Great Art in London Right Now: 38 events this week (20 Sept to 27 Sept)

London has more art on at any one time than you could see in a year, which is exactly the problem. The trick isn't finding art, it's finding the show that's actually worth an afternoon.

The big institutions do heavy lifting. Tate Modern and Tate Britain anchor the south and central scenes, the National Gallery and the Royal Academy sit around Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly, and the Barbican runs some of the most ambitious visual art programming in the city. These are safe bets when you want scale and a sure thing.

But the more interesting hunting ground is smaller. East London, especially around Shoreditch, Hackney and Bethnal Green, is thick with independent galleries showing emerging artists, often free to walk into. Fitzrovia and Mayfair carry a different crowd of commercial galleries with rotating shows, quieter and less crowded than the big museums. South of the river, Peckham and Deptford have their own pocket of artist-run spaces worth a detour.

Timing matters more than people think. Major exhibitions need booking ahead, sometimes weeks out for a popular one. Gallery shows in the smaller spaces are usually walk-in and free, so they're a better bet if you're deciding same-day or want something to fill an evening. Private views, usually early evening on a weekday, are where you'll find wine, a crowd, and the artist often in the room.

If you're new to this, don't feel you need a plan. Pick one area, walk between two or three spaces, and let the quality of what's on decide how long you stay. The feed below tracks what's actually running this week, not what was on last month.