Can Minor Attractions Grow Without Losing Its Intimacy?

When Minor Attractions launched at London’s Mandrake Hotel in 2023 to coincide with Frieze, it offered an antidote to the mega-fair’s vast, sprawling floor plan of seemingly infinite booths – death by 4,000 paintings. 

At the hotel, around 30 galleries shared eight rooms, creating a less saturated setting where collectors could take their time, with fewer dealers and paintings in their peripheral view.

Minor Attractions has always resisted calling itself an art fair, instead positioning itself as a cosier, more unruly alternative to the conventional fair format. But this October it is expanding, setting up shop at The Newman in Fitzrovia where 75 galleries will take over 16 rooms. The event is doubling down despite the art market’s struggles of late and the demise of several fairs in recent years.

The Art Journal spoke to its co-founder, Jacob Barnes, about what’s driving the expansion, what new possibilities it opens up and how Minor Attractions plans to retain the intimacy that defined it from the start.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

The Art Journal: Minor Attractions has grown from around 30 galleries to more than 75 this year. Why expand now, particularly given the difficult conditions in the art market?

Jacob Barnes: We are excited by the prospect of growing and building long-term infrastructure for London’s galleries. Obviously, the situation in the market is what it is, but we felt we had the tools and personnel to expand. There’s no perfect time for growth; you just take it when you can. Fortunately, the galleries around us are happy to grow with us.

You’ve frozen exhibitor costs despite rising operational costs. How is that sustainable?

JB: We have great partners who have helped support us, whether through in-kind contributions or capital. Despite the conditions we see in the market writ large, there’s still an appetite from a variety of stakeholders who want to see more access to the market.

The business isn’t as simple as a one-to-one relationship between galleries and us. There are a bunch of other pieces in play that have allowed us to grow and secure the access to the capital that will allow them to do that.

What are you seeing from galleries and audiences that gives you confidence there’s an appetite for a larger event?

JB: We responded to the demand from our audience. The art fair is a key component of what we do, but we also have an extensive programme and a lot of our stakeholders wanted to see that side of the fair grow.

You’re moving from eight rooms at the Mandrake to 16 at The Newman. What does the new venue make possible?

JB: The Newman is a brand-new hotel and the change in infrastructure means we’re able to consolidate things and create an experience that we think will really benefit the galleries. That’s not at all to the detriment of the Mandrake. It was about responding to the potential of the new space: expanding our programme without short-changing the work we were already doing with the galleries.

How have you approached the layout of the new edition?

JB: This year, the layout of the fair is about optimisation. We want to maintain the feel and character the fair has had since day one, but at a new scale.  We have everything across one floor, so this will probably be the most intimate fair to date.

Minor Attractions 2025 Installation Views. Credit Studio Adamson

How do you plan to retain the intimacy that defined Minor Attractions as you expand?

JB: For us, it’s about creating an environment that is generative. A big part of that, from a gallery point of view, is bringing the right people into the room and providing a VIP experience that is top-notch, legible and exciting to people who are used to going to major fairs like Frieze or Basel.

Minor Attractions has always resisted calling itself an art fair. What is it about the conventional fair model that you want to avoid?

JB: I think our position as a fair is to put all of our galleries and stakeholders in a position to succeed. We want to create an environment that’s curated, relevant and cutting-edge, while also making the commercial side efficient, clear and accessible.

There is an element of commerce that we absolutely want to foster because that’s how the industry survives. How galleries choose to engage with that is between them and their collectors.

As the event grows, does maintaining that distinction become harder?

JB: We don’t use the term ‘fair’ nomenclature. Whether we want to keep the term as we grow – that’s always going to be a negotiation. But it’s also the identity of what we do. If we lose that, then we aren’t really Minor Attractions anymore. I don’t think that’s at risk moving forward.

What responsibilities do you feel Minor Attractions has towards its galleries beyond providing the space?

JB: We try to create an environment that fosters opportunities. I think about the way my own gallery and career have developed on the basis of Minor Attractions. I shared a booth at Art-o-rama with Laila, whom I met at Minor Attractions last year, and I’ll be doing a collaboration in Kyoto with Khan Gallery from Tokyo, whom I shared a room with at Minor Attractions. Those are the kinds of partnerships and opportunities we try to foster. 

Minor Attractions Team . Credit Sam Hutchinson

You’ve described London as the most exciting city in the world. What makes you so bullish on its art scene right now?

JB: As someone from New York, I’m more excited about London than I’ve ever been in my time here. Every time we open a fair, I feel like it’s our job to demonstrate why this is the best city to be showing art in.

You’re also expanding the programme beyond the hotel, with parties, film, music and performance across London. Is the ambition now bigger than the fair itself?

JB: Programmatic growth is about thinking about venues that can accommodate more specialised programming. The external locations allow us to expand that side of what we do, while The Newman gives us the infrastructure to independently represent the commercial side of the art fair.

Is the goal to keep on growing?

JB: We’re really excited about building long-term infrastructure. For us, growth is about having the tools, personnel and community around us to create something that can continue to develop. There’s no perfect time for growth; you take it when the opportunity is there.