All the must-see events and exhibitions for your diary this October

Calling all art aficionados based in New York, London, Oxford, Berlin, Santa Monica, Amsterdam or Margate, this month’s Diary is sure to be right up your street – literally. Autumn is always an exciting time for the creative world with anticipated exhibitions like the Turner Prize taking place alongside many major galleries’ winter blockbusters. This month, however, also champions the smaller, independent galleries and lesser-known names if you’re looking for something a little off the beaten track.

So, grab a pen and jot down all the details of exhibitions and shows below, and make sure you don’t miss a thing!

The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art and Fashion
Aperture Gallery, New York
24 October – 18 January 2020

Tyler Mitchell, Campbell Addy, Awol Erizku, Nadine Ijewere and Ruth Ossai are just some of the big names that will be exhibiting their work at Aperture’s upcoming exhibition The New Black Vanguard. The group show is a celebration of contemporary black photographers, artists and filmmakers and presents new perspectives on notions of race, beauty, gender and power. By collating and curating work from artists the world over, curator Antwaun Sargent presents viewers with diverse representations of blackness that counteract the historically racist and monolithic depictions of black bodies by white photographers.

Transformer: A Rebirth of Wonder
The Store X Vinyl Factory, 180 The Strand, London
2 October – 8 December 2019

Inspired by Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s socially critical poem I am waiting, Transformer: A Rebirth of Wonder brings together new work by the likes of Sophia Al Maria and Victoria Sin, Dozie Kanu, Jenn Nkiru, Chen Wei, Harley Weir and George Rouy to consider how representation and self-image can bring about positive change. The group show will invite viewers to reconsider their understanding of the world and, in curator Jefferson Hack’s words, "access altered states of consciousness as we step beyond reality into a series of highly authored, staged environments.”

Daniel Meadows: Now and Then
Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
4 October – 24 November 2019

Photographer Daniel Meadows is seen as a pioneer of the contemporary British documentary practice, having been capturing what he calls “the felt life of the great ordinary” for nearly 50 years. He studied with, and at points collaborated with, the best known of his peers in this subject, Martin Parr. This exhibition focuses on his Free Photographic Omnibus series following the changing lives of his subjects, wherein he photographed children, adults and couples in the 1970s and again in the 1990s. These portraits are shown in pairs, alongside films exploring other material from Meadows’ archive including letters, newspaper clippings, journals and audio recordings.

Walking Through Walls
Gropius Bau, Berlin
Until 19 January 2020

This show marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and features works by Marina Ambramović and Ulay, Mona Hatoum and José Bechara. Through exhibits by 28 international artists, it looks at three themes: the physical presence of walls as sites of separation; the impact those walls have on communities around them; and the struggles to overcome existing divisions. It also explores the historically charged location of the Gropius Bau museum itself, which is situated close to many symbolic sites in the history of the Berlin Wall.

Grayson Perry: Super Rich Interior Decoration
Victoria Miro Gallery, London
25 September – 20 December 2019

Presenting a new roster of pots, sculpture, large-scale prints, a tapestry and a carpet, artist Grayson Perry is launching his first solo exhibition at Victoria Miro since 2012. From 25 September to 20 December 2019, the show, titled Super Rich Interior Decoration, will see the artist cast an anthropological eye on the crossover between art, money, power and desire. New pots include Shopping for Meaning – covered with images of the artist wearing a wig, headscarf and various outfits – plus a tapestry inspired by the map of London.

New York, New York!
Peter Fetterman Gallery, Santa Monica
26 September 2019 – 22 February 2020

Featuring the likes of William Klein, Elliot Erwitt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ted Croner, Bruce Davidson, Louis Faurer, Cornell Capa, and Eve Arnold among others, the Peter Fetterman Gallery is presenting a selection of work that pays homage to the character and vibrancy of New York City. Titled New York, New York!, the exhibition will offer an insight into the inspirational city and birth-place of many great photographers.

William Blake
Tate Britain, London
11 September 2019 – 2 February 2020

Renowned painter, printmaker and poet William Blake has created some of the best-known works in British art. A key inspiration to many, he continues to influence a number of performers and artists today. The exhibition is an immersive recreation of a small domestic room where Blake showed his work back in 1809. In this new exhibition, you’ll be able to experience the impact of these works themselves as if they were shown for the first time.

Migrant Artists in Paris – Chagall, Picasso, Mondrian and others
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
21 September 2019 – 2 February 2020

Migrant Artists in Paris presents art from the superb collection of the Stedelijk Museum, and includes work by more than 50 artists, photographers and graphic designers. What’s more, the Stedelijk’s large collection of Chagalls will be on display for the first time in nearly 70 years: 40 works of art, including eight iconic paintings, some of which have been restored especially for the exhibition.

Turner Prize 2019
Turner Contemporary, Margate
28 September 2019 – 12 January 2020

As is customary every other year, the Turner Prize this year leaves the Tate and finds a new home, and this year it’s, aptly, at the Turner Contemporary in Margate. Always a much-anticipated show, four of the most exciting artists working right now are shortlisted to win the prize based on an outstanding exhibition that has taken place in the previous year. This year’s finalists include Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Helen Cammock, Oscar Murillo and Tai Shani.

Bridget Riley
Hayward Gallery, London
23 October 2019 – 26 January 2020

Opening towards the end of this month, Bridget Riley’s solo exhibition at the Hayward is not one to miss. The artist, who is now nearing 90, is considered one of the most important artists of our time and this exhibition offers visitors an unparalleled opportunity to experience her powerful and engaging works. Alongside Riley’s best-known canvases, the exhibition will also include rarely-seen drawings, studies and preparatory materials that offer an insight into the artist’s working methods from 1947 to the present day, as well as Continuum (1963/2005), the only three-dimensional work that the artist ever realised.