A list of free exhibitions in London open now, and opening in London soon.
Displayed by how soon they close.
Exhibitions open now
Opium, Silk and the Missionaries in China retells one of the largely forgotten histories between Britain and China in the 19th Century.
Open from Tue 18th May to Sat 26th Jun
Ends this month
Andy Billman’s new photographic series documents the bricked-up windows of London, examining the role that light and air play for our wellbeing in the spaces we inhabit.
Open from Tue 22nd Jun to Sat 26th Jun
Ends this month
An affordable art fair is to take over a large number of commercial advertising displays across East London for a fortnight.
Open from Mon 14th Jun to Sun 27th Jun
Ends this month
Zoe Zenghelis’ paintings are inspired by metropolitan structure, landform, and abstract tectonics.
Open from Fri 21st May to Wed 30th Jun
Ends this month
This exhibition follows the lives of soldiers in Germany over the past 75 years.
Open from Tue 18th May to Thu 1st Jul
Explore the history of the Krio people of Sierra Leone and discover the dress, architecture, language, lifestyle and tradition of their community.
Open from Wed 19th May to Sun 4th Jul
Ben's series of twenty paintings on display alongside Simon Costin’s iconic MOBF collection.
Open from Fri 4th Jun to Sun 4th Jul
A solo exhibition of new and archival works that spotlight Black Queer legacies in Britain by Ajamu X.
Open from Thu 20th May to Sun 11th Jul
This exhibition showcases the innovative work of Japanese textile designer Sudō Reiko, who is renowned for pushing boundaries of textile production and championing new methods of sustainable manufacturing.
Open from Mon 17th May to Sun 11th Jul
A new outdoor exhibition, Gunnersbury Park Museum celebrates the life and work of Ealing Studios stills photographer Roy Gough.
Open from Sun 16th May to Sun 11th Jul
Works from the period of the two artists’ friendship will be shown side by side for the first time, along with unseen materials from Beard’s archives including letters and photographs.
Open from Mon 12th Apr to Fri 16th Jul
Taking inspiration from Bloomberg’s location in the City of London, Dant’s epic sepia ink drawing encapsulates 2,000 years of the everyday life and times of Budge Row, the famous once-lost thoroughfare now reinstated as Bloomberg Arcade.
Open from Tue 18th May to Sat 17th Jul
This exhibition celebrates the Company’s history and its crafts of joinery and woodcarving, to mark the 450th anniversary of the granting of the Company’s Royal Charter in 1571.
Open from Wed 2nd Jun to Sun 18th Jul
This first solo exhibition of new works by Rafael Trelles, explores the notion of the Axis Mundi, a mythic tree that represents a portal between this and other worlds.
Open from Thu 17th Jun to Sat 24th Jul
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.
Open from Fri 11th Jun to Fri 30th Jul
An exhibition of new works by Tom Sachs, never previously seen in the UK, including four new sculptures conceived for the exhibition.
Open from Tue 13th Apr to Sat 31st Jul
The richly decorated Victorian Leadenhall Market has been filled with neon lighting from Gods Own Junkyard.
Open from Wed 26th May to Sat 31st Jul
A collection of limited edition prints and original drawings including maps that salute London’s Theatres, Lost Rivers and bustling London Squares.
Open from Mon 24th May to Sat 31st Jul
This exhibition looks at how spirituality continued to be an important source of inspiration for artists in the post-war years.
Open from Wed 9th Jun to Sat 31st Jul
This exhibition brings 1980s Hackney to life through photographs found in the basement of the Rio Cinema, Dalston.
Open from Tue 18th May to Sat 31st Jul
This show brings together two of the most important figures in twentieth-century British painting, exploring between them, figuration, abstraction, cubism, ‘concrete’ art, and collage.
Open from Wed 9th Jun to Sat 31st Jul
A subterranean exploration of sound and light, the show takes viewers on a sensory journey through 180 Studio’s labyrinth-like spaces.
Open from Thu 20th May to Sun 1st Aug
An exhibition that promises to fulfil your curiosity with the ethereal and ghostly, as well as offering a little something out of the ordinary as we emerge from lockdown.
Open from Sat 5th Jun to Fri 6th Aug
This display presents for the first time watercolour during the Renaissance as a unified art form, highlighting its versatility and pivotal role in understanding, interpreting and documenting the natural world.
Open from Sun 20th Jun to Sun 8th Aug
This exhibition charts the development of Blake’s approach to collage-making, beginning with his layering of subject matter in early painted compositions and experiments with collaged paper
Open from Fri 18th Jun to Fri 13th Aug
This exhibition seeks to explore key aspects of John Hassall’s work, and to celebrate the life of this extraordinary artist a century on from his heyday.
Open from Sat 22nd May to Sat 14th Aug
This display weaves together a rich tapestry of artistic expression from artists born in, or connected to, countries from Iran to Morocco.
Open from Mon 17th May to Sun 15th Aug
For the first time in over two hundred years, Peter Paul Rubens’s two great masterpieces of landscape painting will be reunited as part of an exhibition at the Wallace Collection.
Open from Thu 3rd Jun to Sun 15th Aug
Calero’s display invites us to think about the act of collecting, about what we choose to surround ourselves with in our homes and the importance and presence of the natural world.
Open from Wed 19th May to Sun 15th Aug
Speaking to architects, public sector workers and young people, artist and filmmaker Ayo Akingbade creates moving image work that forges conversations on urbanism, gentrification, power and resilience.
Open from Wed 19th May to Sun 15th Aug
This display marks the launch of Network Rail’s new customised typeface, Rail Alphabet 2, designed by her in close collaboration with Henrik Kubel.
Open from Tue 18th May to Tue 17th Aug
This exhibition marks only the second time each work has been on view and the first time these important works have been shown together.
Open from Fri 21st May to Fri 20th Aug
An exhibition that introduces the shrines and royal palaces of Korea’s Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).
Open from Tue 8th Jun to Fri 20th Aug
A colourful exhibition celebrating natural light across the Canary Wharf estate.
Open from Mon 21st Jun to Sat 21st Aug
This is a rare opportunity to see one of Poland’s most loved works of art.
Open from Fri 21st May to Sun 22nd Aug
Unearth the mystery of the largest ever Bronze Age hoard discovered in London.
Open from Wed 19th May to Sun 22nd Aug
This exhibition uncovers how forensic and other evidence about the death marches has been gathered since the end of the Holocaust.
Open from Mon 17th May to Fri 27th Aug
This exhibition explores a century of model making, and tells the story of the lacemakers, locomotive drivers and engineers who built the modern world from their kitchen tables.
Open from Wed 19th May to Sun 29th Aug
A portrait of the strength and resilience of single parent families facing austerity.
Open from Sat 12th Jun to Sun 29th Aug
An exhibition display showcasing Network Rail’s Design Guidance Series.
Open from Mon 14th Jun to Tue 31st Aug
This exhibition showcases a series of powerful and poetic watercolours made on an expedition to discover the ruins of ancient Ionia (modern Turkey) in 1764.
Open from Wed 19th May to Sat 4th Sep
A display celebrating dub reggae and its influence on the capital.
Open from Wed 19th May to Sun 5th Sep
Outdoor art exhibition by Malwawi-born artist Samson Kambalu, who has been creating flags throughout lockdown that explore ideas of national and individual sovereignty and links to emancipatory movements such as Pan-Africanism.
Open from Mon 17th May to Sun 5th Sep
A collection of work exploring artists’ responses to the Battle of Britain and the Blitz.
Open from Mon 17th May to Sun 12th Sep
Featuring works by children from 30 different primary schools, the exhibition showcases the richness of children's creative responses – from armoured beasts and shining shields to plumed helmets and printed flowers.
Open from Thu 17th Jun to Sun 12th Sep
A new photographic art display exploring contemporary relationships with spiritualism, reality and surrealism, through a Black British lens.
Open from Mon 17th May to Sun 19th Sep
An exhibition on perhaps the Isokon’s most renowned resident: Agatha Christie.
Open from Sat 22nd May to Sun 26th Sep
Discover the story of Ai-Da, the world’s first convincing humanoid robot capable of creating artworks.
Open from Tue 18th May to Wed 29th Sep
An exhibition exploring the concept of Eden through Art & Islamic Garden Design
Open from Thu 29th Apr to Thu 30th Sep
This large scale timeline and exhibition in the gallery tells you some of the extraordinary story within the wider context of the changing East End.
Open from Tue 8th Jun to Thu 30th Sep
A series of X-ray photographs and poetic texts highlighting extinction and the alarming decline in bird species around the world.
Open from Mon 17th May to Sun 10th Oct
A display of Asante treasures from Ghana, shedding light on 19th-century collecting and the British Empire.
Open from Wed 19th May to Sun 31st Oct
Discover the shared military heritage between the UK and the Caribbean in this special exhibition exploring the role of West Indian soldiers in the British Army.
Open from Wed 19th May to Sun 31st Oct
This group exhibition and artist led research project unearths and interrogates our connection with our habitats and ecosystems, both global and local.
Open from Tue 18th May to Sun 14th Nov
In response to the climate emergency, artists Ackroyd & Harvey have installed Beuys’ Acorns, a group of 100 oak trees, on Tate Modern’s South Terrace
Open from Tue 4th May to Sun 14th Nov
This display reflects on the role of humour in debates around identity, empire and power over the past two hundred years.
Open from Mon 17th May to Thu 25th Nov
This display of artworks and manuscripts explores the life and interests of Joseph Banks (1743-1820) through some of his extraordinary collections.
Open from Mon 17th May to Thu 25th Nov
This exhibition examines the pivotal role of women as both artists and as behind-the-scenes organisers within the Surrealist movement in Britain in the 1930s.
Open from Wed 19th May to Sun 12th Dec
An exhibition that reflects on the Building Centre's key activities from 1931 to the present day
Open from Mon 7th Jun to Fri 17th Dec
An exhibition exploring 400 years of emigration from Britain from the Mayflower to the present day through personal narratives, contemporary art and a range of media.
Open from Wed 19th May to Sun 19th Dec
An installation exploring two important social questions: who are our buildings and shared spaces for and how do they affect us?
Open from Mon 17th May to Thu 23rd Dec
The exhibition brings together rarely-seen original artwork and costumes, photographs, documents, audio and video to tell the story of Noël Coward's life.
Open from Mon 14th Jun to Thu 23rd Dec
An exhibition about a dentist and Freemason noted for his philanthropy.
Open from Mon 17th May to Sat 25th Dec
Heather Phillipson engulfs Tate Britain’s grand central galleries with colour, sound and motion
Open from Sun 20th Jun to Wed 29th Dec
An outdoor exhibition marking the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the seat of Poland’s diplomatic post in London at 47 Portland Place.
Open from Sun 2nd May to Fri 31st Dec
An exhibition that offers a first look at the technologies being developed to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, to help mitigate the worst impacts of climate change.
Open from Wed 19th May to Thu 10th Feb 2022
Explore the 100-year history of the prestigious Royal Academy of Dance.
Open from Sun 20th Jun to Wed 16th Mar 2022
Exhibitions opening soon
An immersive multimedia exhibition by British artist Lottie Davies exploring grief, loss, loneliness, and the human search for meaning through time and landscape.
Open from Wed 30th Jun to Sun 4th Jul
The first display of the famous AIDS quilt in London since 1994.
Open from Sat 3rd Jul to Sun 11th Jul
Operating anonymously under a moniker that is as witty as it is elusive, the artist’s latest body of work presents onlookers with an array of characters that are at once both familiar and estranged.
Open from Thu 24th Jun to Thu 15th Jul
This is a major survey show of one of the most exciting, yet least known, movements in contemporary art: a non-Western tradition at once ancient and modern, immediate and other.
Open from Sat 17th Jul to Sat 28th Aug
The first major solo show in the UK of
Italian contemporary artist, Marco
Tirelli.
Open from Fri 25th Jun to Sat 4th Sep
This touring exhibition unites contemporary indigenous artists and educators in the USA with museums and historic collections in Britain.
Open from Fri 23rd Jul to Sun 5th Sep
An exhibition exploring the phenomena of skateboarding and the impact of its culture and communities on the UK over the past 45 years.
Open from Mon 19th Jul to Sun 19th Sep
The exhibition showcases the people and places in Harrow who have contributed to preserving Harrow’s natural spaces.
Open from Tue 20th Jul to Sun 26th Sep
The annual international open exhibition of the UK Coloured Pencil Society is this year celebrating 20 years of promoting fine art in coloured pencil.
Open from Thu 14th Oct to Sun 24th Oct
Celebrating south London’s music scene, Music Curator Adem Holness highlights the relationship between Black British music and physical space.
Open from Fri 23rd Jul to Sun 24th Oct
Five monumental views reunited for the first time in more than 250 years.
Open from Thu 22nd Jul to Sun 31st Oct
This exhibition explores the pioneering design strategy and lasting legacy of the historic Tokyo 1964 Olympic Games.
Open from Thu 5th Aug to Sun 7th Nov
The Southbank presents the most extensive exhibition of Gerhard Richter’s drawings ever shown in the UK.
Open from Thu 9th Sep to Sun 12th Dec
This exhibition offers new commissions that take a deeper look at feelings of peace and balance.
Open from Thu 15th Jul to Sun 9th Jan 2022
Explore the diversity of euphoric experiences and the effect of positive emotion on the body.
Open from Thu 15th Jul to Wed 23rd Feb 2022
A display exploring the central role food plays in Black enterprise and identity in South East London.
Open from Fri 16th Jul to Sat 9th Apr 2022
Kehinde Wiley is an American artist best known for his portraits that render people of colour in the traditional settings of Old Master paintings.
Open from Fri 10th Dec to Mon 18th Apr 2022
