OREANDA-NEWS. From October 6 to 9, 2016, Frieze London will open its doors in Regent’s Park for the 14th time. The main section of the fair will be host to 179 international galleries staging solo and group exhibitions of contemporary artists. To mark the opening of the art fair and the fourth edition of the BMW Art Guide by Independent Collectors, BMW will co-host an Art Talk on October 4 with Soho House at Shoreditch House in East London, featuring Beth Greenacre (curator of the David Bowie Collection), David Roberts (founder of the David Roberts Arts Foundation) and Anna Somers Cocks (CEO of The Art Newspaper). Since 2014, Soho House and BMW i have been cooperating in the creation of events and experiences focussing on contemporary art, innovation and design. The expanded new edition of the BMW Art Guide, a one of a kind guide to private collections accessible to the public worldwide, now includes collections from countries such as South Korea, Romania and Lebanon and for the first time. It is also available as an eBook. The featured portraits illustrate 256 collections in 43 countries and 180 cities – including some that are showcasing their collection for the very first time.

In addition, BMW will present a unique project by South African artist Esther Mahlangu at the BMW 7 Series Lounge. Following the BMW Art Car designed by Mahlangu as the first female artist included in the collection since 1991, the artist now applied her talents to the interior of a BMW limousine. In collaboration with BMW Individual Manufaktur, Mahlangu decorated the trims of a sedan from the BMW 7 Series with the characteristic graphic motifs of Ndebele art. After a silent auction, profits from the sale of this BMW Individual 7 by Esther Mahlangu will be donated to a good cause following the fair. On the occasion of the upcoming exhibition “South Africa: the art of a nation”, on show at the British Museum from October 27, 2016, to February 26, 2017, in which the BMW Art Car by Esther Mahlangu will be featured, the artist will be part of the Art Talk at Frieze Auditorium on October 6, together with the co-curator of the show, Christopher Spring, and thus offer further insight into her work.

As part of the cooperation with Frieze London and its New York counterpart, BMW will once again present this year’s sound installation Frieze Sounds featuring three audio works by international artists commissioned specially for this event. Since 2013, Frieze Sounds has been enriching the visitor’s experience by adding the dimension of sound, both in the vehicles of the shuttle service as well as on the audio stations at the Reading Room and the BMW 7 Series Lounge. For the fifth consecutive year, Cecilia Alemani (High Line Art, New York) is curating this collaborative project – this time including a UK premiere, the commissioned works by Giorgio Andreotta Cal?, GCC and Liz Magic Laser.

As in previous years, BMW will provide the limousines of the VIP shuttle service transporting the fair’s VIP guests.