AboutLondon Laura – September 2024
Did you try any of my recommendations from last month? And did you manage to book Holborn station Hidden London tour tickets? I visited friends in Wales, had some surgery and also now have a teen off to uni this month. So while my London-exploring opportunities were reduced, it was still been a busy summer.
Banksy
I had the joy of returning to London to a new Banksy artwork close to home.
The anonymous street artist created multiple animal-themed stencil artworks across London on a daily basis until we had nine new ones (although some were removed/defaced within hours).
This one is on my local chip shop. The owners were on holiday so it was quite a surprise for them too.
What’s Happening This Month?
September is actually my favourite month in London. There’s loads to do, it’s not as crowded as August and the weather is usually winning too.
Firstly, the Open House Festival is from Saturday 14 to Sunday 22 September 2024. This is when we get to see inside buildings that are generally off-limits to us. You need to book for some (which is a good thing as the long queues used to mean spending more time waiting than exploring) and some are ‘turn up’ openings. Check the online programme and plan to visit an area you’ve not been to before or a building you’ve walked past often and have always wondered what it’s like inside. And it’s all free. It really is a wonderful annual event.
Heritage Open Days is similar to Open House but has events across England. It’s on from 6 to 15 September 2024 and has plenty of interesting tours and openings in London too. But also gives you lots of reasons to go to areas outside the capital as well.
London Design Festival is on from 14 to 22 September 2024 with installations, talks and events across the city. Turkish artist Melek Zeynep Bulut’s ‘Duo’ at the Painted Hall looks amazing (although the pompous ‘art speak’ in the description may put you off).
Totally Thames runs for the whole month with cultural activities, talks, walks and boat rides along the length of the river. This includes the Great River Race on Saturday 21 September 2024.
Image credit: Vincent van Gogh The Bedroom, 1889. © The Art Institute of Chicago
September is also great on the cultural calendar as lots of new art exhibitions open. Van Gogh: Poets and Lovers opens at the National Gallery on 14 September 2024. It looks at how the artist was inspired by poets, writers and artists, and his time in Arles and Saint-Rémy in Provence as a decisive period in his career. And back on the Thames theme, Monet and London. Views of the Thames is at The Courtauld from 27 September 2024.
A Silk Road Oasis opens at the British Library on 26 September 2024 featuring the religious, civic and cultural life in the oasis town of Dunhuang in western China. And the Royal Academy has a colourful Michael Craig-Martin retrospective opening on 21 September 2024.
Image credit: Michael Craig-Martin, Common History: Conference, 1999. © Michael Craig-Martin. Image courtesy of Gagosian
The free Frieze Sculpture outdoor exhibition returns to The Regent’s Park from 18 September to 27 October 2024. And the four shortlisted artists for this year’s Turner Prize have their work on display at Tate Britain from 25 September 2024. Have a look and form your own opinion before the winner is announced on 3 December 2024.
If you’re looking for more street art, the London Mural Festival is back from 4 to 29 September 2024. We can expect over 100 new artworks to be created.
Another new outdoor artwork is arriving at The Southbank’s Hayward Gallery on Thursday 12 September 2024. ‘Target Queen’ is a new commission by British-Indian artist Bharti Kher.
Image credit: Bharti Kher, Installation view: Target Queen, Rockbund Art Museum, 2014. Photo: Yan Tao. Courtesy of Hauser & Wirth.
The wonderful Yayoi Kusama: EVERY DAY I PRAY FOR LOVE is the polka dot queen’s fourteenth solo exhibition at Victoria Miro. Tickets are released on 2 September with the show running from 25 September to 2 November 2024. I still have a phone screensaver image from one of her earlier exhibitions here so I may well need to go back and update that. You can also get another Kusama free ‘fix’ in Kensington Gardens where she has a huge yellow pumpkin by the Round Pond (on display until 3 November 2024).
Also on my radar, we can now join a free 20-minute tour of the British Museum’s Reading Room on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Lost Victorian City is at The London Archives and includes the City of London’s copy of the Magna Carta displayed beside King John’s letter authorising the City of London to elect their own mayor. (Thank you IanVisits for that tip.) Ian also reminded me about First Thursdays at Novelty Automation. If the old-style arcade games weren’t fun enough (they are!), there’s a bar evening on Thursday 5 September (5–9pm). It’s like playing at a seaside pier but you’re in central London.