"After a pandemic-induced pause, Frieze London and Frieze Masters are returning to Regent’s Park with galleries from 39 countries. For a new section called “Unworlding,” Palais de Tokyo curator Cédric Fauq commissioned works from emerging artists focused on the creative potential of things falling apart."

"Frieze Sculpture is as delightful as ever—even while addressing themes such as geopolitical power structures and climate change. Yorkshire Sculpture Park’s Clare Lilley has curated a colorful range of works by artists from Daniel Arsham to Ibrahim El-Salahi to Rose Wylie in the English Gardens, on view through October 31."

"Don’t miss 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair at Somerset House (from October 14-17), with artworks from 48 international galleries—20 of them from the African continent. Sharjah Art Foundation’s Omar Kholeif is organizing a series of artist talks, performances, and screenings on the topic of “Continental Drift.”"

"Meanwhile, courtesy of the young Nigerian-British curator Aindrea Emelife, and coinciding with Black History month in the U.K., Christie’s King Street galleries are exhibiting “Bold, Black, British.” The show, which runs from October 1-22, will feature works by 27 Black British artists, from the pioneering Sonia Boyce to the Malawi-born multimedia artist Samson Kambalu."

"And Gagosian’s “Social Works II” (October 7­–December 18, 2021) is the follow-up to writer, curator, and recently appointed Gagosian director Antwaun Sargent’s New York show, which spotlighted socially engaged works by leading Black artists. The London iteration will have new works from architect David Adjaye, artist Lubaina Himid, fashion designer Grace Wales Bonner, and other creators from across the African Diaspora."

"There are more must-see shows around town. Among them: “Lux” at 180 Studios, 180 The Strand—the Brutalist landmark turned contemporary cultural hub—is staging large-scale and immersive new-media installations by artists such as Es Devlin, Carsten Nicolai, and Hito Steyerl (October 13­–December 18)."

"Tate Britain has a major retrospective of the Lisbon-born, London-based Paula Rego, credited with revolutionizing representations of women in figurative art (until October 24)."

"And south of the Thames, Tate Modern has commissioned a site-specific installation from the Korean-American conceptual artist Anicka Yi for its Turbine Hall, opening on October 12 and closing on January 16, 2022."

"With “Mend Piece for London” at Whitechapel Gallery (through January 2, 2022), Yoko Ono is reviving an interactive installation that she staged in London more than 50 years ago. Upon entering, you’ll find broken pottery fragments, glue, scissors, tape, and twine on two white tables, plus instructions from the artist: “Mend carefully. / Think of mending the world at the same time.”"

"These days, some of London’s best restaurants can be found in its art institutions. They include Spring in Somerset House’s New Wing. It offers seasonally inspired menus, which change daily, from the Australian-born chef Skye Gyngell."

"Artist Jonny Gent and St. John Restaurant co-founder Jon Spiteri just opened Clerkenwell’s Sessions Arts Club in an 18th-century courthouse restored by SODA architect Russell Potter and Sätila Studios. Expect an art gallery, a roof terrace with an infinity pool, and chef Florence Knight’s simple yet refined dishes informed by British, French, and Italian cooking, with ingredients from local growers."

"At The Beaumont—the ca.-1926, transatlantic-style hotel in Mayfair, with its new, Thierry Despont-designed Gatsby’s Room lounge—you can sleep inside Room (2014), an inhabitable sculpture created for the property by Antony Gormley."

"Nearby, Claridge’s is as stylish and Art Deco as ever—especially with its new, pink onyx–clad Painter’s Room bar. Pop in for an artful cocktail (say, a Saint Remy—a sort of martini inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s Almond Blossom, also with apple and quince) amid a stained-glass installation commissioned from British artist Annie Morris."

"Art and design lovers should not miss the Hill House, an Art Nouveau landmark in the Victorian resort town of Helensburgh. The late, great Glaswegian architect and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed every aspect of the space—exteriors and interiors, furnishings, fittings, and fixtures. It is a total work of art."

"The ca.-1885 Aberdeen Art Gallery houses one of the country’s most important collections, with works from national and international names, both emerging and established, from Scottish multimedia artist Rachel McLean to Impressionist titan Claude Monet."

"There are a number of smaller, more remote operations that are worth the effort to reach—like Gaada, an artist-led, community-based visual art workshop and exhibition space in a tiny former Methodist chapel on Shetland’s Burra Isle."

"Mount Stuart is a quirky art-and-design Mecca on the Isle of Bute. The Neo-Gothic mansion has 300 acres of gardens, the world’s first heated swimming pool (so it’s said), and a Marble Hall with a vaulted ceiling swathed in a crystal-studded star map and stained-glass windows depicting the zodiac signs."

"With her partner Rob, the Noma and Fäviken–trained chef Pam Brunton opened Inver on a secluded stretch along Loch Fyne back in 2015. Their tiny labor of love has since become a destination in its own right, thanks to Brunton’s nostalgic, New Nordic take on classic and forgotten dishes from her homeland (think Orkney barley cake with crab-apple sorbet, dehydrated apple mousse, and marigold petals)."

"Whiskey aficionados will want to visit Brora, a ca.-1819 “ghost distillery” brought back to life. A victim of Scotland’s 1983 whiskey market crash, it sat closed for nearly four decades on the northeast coast of Sutherland, and its rare, smoky single malts have recently seen skyrocketing prices at auction—a 40-year-old bottle was sold for a record £54,450 ($74,415) at a Sotheby’s in 2019. Following a three-year restoration, the distillery reopened this year."

"One of the most interesting hospitality projects in recent years came from Manuela and Iwan Wirth of Hauser and Wirth, who turned a 19th-century coaching inn at the heart of the Cairngorms National Park into the art-filled Fife Arms."

"The Oetker Collection has been converting period homes for its new range of private, all-inclusive Masterpiece Estates. Among them is Glen Affric, with its Victorian lodge and stables on the shores of Loch Affric, surrounded by 10,000 acres of wilderness."