29th October 2026
Autumn news: Oxford Street’s car-free future, the UK City of Culture shortlist and must-see end-of-year arts
A new era for Oxford Street; Barnet celebrates Light + Flight festival; Milton Keynes pops the corks; rebuilding Berlin with CHYBÍK + KRIŠTOF; colour at the V&A; and singing about sewage
Photo by Laura Lapios.
East
Walk this way: Oxford Street pedestrianisation phase one begins
Walk this way: Oxford Street pedestrianisation phase one begins
The pedestrianisation of Oxford Street is a reality at last. Cars, buses and bikes (yes, that includes you, Limes) will no longer clog the UK’s most famous shopping street. As of now, the thoroughfare belongs exclusively to pedestrians – locals, workers and tourists alike.
The political vision of Mayor Sadiq Khan, the first stage of the project is progressing thanks to lead architects East (heading a team that includes J&L Gibbons, Gehl, Publica, Etude, and NRP), with the coordination of the Oxford Street Development Corporation (OSDC).
Phase one sees a one-kilometre stretch between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street fully pedestrianised: road markings removed, public seating introduced and trees cultivated on-site prior to planting. Permanent construction on this section is expected to begin in late 2027, with completion targeted for 2028.
For the team at East, Oxford Street’s future connects directly to its vibrant past as somewhere that Virginia Woolf described memorably as somewhere ‘everything glitters and twinkles.’ A century later, Oxford Street may yet twinkle again.
Walk the walk
The political vision of Mayor Sadiq Khan, the first stage of the project is progressing thanks to lead architects East (heading a team that includes J&L Gibbons, Gehl, Publica, Etude, and NRP), with the coordination of the Oxford Street Development Corporation (OSDC).
Phase one sees a one-kilometre stretch between Orchard Street and Great Portland Street fully pedestrianised: road markings removed, public seating introduced and trees cultivated on-site prior to planting. Permanent construction on this section is expected to begin in late 2027, with completion targeted for 2028.
For the team at East, Oxford Street’s future connects directly to its vibrant past as somewhere that Virginia Woolf described memorably as somewhere ‘everything glitters and twinkles.’ A century later, Oxford Street may yet twinkle again.
Walk the walk
Ascendance by Matthew Rosier and UP Projects. Courtesy of Matthew Rosier and UP Projects.
Barnet Council – Light + Flight
Two cultural weekends about migration, community and hope
Two cultural weekends about migration, community and hope
The London Borough of Barnet caps off a year of creativity with two festival weekends on 14–15 and 21–22 November. Presented by Art in Barnet and co-curated with the local community, Light + Flight presents a packed programme of cutting-edge music, family-friendly art activities, food pop-ups and more.
The festival’s headline commission is artist Matthew Rosier’s ‘Ascendance’. Set within the atrium of a five-storey complex, opened to the public for the first time, this large-scale video projection features visuals of local young people, audio recordings of elders sharing their migration stories to the borough, native birdsong and an original score. The piece taps into Barnet’s rich history as a place of arrival for humans and wildlife alike, and will be unveiled as the sun goes down at 4.30pm on 14 November, remaining open until 22 November. Don’t miss it.
Take flight
The festival’s headline commission is artist Matthew Rosier’s ‘Ascendance’. Set within the atrium of a five-storey complex, opened to the public for the first time, this large-scale video projection features visuals of local young people, audio recordings of elders sharing their migration stories to the borough, native birdsong and an original score. The piece taps into Barnet’s rich history as a place of arrival for humans and wildlife alike, and will be unveiled as the sun goes down at 4.30pm on 14 November, remaining open until 22 November. Don’t miss it.
Take flight
Exhibition imagery by Typltová Apolena, courtesy of CHYBÍK + KRIŠTOF.
CHYBÍK + KRIŠTOF
Exhibition takes inspiration from Berlin
Exhibition takes inspiration from Berlin
CHYBÍK + KRIŠTOF’s exhibition, Building the Existing City, kicked off in Berlin last week, and is set to run until 3 December. Offering a unique insight into the architects’ process, the exhibition turns the Aedes gallery space into an open studio where they will develop new proposals for four overlooked sites in the German capital.
Working with local stakeholders and the public, the practice is exploring how public space can better serve neighbourhoods, high-rise living, historic industrial buildings and inclusive sports spaces, opening up debate about the cities of today through talks, walks, screenings and workshops.
In parallel, 20 of the practice’s projects are displayed around the event’s four core themes – Play, Live, Activate, and Adapt – to explore how architecture can strengthen public life and enhance existing neighbourhoods.
Rebuild Berlin
Working with local stakeholders and the public, the practice is exploring how public space can better serve neighbourhoods, high-rise living, historic industrial buildings and inclusive sports spaces, opening up debate about the cities of today through talks, walks, screenings and workshops.
In parallel, 20 of the practice’s projects are displayed around the event’s four core themes – Play, Live, Activate, and Adapt – to explore how architecture can strengthen public life and enhance existing neighbourhoods.
Rebuild Berlin
Image courtesy of Destination Milton Keynes.
Milton Keynes
MK makes UK City of Culture shortlist!
MK makes UK City of Culture shortlist!
When we last covered this, Milton Keynes had just submitted its UK City of Culture 2029 bid, celebrating the young city’s unique ‘hippies in helicopters’ origin story, and its characteristically quirky cocktail of tech and tradition.
Last week, Milton Keynes was officially announced as one of the four cities to make the final shortlist, bringing it a step closer to securing the title – due to be announced early next year.
Established as one of the final and largest developments under the New Towns Act of 1946, Milton Keynes grew out of a modernist utopian vision – an ambitious experiment in building a community from the ground up, and a blueprint for a better way of living. More than 2,500 people were involved in shaping the #MiltonKeynes2029 bid, coming together through 173 engagement events – a shared celebration of the inventiveness and joyful eccentricity that has defined the city since its inception. Milton Keynes turns 60 years old in 2027, but as its campaign slogan says, ‘we’re just getting started’.
Last week, Milton Keynes was officially announced as one of the four cities to make the final shortlist, bringing it a step closer to securing the title – due to be announced early next year.
Established as one of the final and largest developments under the New Towns Act of 1946, Milton Keynes grew out of a modernist utopian vision – an ambitious experiment in building a community from the ground up, and a blueprint for a better way of living. More than 2,500 people were involved in shaping the #MiltonKeynes2029 bid, coming together through 173 engagement events – a shared celebration of the inventiveness and joyful eccentricity that has defined the city since its inception. Milton Keynes turns 60 years old in 2027, but as its campaign slogan says, ‘we’re just getting started’.
Andu Masebo, courtesy of American Hardwood Export Council.
Andu Masebo
The Nue Black Aesthetic at the Design Museum
The Nue Black Aesthetic at the Design Museum
‘What does it mean to be a Black designer working today?’ From 6 November, the Design Museum launches a nine-month deep dive into that question. Running until 8 August 2027, the exhibition Nue Black Aesthetic seeks to explore the multitude of possible answers through the works of leading designers including Andu Masebo, Simone Brewster, Mac Collins, Phoebe Collings-James, Giles Tettey Nartey, Samuel Ross, Rachel Scott and many others.
With more than 100 objects on display, spanning fashion, furniture, architecture and product design, the show encourages visitors to rethink assumptions about Black design by highlighting the diversity of practices and voices within it. Its title is inspired by previous cultural movements – the Black Aesthetic of the 1960s and the New Black Aesthetic of the 1980s. This time around, however, the Design Museum proposes a ‘Nue’ perspective, defined by nuance and multiplicity.
Take a nue look
With more than 100 objects on display, spanning fashion, furniture, architecture and product design, the show encourages visitors to rethink assumptions about Black design by highlighting the diversity of practices and voices within it. Its title is inspired by previous cultural movements – the Black Aesthetic of the 1960s and the New Black Aesthetic of the 1980s. This time around, however, the Design Museum proposes a ‘Nue’ perspective, defined by nuance and multiplicity.
Take a nue look
Alex Booker’s woodcut workshop. Photograph by Sam Redman.
Alex Booker
New woodcut workshops series
New woodcut workshops series
In our age of digital overload, any opportunity to get offline and make something with your hands is one to be seized and woodcut artist Alex Booker’s printmaking workshops never fail to satisfy that creative impulse.
Woodcut printing is the world’s oldest recorded print form, with origins in the sixth century that can be traced both to Korea and Egypt. The basic techniques are easy to learn, making it possible for anyone to create an artwork they can be proud of in a matter of hours – especially with a teacher like Alex.
Alex’s three-hour workshops start at £85 a person, and he can teach up to 14 people at once in a private class. Participants are provided with all materials, including traditional Japanese hand tools, a bamboo burnishing disc (baren) for hand-printing, A4 Shina plywood, three types of paper, water-based inks, pencils, slipmats and rollers.
Ink, ink, ink
Woodcut printing is the world’s oldest recorded print form, with origins in the sixth century that can be traced both to Korea and Egypt. The basic techniques are easy to learn, making it possible for anyone to create an artwork they can be proud of in a matter of hours – especially with a teacher like Alex.
Alex’s three-hour workshops start at £85 a person, and he can teach up to 14 people at once in a private class. Participants are provided with all materials, including traditional Japanese hand tools, a bamboo burnishing disc (baren) for hand-printing, A4 Shina plywood, three types of paper, water-based inks, pencils, slipmats and rollers.
Ink, ink, ink
Young Man Asleep by Mahtab Hussain. Image courtesy of Gallery Oldham.
Two Temple Place
And relax… 2027 exhibition dives into the radicalism of rest
And relax… 2027 exhibition dives into the radicalism of rest
Opening on 23 January 2027, Two Temple Place’s flagship exhibition, Gathering Rest, comes at a time when society is waking up to the impacts of burnout and the necessity of rest in a culture that lionises constant productivity.
Curated by Jessica Wan Ka Po, this major group exhibition highlights how contemporary artists explore personal and collective experiences of rest in the context of burnout, inequality and ecological crisis. Drawing from public collections across the UK, Gathering Rest features works by Abbas Zahedi, Chila Kumari Singh Burman, Helen Cammock, Lubaina Himid, Sian Fan, Tracey Emin, Yto Barrada and others.
By examining multiple facets of rest, including as a means of recovery, a process of reconnection and a tool of resistance, the exhibition reframes it as a radical practice, asking who gets to rest, what prevents us from doing so, and what rest might make possible for our bodies, communities and futures.
Take time out
Curated by Jessica Wan Ka Po, this major group exhibition highlights how contemporary artists explore personal and collective experiences of rest in the context of burnout, inequality and ecological crisis. Drawing from public collections across the UK, Gathering Rest features works by Abbas Zahedi, Chila Kumari Singh Burman, Helen Cammock, Lubaina Himid, Sian Fan, Tracey Emin, Yto Barrada and others.
By examining multiple facets of rest, including as a means of recovery, a process of reconnection and a tool of resistance, the exhibition reframes it as a radical practice, asking who gets to rest, what prevents us from doing so, and what rest might make possible for our bodies, communities and futures.
Take time out
Red seaweed used by Zeefier. Photo by Hannah Braeken.
V&A Make Good
Biocolour – exploring dyes and pigments derived from nature
Biocolour – exploring dyes and pigments derived from nature
The contemporary quest for lasting, vibrant colour comes at a high cost. Industrial dyes and pigments, made predominantly from plastics, chemicals and heavy metals, do not biodegrade easily and pollute oceans and landscapes, damaging human, animal and plant health. Despite these serious problems, the design process has often overlooked the consequences of artificially produced colours.
Via four new commissions, this year’s Make Good at V&A Kensington platforms a new generation of designers turning natural materials into compelling alternatives to industrially produced colour, reflecting a growing awareness about the environmental impact of synthetic colourants.
V&A Kensington’s 2026 display, curated by Anna Bates, looks at the long history of biocolour and presents pioneering experiments from contemporary practitioners, demonstrating that colour made from natural materials can be visually compelling and environmentally responsible.
A splash of colour
Via four new commissions, this year’s Make Good at V&A Kensington platforms a new generation of designers turning natural materials into compelling alternatives to industrially produced colour, reflecting a growing awareness about the environmental impact of synthetic colourants.
V&A Kensington’s 2026 display, curated by Anna Bates, looks at the long history of biocolour and presents pioneering experiments from contemporary practitioners, demonstrating that colour made from natural materials can be visually compelling and environmentally responsible.
A splash of colour
Publicity materials courtesy of Michele Sheldon; cast photo by Livi Wollaston.
Sewage
New stage show calls for water-industry revolution
New stage show calls for water-industry revolution
In showbiz news, Zetteler editor Anthony is in a sh!7 play. Now touring Kent until January 2027, Sewage: Definitely Not a Musical is a satirical exposé of over three decades of mismanagement, greed, environmental destruction and public-health abuse in the UK water industry. With songs.
Written by playwright and journalist Michele Sheldon, the show follows the fortunes of one seaside family, tracking them across the years from Margaret Thatcher’s privatisation of UK water in the 1980s all the way to the age of AI, exploring the impact of sewage release into the sea, climate change, and water scarcity on their domestic world. Its messages – that the pursuit of shareholder capital has compromised public services and that re-nationalisation of the water industry is urgently needed – could not be more timely. And Anthony’s Scottish accent has been described as ‘passable’, so what better reason to catch it?
Go with the flow
Written by playwright and journalist Michele Sheldon, the show follows the fortunes of one seaside family, tracking them across the years from Margaret Thatcher’s privatisation of UK water in the 1980s all the way to the age of AI, exploring the impact of sewage release into the sea, climate change, and water scarcity on their domestic world. Its messages – that the pursuit of shareholder capital has compromised public services and that re-nationalisation of the water industry is urgently needed – could not be more timely. And Anthony’s Scottish accent has been described as ‘passable’, so what better reason to catch it?
Go with the flow
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