London

Ongoing and upcoming institutional exhibitions
  • Summer Exhibition 16 June–23 August 2026 | Royal Academy
    Summer Exhibition
    16 June–23 August 2026 | Royal Academy

    The Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy is a must-see. Year after year, it has occupied a special place in the collective imagination as a reflection of all that is exciting and essential in British and international art and architecture right now.

     

    The exhibition includes Fiona Banner aka The Vanity Press, Tacita Dean, and Cornelia Parker.

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    Image: Gallery view of the Summer Exhibition 2026, at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 16 June- 23 August 2026. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
    Fiona Banner aka The Vanity Press, Disarm at Eros, 2025
    Graphite on paper, glass, aluminium from Tornado ZE728, 91 x 164 x 4.5 cm / 35 7/8 x 64 5/8 x 1 3/4 in (framed), 86 x 159.5 cm / 33 7/8 x 62 3/4 in (unframed)

     

  • Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica 11 June–6 September 2026 | Barbican Art Gallery
    Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica
    11 June–6 September 2026 | Barbican Art Gallery

    Explore the impact of Pan-Africanism on artistic and cultural production from the 1920s to the present, through over 300 works – from paintings and installations to posters, journals, and film.

     

    The exhibition includes Marlene Dumas.

     

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    Image: Silk Street entrance, Barbican Centre. Photo by Dion Barrett
  • Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait 4 June–6 September 2026 | National Portrait Gallery
    Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait
    4 June–6 September 2026 | National Portrait Gallery

    In celebration of the Hollywood star’s 100th birthday and in association with the Marilyn Monroe estate, Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait at the National Portrait Gallery will explore the life, career and legacy of Marilyn Monroe through portraits created by some of the greatest photographers and artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Marlene Dumas.

     

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    Image: Ross Place Entrance and the new forecourt at the National Portrait Gallery, London. Photograph © Olivier Hess 
  • The Sun and The Moon: Art Inspired by the Celestial 5 June–8 September 2026 | Saatchi Gallery
    The Sun and The Moon: Art Inspired by the Celestial
    5 June–8 September 2026 | Saatchi Gallery

    This major exhibition explores how our two most powerful heavenly bodies have inspired creativity, curiosity and belief throughout human history and across different cultures. Spanning nine major exhibition spaces, the show presents artworks, installations and objects that reveal how artists have responded to the Sun and the Moon. The exhibition features work by Raqs Media Collective.

     

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    Image:  Raqs Media Collective, A Planet Turns on Its Axis, Without Permission, 2018 (still). Single channel video, silent, 18 minutes, 6 seconds
  • Collection Display: Fear and Freedom 1940–1965 Ongoing | Tate Britain
    Collection Display: Fear and Freedom 1940–1965
    Ongoing | Tate Britain

    This display shows the different ways artists, including Shilpa Gupta, have responded to the experience of the war and its consequences. The body, in all its vulnerability, is a major subject. Some artists produce intensely observed and expressive representations of the human figure. Others create landscapes and cityscapes marked by combat, displacement or alienation, conveying a sense of turbulence.

     

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    Image: Shilpa Gupta, 1:7690, 3145 kms of Fenced Border, East, 2024. Smuggled everyday garment, vitrine, glass box, etched brass, 147.3 × 33 × 33 cm. Installation view: Fear and Freedom 1940–1965, Collection Display, Tate Britain, 2026. Photo © Tate (Reece Straw)

     

  • Artists First: Contemporary Perspectives on Portraiture 6 September 2025–2 August 2026 | National Portrait Gallery
    Artists First: Contemporary Perspectives on Portraiture
    6 September 2025–2 August 2026 | National Portrait Gallery

    Małgorzata Mirga-Tas is amongst the eight artists selected as part of the National Portrait Gallery's Artists First: Contemporary Perspectives on Portraiture, a new programme of contemporary commissioning made possible through a partnership with the CHANEL Culture Fund. 

     

    Listen to Mirga-Tas talk about the motivations behind her work

     

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    Image: © Małgorzata Mirga-Tas. Commissioned for Artists First with kind support from the CHANEL Culture Fund, 2025. Installation photographs © National Portrait Gallery, London⁠
  • The Coming of Age 26 March–29 November 2026 | Wellcome Collection
    The Coming of Age
    26 March–29 November 2026 | Wellcome Collection

    The Coming of Age explores experiences and perceptions of ageing, from adolescence to later life, and asks how societies can adapt for us all to age better. The exhibition features 150 artworks and objects, from historical artefacts to works by contemporary artists, including Daphne Wright.

     

    Bringing together different perspectives from art, science and popular culture, this exhibition challenges assumptions about life stages and asks what greater longevity means for all of us.

     

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    Image: Installation view: The Coming of Age, Wellcome Collection, London, 2026. Daphne Wright, Zimmer, 2019. Charles Darwin’s walking stick. Whalebone, ivory and glass. Wellcome Collection / Science Museum Group A4962. Gallery Photography: Steve Pocock. Source: Wellcome Collection.