London exhibitions - Archive Articles

Wooden kaleidoscopes filling the Guildhall Art Gallery

The Guildhall Art Gallery's temporary exhibition space is currently filled with kaleidoscope-inspired art, which is a bit marmite — you'll either love it or be indifferent to it.

Pioneering female painter’s portraits return to their Pall Mall birthplace

When a gallery decided to put on an exhibition about one of Britain's earliest female portrait painters, they had no idea that their galley sits on the same spot where many of the portraits were originally painted.

Royal School of Needlework launches an online archive of embroidery history

The Royal School of Needlework, founded in 1872, has started putting some of its archives online, with an initial launch of the first 100 items to start the collection.

Vivienne Westwood exhibition coming to London

A free exhibition of Vivienne Westwood's clothes and possessions is coming to London in June, ahead of a sale of the collection.

Tim Hetherington’s lens reveals the human stories of war at IWM exhibition

There's an exhibition of war photography at the IWM that isn't the sort of photography you might be expecting.

Charing Cross Library’s “Matteotti Affair” exhibition revisits 1924’s anti-fascist movement

A century ago, the kidnapping and murder of an Italian politician could have prevented the rise of Mussolini, and there's currently an exhibition about the man in Charing Cross.

Murder, Mystery, and Masterpiece: Caravaggio’s last painting arrives in London

A dark, brooding painting dominates a dark room in the National Gallery at the moment, sitting next to the fragile document that only recently confirmed that this is indeed the last painting by the brilliant but flawed artist Caravaggio.

Discovering Britain’s cultural tapestry at UAL’s folk costume exhibition

A horse's skull on a pole sits in a room with pearly queens and morris dancers as part of an exhibition looking at England's rich traditions of folk dance.

Entente Cordiale exhibition shows off the secret pact between Britain and France

As you might have seen in the news recently, it's the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale, when Britain and France signed several agreements to stop bothering each other.

Umbro 100: Exhibition looks at sports clothing’s cultural impact

Down a goods delivery ramp and past the bins is an unexpected location for an exhibition about football shirts -- but that's what you can find underneath a Marylebone building at the moment.

Exploring Ranjit Singh: A warrior King’s exhibition at the Wallace Collection

Shining brightly in the middle of an atmospheric exhibition is a gold lotus flower throne, on a rare loan that, for the first time, lets us see the intricately decorated back, which is even more impressive than the front.

Holy Crispiness! Worship at a stained glass window shrine to fried chicken

In north London there's a very unusual stained glass window - where you can pray to the god of fried chicken nuggets.

A 120 year old electric carriage goes on display at the Science Museum

What looks like an old horse-drawn carriage has appeared in the Science Museum, but looks are deceptive, for this was an exceptionally early electric car.

Enzo Mari – the Marxist materialist at the Design Museum

One of the most important designers of the modern interior world that you've never heard of is headlining the Design Museum this summer with a large exhibition showing off his handiwork.

Ten London exhibitions to visit in April 2024

A selection of ten exhibitions to visit in London while dodging the April showers.

An exhibition about George Seferis has opened inside the Greek Ambassador’s home

Inside the Greek Ambassador's official London residence is a room preserved for nearly 60 years in memory of the man who once worked there and is now open to the public for the first time.

Duke of Wellington’s dress uniforms go on display at Apsley House

The Duke of Wellington is famous for the vast number of portraits of him in his military uniforms, but the actual uniforms themselves were hardly ever seen in public - until now.

Beyond dog food: Unearthing the unexpected roles of dogs in advertising

Advertising has used the image of the faithful canine pretty much since printing made adverts possible—and now an exhibition is looking back at the history of doggy goods.

From Tiny Tradesmen to Lilliputian Locals: Exploring “staffage” in architectural drawings

Most architectural exhibitions are about the buildings, but this one isn't -- it's about the figures added to architectural drawings to show off the scale of the buildings.

Decades of Dissent: Anti-Nuclear movement explored in LSE Library exhibition

A "tube map" in the shape of a fighter jet is on display at the moment, as part of an exhibition looking at the two conflicting sides in the protests about the arms trade.

Photographic exhibition celebrates the women of the RNLI

To mark the bicentenary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), there's an exhibition of people who most certainly wouldn't have been invited to the founding rescue - women.

Tickets Alert: Late opening for Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms

Tate Modern's long-running and very popular art installation of mirrors and lights created by Yayoi Kusama will be open late through April to give people a last chance to visit.

Unleash your inner child at ‘Art of the Brick’ LEGO exhibition

Appropriately for the location, just off Brick Lane can be found an exhibition of bricks -- LEGO bricks in fact, over a million of them.

A feast of fabric at the Barbican

The usually brutalist Barbican is somewhat softer at the moment, as the art gallery has been filled with soft textiles, looking at how fabrics have been used in art rather than fashion.