A Worldwide Guide to September's Best Events

Depending on where you are in the world, September brings either cooler or warmer weather. Regardless of which, it’s a time of change and new beginnings, with packed with diverse cultural events marking the seasonal shift.

Below we pick out some of our global highlights, from an experimental music festival in Osaka to San Sebastian’s International Film Festival.

Frieze Seoul, Seoul, South Korea (3 - 6 September)

The global art fair Frieze returns to Seoul's COEX in the Gangnam neighbourhood for the fourth time with 120 local and international galleries exhibiting over three days. This year, the fair will also partner with Seoul Mediacity Biennale to offer a screening programme on the rooftop of the Seoul Museum of Art featuring 12 international artists’ films interrogating “spiritual, mystical, and magical forces on the screen in ways that change our understanding of everyday life.”

Unsound Osaka, Osaka, Japan (5 - 7 September)

For the first time, world-renowned Polish experimental music festival Unsound will take place in Osaka this September. For this edition, the festival’s main focus will be on showcasing Polish and Japanese artists. Over the weekend, Polish producer 2K88 will play a set with Yokohama-based MC ralph, local duo KAKUHAN will perform with Polish percussionist Adam Gołębiewski and Osaka legend ∈Y∋ will present an AV show with Japanese visual artist C.O.L.O.

YuYu Reopening, Mexico City, Mexico (From 5 September)

At a time when nightclubs worldwide continue to disappear, YuYu’s return after a hiatus feels significant. After seven years inside a 19th-century house in Colonia Juárez, the CDMX institution has reopened in a former casino, adding a cinema for screenings and hinting at broader cultural ambitions. This September, the space welcomes a mix of international and local artists, from Canadian Marie Davidson to local DJ Maseriche, reaffirming YuYu’s place at the heart of Mexico City’s underground.

NY Art Book Fair, New York, USA (11 - 14 September)

Returning to MOMA PS1 this year, NY Art Book Fair features a mix of artists, independent publishers, small presses and art institutions, each presenting their unique approach to art books. The fair is organised by cult New York art bookshop, Printed Matter, who utilise their expertise to curate a lineup of some of the most forward-thinking art publishers in the world.

by:Larm, Oslo, Norway (11 - 13 September)

Music festival and conference by:Larm has been hosted in Norway since 1998. The conference consists of a series of lectures, seminars and debates. This year, the conference programme features a talk from music journalist Liz Pelly on the politics of Spotify, fair music listening platform Nina Protocol will be in conversation with journalist Shawn Reynaldo, and NTS founder Femi Adeyemi will discuss how NTS Radio became a global movement. The music festival takes place in the evenings and Príncipe Discos affiliate DJ Narcisio will play alongside London-based selector Mi-El, dub techno trio Purelink and Copenhagen duo Snuggle, among many other exciting sets.

WOS Festival, Santiago De Compostela, Spain (11 - 14 September)

WOS Festival returns to Spain’s Galicia region for the eighth time. Across four days, Santiago de Compostela will host immersive audiovisual concerts, performances and club nights in theatres, clubs, churches, concert halls and other iconic venues around the picturesque city.

The lineup features a number of cutting edge electronic live performances, with highlights from Egyptian artist and composer Abdullah Miniawy, kuduro innovator Nazar and the critically acclaimed Bolivian-American duo Los Thuthanaka, consisting of siblings Chuquimamani-Condori and Joshua Chuquimia Crampton.

San Sebastian Film Festival, San Sebastian, Spain (19 - 27 September)

For its 73rd edition, the San Sebastian Film Festival will return to the northern Spanish city. Highlights include Claire Denis’ hotly anticipated new film The Fence, Agnieszka Holland’s biopic about the canonical writer Franz Kafka and a documentary from the famed French actress Juliette Binoche reflecting on her 2007 creative collaboration with dancer Akram Kahn.

Bamba, Medellin, Colombia (19 - 20 September)

Colombian music promoter Bamba is putting on a two-day festival at 50 | 50. Curated by TraTraTrax's Julianna and DJ Lomalinda, the lineup features Brazilian producer BADSISTA, Ilian Tape affiliate Stenny and Collombian DJ Edna Martinez. The festival is being put on in collaboration with shesaid.so, a curated network of women who work in the music industry.