski turns to the public toilet using scent to explore how these spaces mediate risk and desire. ‘Production’ will take the form of urinal cakes and toilet rim blocks that diffuse a custom scent as visitors enter toilet stalls.

In Frieze London’s Focus section, Laurie Smith presents new paintings based on the history of Huddersfield’s Gemini Club, a gay nightclub shut down following police harassment. The closure helped prompt the UK’s national Pride march to relocate there in solidarity. Smith’s work looks at cruising, performance and nightlife, alongside the disappearance of queer spaces through gentrification and surveillance.

At Amanda Wilkinson Gallery the notorious ‘King of Darkrooms’, Ajamu X, presents two new works from his experimental photographic series ‘’. In the same booth, expect works from Derek Jarman and Joan Jonas.

Globally renowned gallery Hauser & Wirth are showing Nicole Eisenman and Michaela Yearwood-Dan. For Eisenman, themes of human psychology, the human condition, queer culture, satire, and art history come together through an often-witty and figurative lens. For Yearwood-Dan, themes of blackness, queerness, femininity, healing rituals, carnival culture, and botanical motifs come together through abstract, poetic paintings.

Minor Attractions | The Newman Hotel, Central London (FREE)

One of the fastest-growing alternative fairs to Frieze, Minor Attractions is a free, ticketed fair staged in The Newman Hotel (formerly at The Mandrake). Galleries individually revamp rooms into striking, visually strong exhibitions without the white walls encountered in more traditional venues. For starters, look for the installation in Harlesden High Street’s hotel bathroom featuring Savannah Harris – where visitors can win an artwork for just £1.

Queer programming holds serious weight in this years fair. A collaboration with BOYS! BOYS! BOYS! involves a talk with writer, director & comedian Simon Amstell on 14 October. An opening party curated by Ryan Lanji takes inspiration from queer nightlife, taking place on the 13th in Camden at Electrowerkz. .

Whilst navigating the corridors make sure to spot the work of Eva Dixon on the adjacent walls. Known for using pop-culture motifs associated with masculinity and femininity, Dixon often uses household, DIY and construction materials instead of a traditional canvas to inform a practice rich with LGBTQ+ narrative.

Fair Play | One Marylebone, Marylebone (Ticketed)

An entirely new fair is taking place near Regents Park this year. Rather than paying costly fees, artists exhibit free of charge after being panel-selected. Founded by Ryan Stanier (The Other Art Fair), this fair is a newbie with a lot of noise. Although assumed to have more emerging and mid-career artists in comparison to Frieze, this fair packs a strong lineup still.

London-based painter Gavin Dobson presents themes of identity and sexuality through his personal experience. Dobson explores the tensions between daydreaming, fantasy and reality as a gay man – battling the unknown of strangers’ sexualities with clashing attractions and anxieties.

2021 Ingram Prize Winner James Dearlove explores the experience of a gay man in the city and at the same time rural isolation. Expect to see scenes of men absorbed in activities such as mending nets, inhabiting abstract beach scenes – highlighting intimacies of shared concentration through a gay lens.

Kwinnie Lé draws on mythology and folklore across their work. Lé explores how traditions and knowledges can be suppressed by colonialism, and in this case their booth takes inspiration from Vietnamese tattooing traditions.

Of course, beyond this list there are thousands of artists and events to discover, but hopefully this helps guide you through art week. Expect the inescapable FOMO, new art trends forming and artist/gallery breakthroughs. On behalf of Attitude, we hope you have a fantastic art week ahead.