Three Debuts to Watch at Minor Attractions

On the first floor of London’s Newman Hotel, the fourth edition of Minor Attractions brings together more than 75 galleries.

Founded in 2023, Minor Attractions began with 29 galleries split between two London locations. The following year it moved into a hotel-room format, with 40 galleries sharing 15 rooms at the Mandrake.

Now in its fourth edition, the fair has grown to more than 75 galleries across 16 rooms at The Newman, running alongside Frieze London’s much larger fair in Regent’s Park.

Its mix of commercial galleries and not-for-profit spaces gives the week a different scale and texture. Entry is free with an RSVP. These are three first-time exhibitors to look out for.

1. Mara Projects, London/Tirana

Saelia Aparicio, 'Transibench'. Photo: Courtesy of Mara Projects

Based between London and Tirana, Mara Projects is one of the newest galleries at the fair, having marked its first anniversary in September. As part of the Single Works presentation, it has brought Transibench, a hand-crafted plywood bench by Saelia Aparicio, a London-based Spanish artist. Drawing on medieval transi tombs, the work explores the shifting relationship with death.

“As a nomadic gallery, we don't have a permanent space where people can find us, so fairs become our home for that week,” says founder Lisja Tërshana. “Minor Attractions' format for a single-work participation is especially interesting to us. You have to share the space, but you also share each other's networks, friends and audiences, and you meet galleries you might never have crossed paths with otherwise. That exchange is worth a lot.”

2. Tala, Chicago

Roland Knowlden Jr., Installation view at Tala. Photo: Courtesy of Minor Attractions

Chicago-based Filipina-American arts organiser Francine Almeda founded Tala in 2024. The name means ‘bright star’ in Tagalog. For its first presentation at the fair, the gallery is showing ceramics, assemblages and film pieces by Lola Ayisha Ogbara and Roland Knowlden Jr, in a collaboration with London gallery Harlesden High Street.

Almeda says the fair offered an opportunity to create an experimental booth within an expansive international art scene. “We were particularly excited to utilize the unique facets of the hotel room to create a booth that felt more like an exhibition, within which surprise and serendipity felt like core parts of the planning process,” she says.

3. Galería Reus, Mallorca

Installation views. Photo: Courtesy of Galeria Reus and Minor Attractions

For its Minor Attractions debut, the Mallorcan gallery has collaborated with the London-based space Des Bains, bringing together paintings, sculptures and a site-specific installation by five artists. These include paintings by Karolina Albricht, a London-based Polish artist whose textural, abstract figures create poetic worlds.

“For galleries based outside the traditional art capitals, like us in Mallorca, London offers an important opportunity to connect with an international audience, exchange ideas and build relationships,” says the gallery’s co-owner and director, Raquel Victoria. “Of course, it's also a very competitive and demanding city, particularly for smaller galleries, but I think that's why initiatives like Minor Attractions are so valuable. They create alternative ways of participating in the art scene and make space for different voices and approaches.”