LEADIN: Mini has unveiled a new electric SUV with a round touchscreen ahead of the Munich motor show. The brand also presented a new Mini Cooper with a simplified design, keeping the essential features of its iconic look. STORYLINE: The Mini is getting yet another facelift in its 64-year history. The carmaker, owned by BMW Group, unveiled a new Mini Cooper, and a new Mini Countryman on Friday (1 September 2023), three days before the start of the Munich motor show, called IAA Mobility. Both models wheeled onto the stage are electric, but they'll soon also be available in combustion engine versions. "We are witnessing, today, our first and our biggest mini transformation ever," says Stefanie Wurst, head of Mini, BMW Group. "Mini has been creating cars that inspire pure joy for over 60 years. Hundreds of innovations and millions of cars later, we have the same passion to forever change what it means to drive." The three-door Cooper is not the first electric vehicle of the brand, but it still marks a milestone, according to James Attwood, acting magazine editor of Autocar. "I think it's a really important day in Mini's history. They have had an electric car before, but it was kind of a conversion of the existing combustion engine car. Like a lot of car brands, Mini's Future is fully electric and they're really committed to getting there quite quickly. So I think the launch of the proper electric Mini Cooper hatch is a really key moment in terms of sort of pushing the brand forward," he says. Bigger and higher, the Countryman gets its first electric version. And inside, both cars keep the essential Mini design features. "Step by step, we are reducing the amount of elements, whatever wasn't necessary we took out and what remained are iconic elements. The steering wheel, obviously, the round centre icon - centre display and the toggle bar. The toggle bar is for us the connection - we are human beings who want to have this kind of tactile experience and therefore we decided to keep those three main elements," says Oliver Haile, head of Mini design at BMW Group. One of the key new features of the new Minis is the round OLED touchscreen, which can be used to select "experience modes" to change the screen colours and the ambient lighting. "It's really interesting, it's a round OLED touchscreen and it seems what Mini have really made for is the round screen is a very key element," says Attwood. "It dates back to the 1960s, cars always had round dials. So there's a real historical feature they want to keep. In the previous Minis that have had touchscreens in, it's been a rectangular touchscreen mounted inside a kind of circular area. So there's always been this got a little bit of dead area. So what they've done this time is you've actually got a fully round OLED screen, which means that the whole thing works and goes right to the edges." Over-the-air updates of the cars' software will come as standard, a feature numerous carmakers have already introduced. Mini confirmed its range will be fully electric by 2030, and insisted on the new models' sustainable design. "We worked very hard on reducing the ecological footprint of our new Minis as much as possible while increasing the use of reclaimed material. Take the alloy wheels. They are depending on the size of the car and the size of the rims. They are made out of between 30% to 70% of secondary aluminium. And the new and super nice interior materials don't only look great, they consist of up to 92% of recycled fabric," says Stefan Fleck, head of Mini product line at BMW Group. Mini fans will notice how the design of both cars has been simplified. The plastic around the Mini Cooper's wheels is gone, the door handles are now flush and the body indicators were moved up to the wing mirrors. "You're actually beginning now to see this kind of design, particularly in electric cars, where they're really being stripped back of some of the exterior features and really simplified and design is kind of refocusing on a handful of key areas. So with the Mini, it's just focusing on those rounded headlights and a lot of the real traditional Mini features," says Attwood. In terms of range, the new Mini Cooper can be driven for up to 402 kilometres (250 miles) in its SE, higher-end version, according to the WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure) test cycle. The Mini Countryman SE ALL4, the premium version seen on stage, has a range of up to 433 kilometres (270 miles), according to preliminary data. Batteries are compatible with fast-charging stations, allowing them to go from 10% to 80% in under 30 minutes, Mini says. In Germany, the new Mini Cooper will retail from 32,900 euros ($35,000), and the new Mini Countryman will start at 43,500 euros ($47,000). Both will go on sale in early 2024. AP video by: Tristan Werkmeister

LEADIN: Smart has presented its #3 SUV for the first time in Europe ahead of the Munich motor show. The German brand is going through a complete overhaul of its lineup, ditching the two-seater car it was known for. STORYLINE: Smart cars are no longer what they used to be. This is the #3 (pronounced 'hashtag three'), a fairly bulky five-seater car - the polar opposite of the tiny Smart car people know the brand for. That's because Smart is now a joint venture between Mercedes-Benz, which used to fully own the brand, and Geely, a Chinese automotive company. "It's a real change in philosophy," says James Attwood, acting magazine editor, Autocar. "The Smart everyone knows and remembers is that little tiny two-seater. They did experiment with other cars, but we struggled a bit. But this really is a very different company and an entirely new project. It's just kind of using that brand name and the heritage. And I think what they're trying to say is less about the size and more about just trying to figure out smart solutions and ways of doing things." The #3 was first unveiled at the Shanghai motor show in April, and is now presented in Europe for the first time ahead of the Munich motor show, called IAA Mobility. The SUV coupé is the second model released by the joint venture after #1, and is based on a Geely electric vehicle platform. Smart calls its design "sporty and exquisite" with curvy lines. It's 4.4 metres long (14 ft) and 1.8 metres large (6 ft). "Carmakers will tell you they are making more SUVs because that's what people are buying. And the sales figures will back up that's what people are buying. But on the other hand, when you walk into a car showroom and most of the cars are SUVs, it's no wonder that's what people are buying. It is a challenge and a conundrum. And a lot of car firms do talk about this kind of slight contradiction of then moving towards more sustainable cars," says Attwood. The SUV will be available in three versions - Pro+, Premium and Brabus - with ranges between 415 kilometres (260 miles) and 455 kilometres (285 miles), according to the WLTP (Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure) test cycle. "It's going to be made in China and bought over here, But it's going to be a really key segment of the SUV market to take in the likes of the Volkswagen ID4, which is a kind of big family electric car. It's the sort of machine that people really want," says Attwood. The #3 will go on sale in Germany by the end of 2023, and will hit the rest of European roads in early 2024. The brand hasn't disclosed retail prices but is expected to sell the EV from 45,000 euros ($48,600) in Germany. AP video shot by: Tristan Werkmeister

LEADIN: American carmaker Fisker is presenting three prototypes at the Munich car show expected to be sold on the European market in 2025. The brand's philosophy is to cut costs with up to 35% less parts, leaving the glovebox and door speakers on the side of the road. STORYLINE: Three new cars for the price of one. American carmaker Fisker is presenting its three new electric car models for the first time in Europe ahead of Munich's motor show, IAA Mobility. Fisker is a relatively unknown brand aiming to compete against Tesla. Founded in 2016, Fisker Inc. started delivering its first cars in May. In Munich, the company is presenting the rest of its lineup to the European market. From a convertible sports car, the Ronin, to an SUV called Pear and a pickup truck named Alaska, Fisker wants to satisfy all drivers' needs, and quickly. All three cars, which are still prototypes, will go on sale in 2025, says Fisker. So will the young carmaker be able to deliver on time? "Our business model is a little different. We are a little more like Apple that don't make their own products," says Henrik Fisker, CEO of Fisker Inc. "We get other people to do it or other people's contract manufacturing. So, at this point, we have a very close relationship with Magna Steyr (Austrian carmaker) and they are making our vehicles and they already make vehicles for other automakers. So they know what they're doing. They're good at ramping up products or ramping up production. We are very confident that we can get our products to market." Fisker's Alaska is probably the most conventional prototype in the lineup. It's a pickup truck that Fisker bets will be a best-seller in the US, and more specifically, in California. "What's really interesting about Fisker is it's a new American car brand that has sort of come in, but it's Henrik Fisker who's set it up, has experience in the industry," says James Attwood, acting magazine editor at Autocar. "He has previously designed for Aston Martin. I mean, he's brought lots of bold ideas and he's got some really interesting concepts about sustainability and car design." The Alaska will retail from 49,900 euros ($54,000) Second is the Pear, which will be marketed as the most accessible with a starting price of 32,900 euros ($35,500). Fisker says it focuses a lot of its attention on sustainability and aims to make the Pear with "35% fewer parts than other EVs in class". You won't find glove boxes on Fisker cars, for example, because the brand believes they're not used anymore. No surround sound system either -- only one speaker per car to reduce the amount of wires going through the body of the car. That's why the car's interior design - which isn't final - looks a lot simpler than competitors. The Pear also features a boot lid that slides under the car, Fisker calls it a "Houdini Trunk." However, the prototype shown on stage could not demonstrate this feature. "The Pear is a very small compact urban SUV for families, and that sort of thing. The Ronin is this big luxury electric, sort of GT, sort of grand tourer car. And then the Alaska, which is the pickup which will probably go down very well in America, but are also increasingly popular here. And they're really interesting segments to get into," says Attwood. The Ronin is a five-seater convertible featuring butterfly doors and a foldable carbon fibre roof. The prototype presented is the least advanced of the three, since the interior of the car isn't complete, the exterior doesn't reflect the final design, and the butterfly doors nor the convertible mechanism could be demonstrated. Fisker is aiming to ship the Ronin with an ambitious range target of 1,000 kilometres (620 miles). This sports car is intended for the luxury market with a whopping retail price of 425,500 euros ($460,000). It'll be produced in a limited series of 999 vehicles. "A new firm can come in with really good cars. But if it can't get people to look at them and try them, then it's probably not going to succeed. But I think what's happened with electric cars, with things like Tesla, which was sort of really unknown 50 years ago, people seem more willing to try new brands," says Attwood. "And if a company can come in with the right cars at the right prices featuring the right technology, then people do seem more willing to give them a go." According to the carmaker, all three models should hit European roads by 2025. AP video by: Tristan Werkmeister/Cassandra Allwood

LEADIN: Asian brands have come in large numbers to the Munich motor show -- more than twice as many as the previous edition. China is the world's biggest market for electric vehicles, boosting the growth of Chinese brands, which are hoping to gain market shares overseas as well. STORYLINE: Numerous Asian cars are making their European debut at the Munich motor show, called IAA Mobility. Chinese carmaker Dongfeng chose Germany to launch its new M6 PHEV - a move that says a lot about Asian carmakers' intentions in Europe. "China has a huge electric car market, the biggest in the world," says James Attwood, acting magazine editor, Autocar. "The technologies they're developing there, when Europe is going increasingly electric, is no wonder they kind of think there's a good market to grow into. I think what's fascinating is just that balance and that tension. They are coming over and sort of pushing the European firms. But this is - a motor show is a chance for them to come and say 'we should be taken seriously.' So you can see their cars next to the established brands." Chinese competitor BYD is also present at IAA. It's showcasing its 'Seal' and 'Seal U' vehicles, the European debuts of two of the all-electric car maker's best-selling models. The SUV version of its predecessor, Seal, the Seal U model will be available in Europe after being released some time ago in China, where it is also available in hybrid form. The firm has famously outsold Tesla in its home country - where it's the largest manufacturer of EVs. The Seal U is being launched in Europe in 2024, and BYD is marketing it as a rival to Tesla's 'Model Y' and Volkswagen's 'ID.4.' "I think BYD, out of all the Chinese firms, if one is going to succeed in Europe, it is probably BYD. They are huge in China, they started out as a battery firm, but they've fast become one of the biggest producers of 'new electric vehicles' they're called in China, so fully electric and plug-in hybrid," says Attwood. The 2023 edition of the Munich Motor Show has more than twice the number of Asian exhibitors compared to the last edition in 2021. British marque MG, now owned by SAIC Motor, a Chinese state-owned automaker, also occupies a large stand at the show. It's showing a roadster called Cyberster for the first time in Europe. It's expected to hit the roads in 2024 to mark MG's 100-year anniversary. No technical details have been released about this model yet. "We think that the IAA in Munich is a very significant auto show in Europe, globally, actually. And obviously, for us, it's very important to be present here and show what we have to offer to our consumers and specifically in times when we see the transformation of e-mobility towards electric mobility. For us, it's very important to show what we have and to show that we are a part of this transformation," says Jan Oehmicke, Vice-President of DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland), MG Motor Europe. On the lower end of the price scale is the latest generation of a two-seater made by Italian-Chinese company XEV. The YOYO starts from 16,990 euros ($18,200) and has a range of up to 150 kilometres (90 miles) Its batteries can be charged as usual or swapped at partner petrol stations in Italy. The car was designed and passed safety tests in Italy. It's is made in China. "They (small cars) are really developing that market fast in China. And I think the interesting thing is there's still this push in Europe to try and find ways of lowering the cost of electric cars. And small cars are sort of way of doing that. I think it's a bit more of a challenge to bring them over with the crash safety regulations. And there's always that kind of balance: we have quadricycles, and then we have these small electric cars. There's definitely sort of potential in that market because there really aren't that much available at the moment in Europe," says Attwood. Automotive technology companies also made the trip to Munich. Deeproute.ai, for example, develops self-driving solutions for carmakers. Its vice-president Xuan Liu says the technology has evolved a lot over the last couple of years. Some cars with self-driving capabilities used to rely heavily on high-definition maps to function properly. "The lanes, the traffic signals and a lot more information, but right now, we don't use those pre-selected or pre-computed anymore. We just use our sensors," he says. Deeproute.ai sells its high-end solution with seven cameras and one lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) for approximately $2,000. The Xinjiang-based company has yet to test its technology outside of China, but it plans to begin trials in Germany in 2024. AP video shot by: Tristan Werkmeister/Cassandra Allwood

Motor shows have traditionally been the hotspot for petrol car fans -- but these days are long gone. At the Munich motor show, most cars are electric, and two or three-wheel electric mobility is playing a bigger part. STORYLINE: Munich's cycle paths are busier than usual in the city centre. During the motor show, called IAA Mobility, people can test ride all kinds of bikes from the companies who make them. Motor shows are evolving and now include more means of transport, such as electric bikes, cargo bikes, scooters, and pretty much anything that's not a car. And there's a name for it: urban mobility, or electromobility. "The e-bike market has grown really dramatically and is changing so fast. One of the really interesting things is just how fast the pace of technology development is," says James Attwood, acting magazine editor, Autocar. "Originally, what we saw was a lot of Chinese firms coming over with relatively simple things, lots of common motors and parts. But what's happened in recent years is that a lot more big tech firms started getting involved. And Bosch is huge in the e-bike motor world. And so you're seeing this mix of smaller firms using off-the-shelf electric parts and battery parts, but now there's a real push to think about how you can do this better and integrate them." Bosch didn't miss the opportunity to present its latest tech at IAA. On its stand is the Performance Line SX, the lightest electric bike motor the German brand has ever made, around 20% smaller than its bigger sibling CX. At 2.05 kilograms (4.5 pounds), Bosch had to make it less powerful however, with a torque of 55 Nm, as opposed to 85 Nm and 2.9 kilograms (6.4 pounds) for the CX. The motor is designed for 'sporty riders,' Bosch says, which is a good compromise in terms of size, weight and performance for gravel bikes, for example. Munich's motor show is not only in the city centre but also in a more traditional convention centre, where urban mobility exhibitors include Gaius Automotive, a Taiwan-based company which pivoted from electric cars to cargo scooters. Its Rapide 3 vehicle has a range of 180 kilometres (110 miles) and a payload of 200 kilograms (440 pounds). It retails from 11,000 euros ($11,800). "As we know, three-wheel vehicles, their rear wheels can easily flip if you turn at a higher speed or fully loaded. But with our tilting device, it helps stabilise this vehicle and also it makes the manoeuvre and turning more smooth and easily," says YenLeng Chang, marketing director, Gaius Automotive Inc. The brand says the cargo is highly customisable depending on the needs of delivery fleets. It even made a version for police forces, although a German police officer patrolling nearby said the cargo wouldn't be big enough to carry a suspect. For those who prefer pedals, Fulpra Motors makes cargo bikes with a higher payload of 350 kilograms (770 pounds). It's available in three versions, from pick-up to 3.3 cubic metres (115 cubic feet). "Cargo e-bikes is a really, really fast growing market because it just means you can put these huge loads on and you can cart around loads of stuff. And previously you would have had to do that all just using your legs. But when you've got an electric motor just offering some assistance, it really transforms the way you can design bikes and how much you can carry with them," says Attwood. Another player in the urban mobility segment is Stilride, a Swedish company making a lightweight electric motorcycle. Its body is made of a single folded sheet of stainless steel, making it 40% lighter. IAA Mobility runs until 10 September in Munich. AP video by: Tristan Werkmeister

LEADIN: Princess Diana's black sheep jumper has sold for $1.14m at Sotheby's in New York. It was found earlier this year, lying forgotten in a box in an attic by one of the co-founders of the clothing brand that created it. STORYLINE: Earlier this year, Joanna Osbourne made an astonishing discovery in her attic. In an unassuming wine box, she found a sweater once worn by none other than the late Princess Diana. "I just obviously hadn't looked in that box. And there it was. And I looked at the cuff and I thought 'that's the one. That is Diana's jumper, the real one,'" says Osbourne, co-founder of Warm & Wonderful knitwear, the brand that made the sweater. The red jumper, famously worn by Diana at a polo match in June 1981 was put up for auction by Sotheby's with an estimated value of between $50,000 and $80,000. Online bidding opened on August 31, on the 26th anniversary of Diana's death in a Paris car crash. In New York Thursday, the jumper exceeded its estimate, fetching $1.14m (£920,000) to an undisclosed bidder. The playfully patterned wool jumper features a single black sheep amid a pattern of white ones. It comes with letters from Buckingham Palace to the manufacturer requesting a repair or replacement after it was damaged. The rumour is that Diana accidentally ripped the edge of the sleeve on her engagement ring. Osborne and her friend Sally Muir co-founded their brand in 1979, in an attempt to make a living out of their knitting hobby. They made six initial sweater samples, and the sheep sweater was born. Warm & Wonderful isn't a high-end designer brand, but it's believed the sweater was a much-treasured item in the princess’s glamorous wardrobe. The 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer was photographed in the garment at a polo match in 1981, soon after her engagement to Prince Charles, who was then heir to the British throne. The cover page photos shot the brand to fame within a month. On a Sunday morning of June 1981, Osbourne remembers seeing photos of Diana wearing their creation. "Amazement. Excitement. And I immediately got on the phone to Sal (Sally Muir) 'Diana's wearing our jumper.' Our parents got excited. Everybody was really excited. But it was sort of excitement that we didn't quite know where to channel it towards because it wasn't like now where you put on social media and it would be everywhere in seconds. It was kind of 'wow, this is incredible,'" she says. After this unexpected publicity, the young brand was struggling to keep up with demand. More than 50 orders came in each week. People would first ask for a catalogue and then place an order by mail, accompanied by a cheque. The sweater made headlines at the time because of its pattern: with people speculating that Diana might have been feeling like an outsider in the royal family. "I just don't believe it," says Muir. "I think it's all hindsight. I think we're all thinking back now. Many, many years later with the entire story. And I think we're thinking 'aha, that's what she was saying.' But I don't think so." When Muir and Osbourne heard that Diana's sweater might be damaged, they sent a letter to Buckingham Palace to offer to repair it or replace it. To their surprise, the palace replied and enclosed the sweater. "It seemed a bit shoddy to just repair it and send it back again. So that's why we made a whole new one," says Muir. The company made a new sweater to replace it, and every employee knitted some of it. The original was put away and forgotten until Osbourne discovered it, years later. The sheep sweater was first designed in green, and other colours, like red, were added to the collection later on. Because all sweaters were hand-knitted, it made the identification process of the sweater a lot easier. Since 2020, the sheep sweater has been made available again. American brand Rowing Blazers is licensing the original design from Warm & Wonderful and industrially makes them in Portugal. When asked why they didn't want to keep the original sweater, Muir and Osborne say it would have been too much responsibility to hold onto a piece of history. They hope it'll be part of a collection in a museum where it can be looked after and admired by many more people. "It's 45 years old or something now. You want it to last a lot longer," says Muir. AP video shot by: Tristan Werkmeister

LEADIN: Performance artist Marina Abramović is being honoured with a retrospective exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. The Serbian performance artist is known to push her physical and mental boundaries in the pursuit of art. STORYLINE: "The Artist is Present." In 2010, Serbian performance artist Marina Abramović made headlines by sitting eight hours a day for nearly three months at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Visitors were invited to sit in front of her for as long as they wanted. More than 1,500 people participated in the performance. Many were moved to tears. Video recordings of this performance are now part of an exhibition dedicated to Abramović's work. At the Royal Academy of Arts in London, where the retrospective is held, Abramović explains her vision. "The artists don't think linear, artists think in circles, artists think in eclipses. Sometimes you have some ideas when you are in the early 1960s, when you're very, very young and this same idea appears 30 years later in a completely different context with a different lens and with a different kind of knowledge, and then you address this idea and that's what we are doing here. We are missing the works, they're missing the dates they were made, and this brings the exhibition to life," she says. The artist is known to push her physical and mental boundaries. The Royal Academy of Arts exhibition displays objects used during performances as well as photos and videos of them. In "Balkan Baroque," Abramović washed a pile of bones covered in blood. The work, originally performed at the Venice Biennale in 1997, is a reflection of the artists' heritage. It won a Golden Lion award. The exhibition marks the first dedicated to a woman artist at the Royal Academy of Arts, and it's also the first performance art exhibition. "It's true, we have not really had, at the Royal Academy, done much with performance art in the past, so it is a whole new chapter also for us to do this. And of course, it's a great honour to be able to do this with Marina Abramović, who is one of the great pioneers of performance art. Now what's new about this is that, of course, Marina will not be performing those extremely demanding performances herself anymore, but is passing the baton over, as it were, to the next generation of young performance artists, who are reperforming her performances," says Axel Rüger, secretary and chief executive, Royal Academy of Arts. For Tabish Khan, art critic at The Londonist, the Royal Academy exhibition conveys the visceral power that makes Abramović so celebrated. "It's very hard to capture the viscerality and the rawness of her work. But you still manage to come through. There are elements here that make you wince, even though it's not happening in front of your eyes when you see that she's like stabbed her hand or is screaming as loud as she can, which makes you think it would've been even more powerful when you saw it in person. So they're trying to capture that sense of performance by only having limited performances in the space. But it still manages to convey the power of her work," he says. In "Rest Energy" by Abramović and former partner Ulay, the couple is using a bow to balance each other out. The Royal Academy exhibition also includes artworks visitors can get close to, like "The Portal," a gate made up of dozens of very bright lights. It symbolises a "changed state of consciousness," according to the artist. The Royal Academy exhibition also features four live performances, which neither media nor visitors can record, undertaken by other artists on behalf of Abramović. In "The House with the Ocean View," performers will stay in the room for 12 consecutive days, 24 hours a day. The original performance was undertaken without food, no talking, writing or reading was allowed. It is not known if the performers will adhere to the strict conditions of the original performance at the Royal Academy. Visitors are also invited to sit, stand and lie on a series of artworks Abramović used for her own performances. "Marina Abramović" runs at the Royal Academy of Arts from 23 September until 1 January 2024. AP video shot by: Tristan Werkmeister

LEADIN: London's Regent's Park is now an open-air museum filled with 21 sculptures for the public to see. From a spaceship to cloud structures and cacti, this year's edition is putting the spotlight on younger and lesser-known artists. STORYLINE: Among the trees and bushes of Regent's Park in London, sculptures are now greeting visitors. The British capital's royal park has been transformed into an outdoor gallery, thanks to the return of the Frieze Sculpture, the annual sculpture exhibition which anticipates the start of the Frieze Art Fair. "We have actually acquired a big roster of younger or lesser-known artists or at the same time like mostly female sculptors who are realising their largest piece to date or the most kind of ambitious pieces or the first time experiences in showcasing their work in the public realm," says Fatoş Üstek, curator of Frieze Sculpture. The tallest installation is "The Mothership Connection" by British Trinidadian artist Zak Ové. "This is the first time ever it's been aired. The work was actually commissioned to be in Haiti, and it's an architectural spaceship, if you could say that. And each strand and each layer has a specific reference to Haiti in masks or at the top is the Mende mask of the female spirit of healing. And in the internal layers, you will see references to Masonic architecture or the kind of, let's say, the high-brow Western architecture," says Üstek. On the other side of Regent's Park's English Gardens, a sculpture draws inspiration from the cubism of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. "Model for Celebration II" was made by Louise Nevelson, an American sculptor known for her monochromatic artworks. Behind it is a splash of colour: orange, yellow and red. Artist Tomás Saraceno picked these tones to represent autumn and the cycle of decomposition of leaves. Called "Silent Autumn (WISE 0359-54/M+M)," it replicates the structure of soap bubbles using metal. Visitors can wander beneath the trees and gaze at Holly Stevenson's "The Debate," made of two ceramic ducks and an egg. From the front, it appears whole, but visitors will notice it's a half-boiled egg as they walk around the structure. "The symbol of the egg has been so prominent in art history, always represented fertility or transience of life. And for her, it was literally the kind of focus, the locus of subject matter of what she wanted to focus on. And funnily enough, there are two ducks that also live in Regent's Park. So there's kind of like a conversation going on, I believe, after the closing hours," says Üstek. Frieze London is one of the most influential contemporary art fairs in the world and will open its doors on 11 October. While that is a ticketed event aimed at art collectors and investors with money to spend, the sculpture park is a different proposition. It's free and open to everyone. "That's actually what really excites me about Frieze Sculpture. You know, Frieze Sculpture is the only public-facing activity of Frieze Art Fair, and every year, it receives 800,000 to 1 million guests that are not only art enthusiasts or arts specialists but also people who locally live here or take the park as a jogging ground or take their babies for a nice autumn day they walk," says Üstek. Frieze Sculpture is open until 29 October. Frieze London and its sister art fair Frieze Masters will run 11 to 15 October. AP video shot by: Tristan Werkmeister