As Frieze Week brings major art events to London, the independent fair Minor Attractions is making room for emerging galleries and artists with a more intimate format. Its fourth edition takes place at The Newman, a newly opened hotel in central London.
The fair brings together 38 galleries from 15 countries across 16 hotel bedrooms, with some exhibitors sharing rooms. The setting lets visitors encounter artworks in a domestic-scale environment, while creating opportunities for younger galleries to meet collectors and curators.
For many exhibitors, the event offers an early step into the art-fair world. Kindred, a Farringdon record store and radio station, is combining works by artists from its creative community with DJ performances. Its co-founder Scarlet Griffiths is also showing photography that she alters through hands-on processes including stitching, scratching and stamping.
Other presentations explore identity, consumer culture and the meaning of luxury. Goldsmiths MFA graduates Moses Tan and Philip Steele have created an installation spanning a hotel bedroom, wardrobe and bathroom. Artist duo Bora Akincitürk and Millie Rose Dobree use an installation to question the relationship between wellness and luxury.
The fair also brings newer exhibitors together with established galleries. London gallery Cedric Bardawil is sharing a room with Belgium-based Tatjana Pieter, whose gallery is presenting works priced below £15,000. Several exhibitors say the event helps them connect with a younger generation of buyers while offering a more accessible entry point to contemporary art.
By pairing emerging practices with a close-knit setting, Minor Attractions points to how smaller fairs can broaden access to the art market and shape new collector communities.
