The irresistible ‘London Calling’ will drag all the art world’s passionates to Regent’s Park, for Frieze Art Fair week. In this climate of art explosion, London’s Museums, Galleries and Salerooms are preparing exhibitions, talks and events that will host thousands of visitors and influential art world players.

For those who want to spend a week in London and want to satisfy their ‘need’ for Art, they'll be spoiled for choice: art fairs, countless gallery openings, and maverick exhibitions.

Yesterday (13 October) the Free Art Fair opened to anyone who really wants to take home a piece of art, but without a penny spent. The Fair, located in Central London between Frieze Art Fair and Zoo Art Fair, offers people the opportunity to get a prestigious artwork for free. On Sunday, when the show finishes, people will be able to take one piece of art away on a first come first served basis. Among the 50 participating artists are Gavin Turk, Stella Vine, Matthew Collings, Luke Gottelier and Marta Marcé.

The ICA has launched two exhibitions: Gail Pickering and Torsten Lauschmann in the Upper Gallery, as a starter to the following day’s opening of Roberto Cuoghi’s Suillakku, an immersive sound installation that will fill the Lower Gallery, inspired by the Assyrian lamentos for their gods during the falling of the city of Nineveh. Cuoghi has composed a soundtrack employing different instruments and multiplying his own voice, which strives to re- create a journey in Mesopotamia during the 6^th century BC, when the Assyrian Empire was falling into ruin.

Tate Modern opens two major exhibitions today, Tuesday October 14: Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster’s installation in the Turbine Hall that is part of the Unilever Series, which has previously hosted artists such as Rachel Whiteread, Anish Kapoor, Olafur Eliasson. Furthemore, Tate opens a retrospective of the Brazilian sculptor and installation artist Cildo Meireles, well-known for his provocative actions against the Brazilian’s repressive military regime.

Other important Gallery openings have to be mentioned for October, 14: the White Cube launches Josiah McElheny “Island Universe” in Hoxton Square, Sadie Coles HQ presents three solo-shows in three different locations: Florian Hecker in 35 Heddon Street, Gabriel Kuri in 9 Balfour Mews, Sarah Lucas in 69 South Audley Street, while the Albion Gallery opens with Ai Weiwei’s and Katie Paterson’s exhibitions.

The Haunch of Venison will have on show the electronic artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, who will exhibit a selection of recent works including a new installation developed specifically for the exhibition. At The Curve of the Barbican Centre, from October 9 to January 18, another work of the Mexican-Canadian artist will be on view: Frequency and Volume, powerful projectors that cast the shadows of participants on to the 80m long wall of the gallery. The shadows allow the participants to use their body to scan and listen to the electromagnetic spectrum of the city including radio, short-wave, navigation signals, taxi dispatches and more. The resulting sound environment is a live composition controlled by the audience's movements.

On the 15, along with Frieze Art Fair’s private view, which will open to the public the following day, Victoria Miro launches “Up Close and Impersonal,” the first major presentation in the UK of work by American painter Philip Pearlstein. At the same time, visitors can be immersed in the re-staged gallery space transformed through several interconnecting large-scale installations.  Too Late is the artwork that will be realized by Elmgreen & Dragset: the gallery space will appear like "a party that's already over: lights are still blinking and the disco ball sadly spinning, but there's no-one on the dance floor, and the last round has been served long ago,” which aims to underline the loss of common social ground.

Several mouthwatering shows open on the same day, including an exhibition at Hauser & Wirth of unseen works from Henry Moore Family Collection, Julie Opie at the Lisson Gallery, and Charline von Heyl at West London Projects.

Frieze Art Fair kicks off on October 16, with approximately 150 international galleries, the site-specific commissions curated by Neville Wakefield, and the adjacent Sculpture Park, curated by David Thorp. Commissioned artists for this year’s fair are Cory Arcangel, Pavel Büchler, Ceal Floyer, Tue Greenfort, Sharon Hayes, Jeppe Hein, Norma Jeane, Agnieszka Kurant, Bert Rodriguez, Allen Ruppersberg, and Andreas Slominski, and the winner of the 2008 Cartier Award that prompts a particularly prestigious commission, the young Cuban artist Wilfredo Prieto.

Every day interesting Talks will cover different topics with the participation of extraordinary speakers: Marc Camille Chaimowicz, Boris Groys, Jennifer Allen, Philippe Parreno, Alasdair Gray, Simon Reynolds, and none other than Yoko Ono, among many others.

An interesting experiment in film-making has been initiated for Frieze Film 2008 and is entitled “Road Movie,” produced and distributed on YouTube. The Project invites the public to submit a video of up three minutes, using Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road as a framework. The aim is to create a multi-authored fractal film assembled by the artists and curators.

Across Regent’s Park, Scope London presents its fourth edition with 50 international exhibitors, giving an overview of emerging artists, curators and dealers from around the world. Scope’s second edition of Museum Presents will feature China. The exhibition will present a selection of contemporary Chinese Art from the Saatchi Gallery, which opened its new space at the Duke of York’s HQ, King’s Road, on October 8, with the inaugural exhibition “The Revolution Continues: New Art from China.” Two Scope VIP private views are scheduled, one at the New Saatchi Gallery on the 17^th, and another at the Parasol Unit on the 18^th, for Charles Avery’s exhibition “The Islanders: An Introduction,” which started on September, 10.

The Radisson Edwardian Grafton Hotel in Tottenham Court Road will host Red Dot London from the 16^th until the 19^th, showing the work of some of the world’s most exciting emerging and established artists. Up to 60 galleries from around the world will exhibit in individual hotel rooms, creating an intimate and informal setting for collectors to discover art and meet with international dealers.

For those that are still not satisfied, the Wilkinson Gallery presents a Dora Garcia exhibition, and the Approach opens Edward Lipski’s show.

Still in the Regent’s Park area, Zoo Art Fair opens at the Royal Academy of Arts from the 17^th until the 20^th, showcasing 58 under-six-year-old galleries. Zoo represents a window for the next generation’s art professionals, providing an in-depth insight into the emerging art market. 

Another opening is worth seeing on the 17^th, at Alison Jacques Gallery: Thomas Zipp’s exhibition “White Dada.”

For Andy Warhol fans, the Hayward Gallery at Southbank Center will be projecting Warhol’s movies, screen tests, videos, and television programs, this could also be the chance to see Robin Rhode’s site specific works.

For anyone that still didn’t have the opportunity to see Mark Rothko at Tate Modern, Francis Bacon’s retrospective at Tate Britain, or Gerhard Richter and the Summer Pavilion at the Serpentine Gallery, Frieze Art Fair Week could be the perfect occasion to fill these gaps.

Sara Pergola

Frieze art fair 2006. Photograph: Linda Nylind.