Debating the art of performance and the storytelling demanded in everyday life, the Biennale de Lyon joins together nine international artists, rarely seen in France, in a non-stop programme of events.

Gathering together some of the most iconic female figures of the last century, Francesco Vezzoli’s debut exhibition in the Middle East celebrates the feminine in its most admired and glamorous form.

Born in JiNan City, China in 1990, SunYinXiaowen has grown up all over the world – living in Germany, China and the UK. Based in London, SunYinXiaowen will take part in Shoreditch Fashion Show.

Sarah Lucas understands the seriousness of her task, which is to take a critical stance on gender and sexuality through a masterful manipulation of form. Her new show opens at Whitechapel on 2 October.

Stuart Semple (b.1980) invites visitors to suspend disbelief, to take a dive of trust into the fictitious and turn away from essential truths as he presents a new solo exhibition at the Bauer Art Foundation.

Now ranked as one of the foremost exponents of surrealism in Britain, painter Desmond Morris encapsulates the sociological importance of art through his paintings and books.

Michael Fentiman’s Royal Shakespeare Company production brings this early tragedy piece back to ruddy health, as it delights in the fun that can be had with a stage heaving with mutilated corpses.

Lutz Bacher’s first major solo show in the UK is a well-crafted introduction to an artist whose concerns for identity, sexuality and the body are often concealed by a playful exterior.

Multiplied, returns to Christie’s South Kensington this October for the fourth edition of the contemporary art fair. Included in the event will be 41 international contemporary galleries.

Shooting his images from a distance, Leonard Freed allows his subjects to remain natural and undisturbed by his camera. His observations of people reflect Freed’s deeply ingrained interest in life.

Ikon’s most comprehensive exhibition to date of paintings by British artist Hurvin Anderson (b.1965), evokes sensations of being caught between one place and another, drawn from personal experience.

Examining the ways in which women have been represented in relation to war and industry in modern and contemporary art, Women, War, and Industry opens at The San Diego Museum of Art.

Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin will celebrate its 25th anniversary this autumn. Happy Birthday showcases pieces throughout Emmanuel Perrotin’s career, most of which are now in private collections.

Australia, hosted by the Royal Academy of Arts and Patroned by the Prince of Wales, flaunts the region’s lively works of art, including paintings, photographs, watercolours and multimedia.

VIENNAFAIR The New Contemporary returns for its ninth edition. This year there will be new participants, including three from Berlin and galleries from Moscow, London and the rest of Europe.

Ancient tradition and contemporary innovation merge as one in the singular work of Hiromi Moneyhun. A native of Kyoto, Moneyhun is a self-taught artist who creates intricate paper cut pieces.

Known for images that balance between documentary and staged photography, Philip-Lorca diCorcia’s East of Eden series opens at David Zwirner, London.

Finding life and energy in any and every location, Sergio Larrain’s protagonists appear unperturbed by the camera and continue with their everyday interactions.

Working everywhere from the Kenya to the Netherlands, Chaskielberg’s roots in photojournalism allow him to narrate specific environments and the individuals living within them.

Returning to the plastic creatures and vibrant colours of the amusement park during twilight, Eleonora Ronconi discovers a haunting environment.

A new show at the Whitney surveys performance art, casting an eye over the theatrical happenings at a scarcely charted moment in art history.

The Walker Art Center’s latest exhibition, 9 Artists, strips the concept of group show down to its core, dispensing with themes and showcasing artistic practice.

What strikes you first about the works of Jack Beswick are the strong slabs of colour that dominate the space. Aesthetica speaks to the artist to find out more about his work and future plans.

Forced Entertainment is set to premiere new piece Tomorrow’s Parties this week at the opening of Art Sheffield, following its success of The Thrill of It All in 2010 and The Coming Storm in 2012.

Jeremy Lovering’s dark psychological thriller explores the human capacity for violence, our primal phobia of the dark, and the notion of truth versus fiction.

Evocative and passionate are two words that perfectly encapsulate Zsófia Boros’ ECM debut, En Otra Parte.

As soon as the opening notes of Agnes Obel’s second album Aventine fill the air, it becomes impossible to stop listening.

The Lyric Hammersmith’s new season of Secret Theatre challenges preconceived notions of production and attempts to offer up a bold new alternative.

Black Onassis’ unique sound is a potent mix of electronic beats and guitar rock.

Musicians and corporations working together isn’t a new concept. However, lately the suits have been making some interesting moves. This is a tale of hip-hop, basketball and ice cream.

Based on actual events, Call Girl tells the story of underage prostitution among the Swedish elite in the 1970s.

Recognising pieces from 1989 to the present day, Grovier has created a compelling list of works that have had the greatest impact in recent times.

Our Children is a harrowing depiction of one woman’s psychological decline, spiralling uncontrollably to an ending that is made more shocking by the simple treatment it is given.

Evocative, authentic rhythms and stunning Caribbean vistas combine in this
lighthearted, fish-out-of-water comedy about family secrets and failing ideals.

Art Cities of the Future examines the relationship between place and experimental creativity, picking out avant-gardes from 12 specific locations.

Channelling the dulcet, pained tones of Springsteen, Young Rebel Set’s lead singer Matty Chipchase echoes the cadence of Born To Run throughout Crocodile.

Eyemazing: The New Collectible Art Photography presents a phenomenal range of works, all assembled from the best of the magazine of the same name.

Elmgreen & Dragset occupy the former textile galleries of The Victoria & Albert Museum, London, with their rendition of a failed architect’s inherited home.

Street photographer Tod Seelie’s version of the city in Bright Nights completely redefines the concept of classic New York and is adamantly devoid of clichés.

A lieutenant colonel in the army, Gharem is the most significant Saudi conceptual artist of his generation.

Today the elderly former death squad leaders of Indonesia are venerated as heroes. One would assume they would be reluctant to explore their history. Not so.

The annual survey of contemporary photography at New York’s Museum of Modern Art reveals an art form in the throes of profound transformations.

The rebirth of Gary Numan over the past decade is testament to his significant influence on electronic music. Numan has returned to doing what he does best.

Eons of ritual and inflexibility are played in this unsettling tale, in which youth vies with age to outmanoeuvre the demands of societal mores.

Jeremy Leslie takes the magazine and questions how it is defined and how it has evolved over the past 10 years.

Paul Gravett’s painstakingly researched volume offers an eloquent polemic on the art of comics, populated with a wide and diverse selection of the art it examines.

Burning House effortlessly binds together a collection of songs a lot weirder than you could imagine from its composite parts.

Combining the genre of romantic comedy with 1950s France and colourful cinematography, Régis Roinsard’s Populaire is a heartwarming masterpiece.

Breathe In is a breathtaking thriller which seeks to articulate the unheimlich undercurrent swirling beneath the false smiles of America’s nuclear family.

David Zwirner recently presented a cross section of work spanning the length of sculptor Donald Judd’s prolific career, marking the first seminal show of his work since the Tate’s 2004 retrospective.