Minor Attractions has launched Major Futures, a new charitable initiative designed to get funding, space and public exposure directly to London’s emerging artists, independent curators, non-profit spaces and cultural programmers.
The initiative arrives in response to what Minor Attractions describes as a lack of both public and private funding across Britain’s cultural industries, and will use the organisation’s existing network — including the Minor Attractions Art Fair, Summer Sessions and international projects — to create longer-term opportunities for emerging creative practitioners.
Major Futures is built around three things it sees as increasingly difficult for those entering or operating independently within the art world to secure: capital, space and an audience.
Minor Attractions already provides two of those through its year-round programme, with projects spanning art, sound, film and publishing. Major Futures adds a fundraising structure intended to put money behind those opportunities.
The model will ask Minor Attractions’ existing audience — from collectors to students — to contribute at a level they can afford. The organisation has previously kept much of its programming free or low-cost: the Minor Attractions Art Fair is free to enter, while tickets for its Summer Sessions have been capped between £5 and £15.
The first beneficiaries have already been selected. For Minor Attractions 2026, Major Futures will support three initiatives during London Art Week: Plicknik Space Initiative, a non-profit art space; independent curator Jean Watt with A Place to Rest; and event programmers Umi Ishihara and Fiona Ye with FlatLine City.
The three will be given opportunities to present a room, a single artwork and an event respectively, with Major Futures raising the money required to support their participation and programming.
To kick-start the fund, Minor Attractions will hold its inaugural Major Futures charity auction at Shoreditch Arts Club on 23rd September 2026, in collaboration with Filthy Fox Auction Club.
The auction will raise capital for this year’s three selected projects, while optional donations will also be introduced across tickets for Minor Attractions 2026. The organisation is additionally seeking independent donations to support both the current programme and future Major Futures projects.
The move expands Minor Attractions beyond its role as an alternative art fair and cultural programme into direct support for the infrastructure around emerging art. Rather than focusing solely on individual artists, Major Futures is targeting some of the people and spaces that enable a wider art ecosystem to function — from independent curators and programmers to non-profit venues.
With London’s independent art scene continuing to face pressure from rising costs and limited funding, the ambition is straightforward: use the audience and infrastructure Minor Attractions has already built to help create the conditions in which the next generation can actually make things happen.
Major Futures inaugural charity auction, 23rd September 2026, 6:30PM -10PM
Shoreditch Arts Club
