Frieze Art Fair in London

If you're going to be in London in mid October, make a note in your diary not to miss the Frieze Art Fair, which runs from the 17th to 20th in Regent's Park. It's the first-ever international, contemporary art fair to take place in Britain and, given the number and quality of the exhibitors, could be spectacular. (Image: The Holy Virgin by Glenn Brown, 2003, reproduced with permission from Frieze Art Fair.)

The exhibition has been organised by Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover, who co-publish the contemporary art magazine Frieze. Some 124 contemporary art galleries (read list) which are "the most dynamic generation of galleries working today", will be exhibiting work, 37 from the UK, 27 from the US, 40 from Europe, plus galleries from Japan, Mexico, and Israel. Sharp and Slotover say they believe that developments in Britain and particularly Londonin the last decade, including the opening of the Tate modern, has created a sufficiently large market of potential art collectors to warrant the fair.

The Frieze Fair will be housed in a 11,000 square metre structure designed by award-winning architect David Adjaye, who is "well kown for high highly acclaimed collaborations with artists". The show will present the work not only of established artists such as Damien Hirst, but also the work of newer artists. Accompanying the show is a daily programme of talks by panels of "major critics and curators" on "key issues in contemporary art" and art events (included in price of show ticket) such as a performance project by Paola Pivi.

A yearbook of the fair will be published, featuring essays by art critics on many of the artists at the fair. It will also be available for purchase online at the fair website.

Tickets can be obtained by phoning the ticket hotline on 0870 060 1789 (within UK) or book online at Ticketmaster.