London Literature Festival \u2013 Southbank Centre<\/a><\/h2>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.benhams.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Royal-Festival-Hall-from-Hungerford-Bridge.-Copyright-Morley-von-Sternberg-e1506509429899.jpg\")
\u00a9 Morley von Sternberg<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\nEvery October, the Southbank Centre hosts a prestigious gathering of internationally acclaimed authors, poets and speakers. Now in its eleventh year, the festival continues on a mission to educate, inform and entertain with the result that even the casual reader will find something inspirational to take away.<\/p>\n
A packed 20-day schedule will include writing workshops, motivational talks and live prose and poetry performances. Writer Phillip Pullman and photographer Annie Leibovitz are among the guest speakers and the event will also be attended by the Man Booker shortlist. The global impact of poetry over the last half century is one of the main themes of this year\u2019s gathering. www.southbankcentre.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\nDali\/Duchamp \u2013 Royal Academy<\/a><\/h2>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.benhams.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/key-53-e1506509623346.jpg\")
\u00a9 Succession Marcel Duchamp\/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\nAn intriguing exhibition in so many ways, this collection of works by two of the 20th Century\u2019s most unique artists casts light on an unlikely friendship that led to an acute meeting of minds. By the 1930s Marcel Duchamp had rejected painting as he forged ahead with the installation work that was to launch the conceptualist movement.<\/p>\n
Salvadore Dali, however, wasn\u2019t ready to quit his lucrative gig with the surrealist, but after making some overtly religious statements, he got kicked out anyway. The exhibition tracks the duo\u2019s maverick tendencies in the form of letters, photos and parallel works as they both took delight in each other\u2019s ability to disrupt the status quo. www.royalacademy.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\nLondon Oktoberfest \u2013 Canary Wharf<\/a><\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.benhams.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/beer-2439237_1920-e1506517124157.jpg\")
<\/div>\n\nThe idea behind this traditional Bavarian festival is stunningly simple. Drink beer. Eat sausage. Sing songs. Repeat. With typical Teutonic efficiency, this is all done in a large tent full of trestle tables, so there\u2019s no chance of people splitting into cliquey groups. A live band will be pumping out updated versions of German drinking songs to get everyone in the mood.<\/p>\n
Lederhosen and Dirndl dresses are optional and you might see some funky variations of both walking around. Don\u2019t worry if you don\u2019t know the words to the songs as there are only three main ones and they all end with \u201cHey, hey, hey!\u201d. Anyway, after a few giant beers you\u2019ll neither know or care. www.london-oktoberfest.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\nLondon Restaurant Festival \u2013 Restaurants Londonwide<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.benhams.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/discover_west-e1506679589756.jpg\")
Expanded and improved, this is a month-long event that turns October in London into a gastronomic nirvana. Bespoke dining experiences, food themed film nights and special tasting events are all included as the capital goes into massive epicurean overdrive.<\/p>\n
No matter how you like to enjoy your meals, the London Restaurant Festival has you covered. Free flowing prosecco on a riverboat? Sorted. Restaurant hopping in Mayfair? They\u2019ll plan a route. Even if you can\u2019t make the custom events there will be special festival menus at many of your favourite hangouts. From Aquavit to Yauatcha, you can be part of the foodie action that is currently making London a top international culinary destination.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\nPAD London Art Fair \u2013 Berkeley Square, Mayfair<\/a><\/h2>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.benhams.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/INGRAND_PARAVENT_VENUS_FACE-e1506514537326.jpg\")
\u00a9 Galerie Jacques Lacoste<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\nIf you wondered how your favourite interior design team get their inspiration, check out Mayfair’s PAD fair. Spotlighting the best art, design and decorative techniques from the 20th Century, PAD fuses modern visuals, photography and tribal pieces into bespoke and original interiors.<\/p>\n
Leading international galleries come together to collaborate at this boutique venue and will be displaying some of the most collectible pieces on the market today. Open to design professionals, collectors and also the public, the PAD is renowned for both its eclecticism and quality control. www.pad-fairs.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\nBFI London Film Film Festival \u2013 Southbank Centre<\/a><\/h2>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.benhams.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Embankment-Garden-Cinema-Internal-credit-BFI-e1506514753541.jpg\")
\u00a9 BFI<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\nAlways innovative, always challenging, the 2017 incarnation of the capital\u2019s premier gathering of film creativity throws up fresh new ideas as well as paying homage to past glories. The festival is structured around the idea that the film going public regard movies as an immersive experience that is also worthy of in depth analysis and investigation.<\/p>\n
To this end, the organisers have expanded the series of talks, interviews and workshops that can be attended. Giving their valuable insight into the movie creation process will be director David Fincher, composer Nitin Sawhney and actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Annette Benning. There will also be several gala launches for new works that span nearly every movie genre from kids cartoons to political documentaries. www.bfi.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\nMoniker International Art Fair \u2013 Old Truman Brewery<\/h2>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.benhams.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Laurance-Vallieres-Cardboard-Sculpture-e1506509440661.jpg\")
\u00a9 Laurance Vallieres, Cardboard Sculpture<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\nMoniker is the punk rocker of art fairs, bringing a disruptive and iconoclastic spirit into the polite world of October viewings. Sited at the cutting edge Old Truman venue, Moniker is, as usual, taking zero prisoners this year and visitors can expect a full on immersive experience from the moment that they walk through the door.<\/p>\n
Since the advent of Banksy, street art and its many offshoots has become a focus of intense interest for collectors. Moniker is the place to go if you want to sort the genuine examples of the movement from the also fans and copyists. This year\u2019s theme is \u201cTransient Tales\u201d \u2013 a look back at how displaced people created art on the move which in turn led to the graffiti which so codifies subsequent urban cultures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nFrieze Art Fair \u2013 Regent\u2019s Park<\/a><\/h2>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.benhams.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/29607961293_cd42fdab72_k-e1506615720271.jpg\")
\u00a9 Linda Nylind\/Frieze<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\nInfluential and high profile, the Frieze Art Fair is dedicated to promoting the arts at a time when economic forces are looking to demote its importance. The October event in the Capital is a key part of this strategy as it attracts gallery owners and culture ministers as well as artists and buyers.<\/p>\n
In addition to a full programme of paintings, films and sculptures, there are some interesting discussions on how the present culture of \u201calternative facts\u201d is affecting the arts world. Another inspiring theme is the collection of African-American art which combines a psychedelic view of black identity with some eye-catching propaganda pieces. www.frieze.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\nBladerunner 2049 \u2013 Cinemas Londonwide<\/a><\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.benhams.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/popcorn-1085072_1920-Pixabay-e1506515367981.jpg\")
<\/div>\n\nWhen Ridley Scott realised his dystopian masterpiece back in 1982, he had two main things going in his favour: his experience in set design and the minimalist acting of Harrison Ford. He doesn\u2019t direct this sequel but his influences are apparent and Ford also puts in an appearance. Ryan Gosling stars as a successor to the original Bladerunner stranded in a weird cityscape full of creepy replicants out to destroy society.<\/p>\n
The dark atmosphere of the original film is recaptured in full effect and the replicants are a bit edgier. Gosling has to leave the city in order to find his predecessor who holds the key to mankind\u2019s survival somewhere out in a post nuclear wilderness. Jared Leto gives a threatening performance as an malevolent presence determined to maintain control at all costs. www.bladerunnermovie.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Every October, the Southbank Centre hosts a prestigious gathering of internationally acclaimed authors, poets and speakers. Now in its eleventh year, the festival continues on a mission to educate, inform and entertain with the result that even the casual reader will find something inspirational to take away.<\/p>\n
A packed 20-day schedule will include writing workshops, motivational talks and live prose and poetry performances. Writer Phillip Pullman and photographer Annie Leibovitz are among the guest speakers and the event will also be attended by the Man Booker shortlist. The global impact of poetry over the last half century is one of the main themes of this year\u2019s gathering. www.southbankcentre.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n An intriguing exhibition in so many ways, this collection of works by two of the 20th Century\u2019s most unique artists casts light on an unlikely friendship that led to an acute meeting of minds. By the 1930s Marcel Duchamp had rejected painting as he forged ahead with the installation work that was to launch the conceptualist movement.<\/p>\n Salvadore Dali, however, wasn\u2019t ready to quit his lucrative gig with the surrealist, but after making some overtly religious statements, he got kicked out anyway. The exhibition tracks the duo\u2019s maverick tendencies in the form of letters, photos and parallel works as they both took delight in each other\u2019s ability to disrupt the status quo. www.royalacademy.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The idea behind this traditional Bavarian festival is stunningly simple. Drink beer. Eat sausage. Sing songs. Repeat. With typical Teutonic efficiency, this is all done in a large tent full of trestle tables, so there\u2019s no chance of people splitting into cliquey groups. A live band will be pumping out updated versions of German drinking songs to get everyone in the mood.<\/p>\n Lederhosen and Dirndl dresses are optional and you might see some funky variations of both walking around. Don\u2019t worry if you don\u2019t know the words to the songs as there are only three main ones and they all end with \u201cHey, hey, hey!\u201d. Anyway, after a few giant beers you\u2019ll neither know or care. www.london-oktoberfest.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n No matter how you like to enjoy your meals, the London Restaurant Festival has you covered. Free flowing prosecco on a riverboat? Sorted. Restaurant hopping in Mayfair? They\u2019ll plan a route. Even if you can\u2019t make the custom events there will be special festival menus at many of your favourite hangouts. From Aquavit to Yauatcha, you can be part of the foodie action that is currently making London a top international culinary destination.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n If you wondered how your favourite interior design team get their inspiration, check out Mayfair’s PAD fair. Spotlighting the best art, design and decorative techniques from the 20th Century, PAD fuses modern visuals, photography and tribal pieces into bespoke and original interiors.<\/p>\n Leading international galleries come together to collaborate at this boutique venue and will be displaying some of the most collectible pieces on the market today. Open to design professionals, collectors and also the public, the PAD is renowned for both its eclecticism and quality control. www.pad-fairs.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Always innovative, always challenging, the 2017 incarnation of the capital\u2019s premier gathering of film creativity throws up fresh new ideas as well as paying homage to past glories. The festival is structured around the idea that the film going public regard movies as an immersive experience that is also worthy of in depth analysis and investigation.<\/p>\n To this end, the organisers have expanded the series of talks, interviews and workshops that can be attended. Giving their valuable insight into the movie creation process will be director David Fincher, composer Nitin Sawhney and actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Annette Benning. There will also be several gala launches for new works that span nearly every movie genre from kids cartoons to political documentaries. www.bfi.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Moniker is the punk rocker of art fairs, bringing a disruptive and iconoclastic spirit into the polite world of October viewings. Sited at the cutting edge Old Truman venue, Moniker is, as usual, taking zero prisoners this year and visitors can expect a full on immersive experience from the moment that they walk through the door.<\/p>\n Since the advent of Banksy, street art and its many offshoots has become a focus of intense interest for collectors. Moniker is the place to go if you want to sort the genuine examples of the movement from the also fans and copyists. This year\u2019s theme is \u201cTransient Tales\u201d \u2013 a look back at how displaced people created art on the move which in turn led to the graffiti which so codifies subsequent urban cultures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Influential and high profile, the Frieze Art Fair is dedicated to promoting the arts at a time when economic forces are looking to demote its importance. The October event in the Capital is a key part of this strategy as it attracts gallery owners and culture ministers as well as artists and buyers.<\/p>\n In addition to a full programme of paintings, films and sculptures, there are some interesting discussions on how the present culture of \u201calternative facts\u201d is affecting the arts world. Another inspiring theme is the collection of African-American art which combines a psychedelic view of black identity with some eye-catching propaganda pieces. www.frieze.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n When Ridley Scott realised his dystopian masterpiece back in 1982, he had two main things going in his favour: his experience in set design and the minimalist acting of Harrison Ford. He doesn\u2019t direct this sequel but his influences are apparent and Ford also puts in an appearance. Ryan Gosling stars as a successor to the original Bladerunner stranded in a weird cityscape full of creepy replicants out to destroy society.<\/p>\n The dark atmosphere of the original film is recaptured in full effect and the replicants are a bit edgier. Gosling has to leave the city in order to find his predecessor who holds the key to mankind\u2019s survival somewhere out in a post nuclear wilderness. Jared Leto gives a threatening performance as an malevolent presence determined to maintain control at all costs. www.bladerunnermovie.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nDali\/Duchamp \u2013 Royal Academy<\/a><\/h2>\n
London Oktoberfest \u2013 Canary Wharf<\/a><\/h2>\n
<\/div>\nLondon Restaurant Festival \u2013 Restaurants Londonwide<\/h2>\n
Expanded and improved, this is a month-long event that turns October in London into a gastronomic nirvana. Bespoke dining experiences, food themed film nights and special tasting events are all included as the capital goes into massive epicurean overdrive.<\/p>\nPAD London Art Fair \u2013 Berkeley Square, Mayfair<\/a><\/h2>\n
BFI London Film Film Festival \u2013 Southbank Centre<\/a><\/h2>\n
Moniker International Art Fair \u2013 Old Truman Brewery<\/h2>\n
Frieze Art Fair \u2013 Regent\u2019s Park<\/a><\/h2>\n
Bladerunner 2049 \u2013 Cinemas Londonwide<\/a><\/h2>\n
<\/div>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.benhams.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/dogsnug_ray_of_sunshine_harness_-_1_2048x2048-e1506515120441.jpg\")