Somerset House Studios’ artist-led market and programme, The Artists’ Fair returns on 6 June with a day of activity including:
- Montez Press Radio live programme broadcast with Hannah Perry, Kwake Bass, Mark Leckey, Tara Fatehi, Tice Cin, Nadeem Din-Gabeesi, Emma Warren, Lina Džuverovi?, Kathrin Böhm.
- Spaghetti Club, the family-oriented art criticism zine-making workshop.
- Let’s Collab, Babe! A speed-networking event hosted by Gemma Rolls-Bentley.
Also announcing:
- Studios’ new shared workspace n-Space will host its first open day on 2 May titled States of Exception with speakers Max Haiven, Dr. Seeta Peña Gangadharan Damien Roach, Günseli Yalcinkaya, Wassim Z. Alsindi, Ruby Justice Thelot and Sarah Friend.
- Sian Fan will take over G31, with her new exhibition False Idol from 30 April – 12 July 2026.
- Three new Studios’ residents are announced for the UNESCO AI Ethics Residency: Joshua Ashish Dawson, Minne Atairu, and Mac Andre Arboleda.
A highlight of the programme is the alternative artist-led market The Artists’ Fair will return for its fourth edition on 6 June 2026.
The market offers an opportunity to connect directly with artists around their work, bringing audiences together with practitioners through stalls, conversations and exchanges across the day. Imagine a car-boot-meets-Frieze-week, with stalls featuring everything from artworks, props, posters and clothing with 100% of the profits going directly to the artists. Invited artists and organisations include: a-n, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, Cooking Sections, Danielle Wilde, Fernanda Muñoz-Newsome, Harun Morrison, Jacob Samuel, Paul Purgas, Philomene Pirecki, Sam Williams, Strike Design Studio, and WANAWAL, with more to be announced.
Organised in collaboration with Montez Press Radio, this year’s talks programme will be transmitting live from the River Rooms for audiences further afield to tune in. Each year responds to timely challenges artists face today, and this year’s programme explores poetic and pragmatic ways artists can thrive amidst uncertainty emerging within a landscape marked by political rupture.
The programme includes:
- Today’s Letters, a public reading of intimate, reflective letters written by sonic artist and poet Tice Cin, musician Nadeem Din-Gabeesi, and writer Emma Warren, sitting between the personal and the collective.
- The Violence of Money, with curator Lina Dz?uverovi?and artist Kathrin Böhm, will be a frank and informative conversation confronting the practical realities of financially making it work as an artist.
- Studio Outlaws: Working Off the Record brings artists and musicians Hannah Perry, Kwake Bass, andMark Leckey together to discuss the shrinking space for DIY exhibitions and initiatives, why self-organisation is a strong strategy for mid-career artists, and how to reinforce a sense of community in London’s increasingly busy and hyper-productive culture.
- The programme closes with The Walk, an audio journey exploring the fair with artist and writer Tara Fatehi, weaving through the River Rooms, interacting with and observing the people, objects, materials and sounds that surround her.
The Artists’ Fair welcomes back Spaghetti Club, a kids-led critical forum for ages 7+ to debate art and the power of friendship, with a DIY zine-making workshop. For younger visitors, a dedicated family room will be available throughout the fair, offering activities for children under 7.
Let’s Collab, Babe! with Gemma Rolls-Bentley also returns to The Artists’ Fair. The Studios’ playful networking and speed-meeting event invites artists, musicians, performers, dancers, technologists and curators to meet fellow attendees, sparking new collaborations, friendships and unexpected solidarities.
Full programme, tickets and timings here.