London does not suffer from a shortage of art fairs, especially in October.

So a new one needs a compelling reason to exist.

Fair Play Art Fair, launching at One Marylebone from 15 to 18 October, is trying something refreshingly simple: start with the artists rather than the booths.

Around 70 independent artists have been selected by an independent committee for the quality of their work, rather than being asked to pay upfront exhibition fees for space.

Visitors can meet artists directly, spend time with their work and buy from the people who made it.

That shifts the atmosphere from trade-show transaction towards discovery and conversation.

The fair is taking over multiple spaces within One Marylebone, including Soane Hall, galleries, vaults, gardens and greenhouses.

Alongside painting, sculpture, photography, textiles, ceramics and mixed media, the programme includes live performance, music, artist-led events, food, drink and late-night sessions.

It is designed to feel as much like a cultural night out as a conventional art fair.

That matters because the traditional gallery and art-fair system can be intimidating to people who enjoy contemporary art but do not think of themselves as collectors.

Fair Play is explicitly trying to reach a newer generation of buyers while giving independent artists another route to an audience.

The artist list is deliberately broad, stretching across established and emerging practices and including numerous London-based makers alongside artists from elsewhere in Britain and abroad.

There is still curation, which is important.

This is not an open marketplace where anything goes, but the commercial gatekeeping works differently because artists are not selected according to who can afford a stand.

Founder Ryan Stanier has positioned the event as an artist-first alternative that sits comfortably inside Frieze Week without trying to mimic Frieze itself.

For visitors, the most attractive part may simply be the chance to encounter work in a more social environment, talk to the maker and decide what you like without feeling you need an art-history degree first.

That is exactly the kind of cultural discovery London does particularly well when someone removes a little of the ceremony.

Advance tickets start from £24, and the fair runs for four days.

If you have ever wanted to buy original art but felt conventional fairs were not quite designed for you, Fair Play may be worth putting in the diary.