Though many of our beloved festivals, theatre shows and stadium tours couldn’t weather the COVID-19 storm inflicted upon the UK months ago, London’s iteration of the Frieze Art Fair has managed to beat the odds. In fact, throughout the month of October, a whole host of galleries, Frieze or anti-Frieze, are hosting socially-distanced shows across the capital. Split between URL and IRL offerings, here’s where you should be stopping off should you have a free afternoon, or two.

Brussells-based installations artist Ann Veronica Janssens has cooked up an absolute treat for us down in Peckham. Working with elusive or intangible materials, from projections to smoke, Janssens latest exhibition is the first major presentation of her work in London. ‘Hot Pink Turquoise’ is presented across three floors of the galleries’ fire station building, boasting one particular fascinating installation that sees an explosion of enchanting blue glitter sprawled across the floor to give the illusion of some kind of floating fairy paradise. On October 28th, this will be replaced by Bikes (2001), an immersive project in which five chrome-coated bicycles can be ridden by viewers across the gallery to reflect light across the space. Boris Bikes could absolutely never be this iconic…

‘Hot Pink Turquoise’ runs from 23rd September – 29th November 2020.

The Royal College of Art’s prestigious Summer showcase has gone on for over 250 years, through two world wars and even a couple of ‘end of the world’s’. This year is no different, well, okay, it is kind of. Opening a little later than planned (remember we only came out of lockdown in June), the show is host to over 1000 pieces of art, clogging up its walls, ceilings, and floorboards. The College has also dedicated its first two rooms to the work of black artists. From sculpture galleries to immersive LED displays, you’ll no doubt come away from this art-blockbuster feeling fulfilled, inspired, and maybe a little exhausted.

Find out more on the RCA’s website.

If candy-coloured neon is your thing, Bruce Nauman’s latest exhibition at the Tate Modern must be your idea of paradise. Featuring over 50 years worth of work from the multihyphenate artist, from sculpture to video, the retrospective follows on from MoMA’s take back in 2018. You’ve probably already seen the enchanting “One Hundred Live and Die” on someone’s Instagram story, I mean, it’s not like you could miss it. Other pieces include more swirly and turbine mimicking signage, and a video of a bald man’s spinning head. That’s versatility, folks.

Bruce Nauman’s retrospective runs from 7th October 2020 – 21 February 2021.

We couldn’t not include this one, and we’re pretty sure it’s pet friendly too. Ditching the signature big white tent, possibly for fear of Regent’s Park being mistaken as a Covid testing centre, Clare Lilley, director of programme at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, has curated an outdoor show for Frieze Sculpture featuring 12 of her favourite pieces from artist’s across the globe. It even includes Fabio Lattanzi Antinori’s AD KEYWORDS (2020), which uses a live feed to show the monetary value of key-words in real-time, basically a dictionary enthusiast’s wet dream.

Running from Monday 5th October to Sunday 18 October 2020.

Supported using public funding by the National Lottery (through Arts Council England), and with additional help from Projekt and FAD Magazine, Five Hides is a contemporary artist exhibition featuring 19 of the artworld’s best up-and-comer’s. Curated by Thorp Stavri, Five Hides features work from the likes of Corbin Shaw, Enam Gbewonyo and Charlotte Dawson, and seeks to showcase the diversity of artists in the UK, working across mediums like performance and installation to straight-up painting, whilst playing into the hands of the gigantic space in Walworth. Seriously, it’s massive, and well worth a trip across the river to join one of their artists workshop’s this weekend.

Book your free exhibition tickets here.