131 exhibitors are participating in this year’s modern and contemporary art festival

Ham & High: Jessica Brown, Still Life with Three Limes and a Silver Water Jug, Oil on limewood panel, 2017. Courtesy Quantum Contemporary ArtJessica Brown, Still Life with Three Limes and a Silver Water Jug, Oil on limewood panel, 2017. Courtesy Quantum Contemporary Art (Image: Archant)

London Art Fair returns to the Business Design Centre in January, celebrating three decades of displays in the Islington location.

The first of the year’s many art events, LAF showcases the best modern and contemporary art from galleries around the world.

Initially known as Art ’89, the first show attracted 36 galleries and a few thousand visitors. This year 131 exhibitors are participating: some new additions include Artco Gallery in Germany, La Lanta Fine Art in Thailand, Stoney Road Press in Ireland and Galeria Miquel Alzueta in Spain.

For its 30th anniversary, a unique exhibition in partnership with Art UK brings together thirty artworks from the nation’s public art collections. ‘Art of the Nation: Five Artists Choose’ will recognise the diversity and importance of the country’s publicly owned art.

Renowned artists such as Andy Warhol, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso, Banksy and Damien Hirst will be on display, but the most excitement comes from the newer faces.

Winner of the Prudential Best Young Artist Award 2015, Holly Zandbergen shows off her work depicting the dramatic landscapes of her native New Zealand. BP Portrait Award nominee Sophie Derrick exhibits with Contemporary Collective, using her face as the canvas and combining photography with painting.

Art Projects and Photo50 are both returning features of LAF. Art Projects supports emerging galleries and has 33 exhibitors presenting solo and group shows. ‘Dialogues’, a major feature of Art Projects, invites pairs of galleries to create a shared presentation. This year it is curated by Misal Adnan Yildiz, former Director of Artsapce NZ and artistic director of Kunstlerhaus Stuttgart.

Photo50’s exhibition, Resolution is not the point, explores photography as a catalyst of collective action.

‘Art in the Nation: Five Artists Choose’ brings together Sonia Boyce, Mat Collishaw, Haroon Mirza, Oscar Murillo and Rose Wylie to choose their favourite 30 words from Art UK – the online home to every public art collection in the country.

For a full list of exhibitors and tickets, go to londonartfair.co.uk

Runs January 17 – 21 at the Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, N1 0QH.

Tickets: £15.95 in advance, £23 on the door.