Free things to do in London this week

Frieze Sculpture returns for another year, transforming Regent's Park, one of London's prettiest green spaces, into a massive outdoor gallery. Expect massive sculptures curated by Fatoş Üstek, on the theme of ‘In the Shadows’, which means they'll be engage with the idea of darkness from many perspectives, whether that's inner darkness or the interplay between light and obscurity. The exhibition will be complemented by a programme of performances and talks, all free to the public.

It feels a bit like Oktoberfest all year round at Munich Cricket Club, but it really takes the Bavarian joy up a notch as the season approaches. From mid September til the end of October, the spirit of the fest will take over its Canary Wharf, Tower Hill and Victoria locations. Expect foaming steins, platters of sausage and a live oompah band to get the vibes flying. Dancing on tabletops is encouraged – just be careful not to slip on any saus. The festivities also include the ceremonial tapping of the Oktober barrel, straight from Munich, plus games, silliness and surprises. There's also a bottomless cheese fondue brunch for anyone looking to test their digestive system to its very limits. 

Once again you can expect to see remarkable feats of astrophotography at the Astronomy Photographer of the Year exhibition. It’s a chance to see magical views of both our own night sky and of galaxies far, far away. The winning spacey visions come from dozens of professional and amateur snappers in various categories including ‘Planets, Comets and Asteroids’, ‘Stars and Nebulae’, ‘Galaxies’ and ‘Young Astronomy Photographer of the Year’ for under-16s. Soar down to Greenwich to see the winners from 2025's competition on display. 

Lawrence Lek’s largest UK institutional exhibition is set to take over Goldsmiths CCA later this year, with the artist responding to the gallery’s architecture through both new and existing work. The London-based creative’s work is often dark and playful, and fuelled by his own brand of science-fiction that raises questions around the age of machine consciousness and social change.

Photography fans will want to train their lenses east this October. Annual month-long festival PhotoMonth is celebrating the printed image in venues from Mile End to Clerkenwell to Hackney to Deptford. An eclectic array of spaces will exhibit photography, including big institutions like Whitechapel Gallery, indie venues including Four Corners, and unusual locations such as shops, restaurants and cafes. The festival’s hub is at Art Pavilion in Mile End, which will display a group exhibition called ‘Longing’. There'll also be a new exhibition from Zed Nelson called ‘The Anthropocene Illusion’, which interrogates the troubled relationship between humans and the environment. There’ll also be around 50 pop-up exhibitions at locations across east London: download the fest’s interactive map to find them all. 

In celebration of Black History Month, central London event space The Outernet has teamed up with Black British platform Seasoned for an exhibition about what it means to be Black and British. Screened across the venue’s wraparound LED screens, it features responses to research done by the Runnymede Trust which found that nearly two thirds of Black Britons feel that racism in the UK has worsened in the last five years. Passersby are free to stop in at the open-air venue to check out the display, which runs for the majority of Black History Month and promises to be ‘a vibrant portrait of the diversity, creativity and resilience of Black Britain today’. Visitors are also encouraged to donate to the Runnymede Trust, a charity which works tirelessly to challenge structural racism in the UK. 

The British Urban Film Festival will return in October, with screenings at Shoreditch’s Rich Mix, Whitechapel’s Genesis Cinema and the Odeon Greenwich, plus live script readings at Islington’s Hens and Chickens pub theatre in collaboration with Unrestricted View Film Festival. Expect works by filmmakers and creatives who don’t always get mainstream recognition and platforming to be shown, with the programme to be confirmed in the coming months.

House of Music, the latest solo exhibition by Peter Doig, marks new territory for the artist who is increasingly known for being Europe’s most expensive painter, thanks to his works repeatedly selling for record-breaking, eye-watering sums on the secondary market. The show is Doig’s first foray into integrating sound into his work, through the inclusion of two sets of restored, cinema-standard analogue speakers which take centre stage in the Serpentine South Gallery, surrounded by a series of new and old paintings which relate to the artist’s love of music. The aim appears to be to transform the gallery into a listening space, something akin to the many hi-fi listening bars which have been popping up in spades around the UK in recent years, or Devon Turnbull’s excellent and hugely popular Hi-Fi Listening Room at Lisson Gallery the year before last. A smattering of plush recliners and chic tables and chairs are dotted around the various rooms, inviting art lovers to sit and enjoy the sounds of Doig’s personal vinyl collection as you take in the sights of his mesmerising, large scale paintings inspired by his time spent living in Trinidad, observing the country’s sound system culture which seemingly had a profound effect on the Scottish painter.  The only problem is, despite going to great lengths to acquire these mammoth speakers - they were ‘harvested from derelict cinemas’ by Doig’s collaborator Laurence Passera - you can’t actually hear the music very well. A private...

The Science Gallery’s exhibition Quantum Untangled uses art, science and interdisciplinary research to ask big questions about how quantum physics affects our world; like ‘How do we understand reality?’ ‘How do the smallest particles in the universe ripple across space and time?’ Now you can experince it after hours with live DJ sets, quantum computing arcade games and a studio playing an infinite remix of electronic artist ILĀ’s tracks in real time to produce an ever-evolving soundscape. There’ll also be chance to take picture in a quantum blur photobooth and chat to quantum researchers and technologists. Tickets are free, but must be booked in advance.   

Head to Greenwich to take part in family-friendly events to mark the Hindu festival of lights. Ocean Court will house all-female Bhangra performances by dance team Eternal Taal, a Bharatanatyam performance by Hashna Siva, and workshops so you can have a go. There's dressing up and storytelling for kids. There'll also be a hands on Rangoli workshop where you can try your hand at this colourful art form, plus a chance to make a Diwali lantern to carry in a lantern parade at the end of the day, to the beat of Dhol drummers.