For culture vultures, autumn in London is never about the weather. It is arguably the most hectic week of the high art season — a sort of Christmas-come-early for big collectors, deep-pocketed museums, top galleries, curators, artists, dealers, punters, punks, bohos and all the well-heeled spectators, window-shoppers and casual art-gazers who crowd the big white tents that magically unfurl along The Regent's Park every October. The tents, like all tents, are temporary, but their influence has left a permanent mark on London's cultural landscape.
Founded in 2003 by publishers Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover who were prescient enough to foresee the potential value — both curatorial and financial — of turning Frieze magazine (remember its inaugural edition featuring Damien Hirst's 'butterfly' painting?) into a mega fair, Frieze London has since become the biggest and brightest star in the British art world firmament. The event, which hosted around 90,000 visitors last year, generates such excitement among its audiences that it has given rise to an unusual phenomenon called 'Frieze Week.''
