A selection of ten good exhibitions to visit in London during July 2021.
Misterioso – Cheng Cheng Yi
Dorothy Circus Gallery, Paddington
Free
The first British solo-show for Chinese artist Cheng Cheng Yi. For this occasion, the artist presents a new series of 6 acrylics on canvas inspired by the latest trends in the contemporary Asian avant-garde.
The Story of Oxford House
Oxford House, Bethnal Green
Free
Oxford House has played an important role in this area since 1884. Our building and its occupants have lived through major global and local events, including the Industrial Revolution, two world wars, visits from radical thinkers and changes within Bethnal Green’s communities.
This large scale timeline and exhibition in their gallery tells you some of our extraordinary story within the wider context of the changing East End.
Wartime London: Art of the Blitz
Churchill War Rooms, Whitehall
£25
Explore the Second World War’s impact on London life with a unique art exhibition housed in the secret command centre where Winston Churchill and his inner circle directed the Allied effort.
This curated selection of artworks, on display for a limited time only, shines a new light on the experiences of ordinary people forced into new patterns of living by Nazi air raids.
Chintz: Cotton in Bloom
Fashion and Textile Museum, Bermondsey
£13.15
Chintz: Cotton in Bloom showcases some 150 examples of this treasured textile, originating from all around the world; from mittens to wall hangings and from extravagant 18th-century sun hats to stylish mourning dresses.
Thomas Becket – Murder and the making of a saint
British Museum, Bloomsbury
£17
Marking the 850th anniversary of his brutal murder, this special exhibition presents Becket’s tumultuous journey from a merchant’s son to an archbishop, and from a revered saint in death to a ‘traitor’ in the eyes of Henry VIII more than 350 years later.
Summer Lights
Canary Wharf, Isle of Dogs
Free
Aiming to continue to bring stunning works of art to the Canary Wharf estate, this unique light event will launch around Midsummer to celebrate light in its most natural form.
Royal Palaces of Joseon
Korean Cultural Centre, Charing Cross
Free
Through photographs, videos and traditional paper crafts, Royal Palaces of Joseon presents four royal palaces, Gyeongbokgung palace, Changdeokgung palace, Changgyeonggung palace, and Deoksugung palace, along with the Jongmyo Shrine which houses the ancestral tablets of the kings of the Joseon Dynasty. These five cultural assets are not just important heritage sites in Korea but also globally recognised, with Changdeokgung palace and the Ritual Ceremonies of the Jongmyo Shrine also being on UNESCO’s World Heritage lists.
Rubens: Reunited the great landscapes
Wallace Collection, Marylebone
Free
For the first time in over two hundred years, Peter Paul Rubens’s (1577-1640) two great masterpieces of landscape painting, The Rainbow Landscape (The Wallace Collection) and A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning (The National Gallery) will be reunited as part of an exhibition at the Wallace Collection.
Astronomy Photographer of the Year
Royal Observatory, Greenwich
£10
Explore over 100 images from the world’s greatest space photography competition and see each twinkling star in pin-point detail on the stunning back-lit light displays. From the dancing aurora to distant galaxies, these images capture the wonders of our Universe.
Hackney in the 1980s
Hackney Museum, Hackney
Free
On display for the first time, and available to visit in person now at the Hackney Museum, this unique collection explores the highs and lows of everyday life in the borough, alongside some of the key social and political events of the decade. They also capture the resilience and solidarity of Hackney’s communities in the 1980s in the face of poverty, racism, housing shortages and government cuts.
