The 19 best exhibitions in London that’ll make you feel something
If you’ve been feeling stuck lately, there’s no better remedy than a good dose of inspiration. Exhibitions are where that magic happens!
Artists and curators have this amazing way of sparking conversations that make you see things differently, sometimes even shifting your whole perspective.
London’s buzzing with incredible exhibitions right now, and our team had an absolute blast checking some of them out. These are the ones that really stuck with us. They made us pause, think, and walk out feeling just a little bit changed.
Best exhibition at the Young V&A
Address: Young V&A, Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green
Contact details: +44 20 8983 5200
Operating hours:
- Monday to Sunday: 10 AM – 5:45 PM
1. Making Egypt
Media credits: young.vam
Price: £
Date: Until November 2, 2025
Making Egypt is a masterclass in making Ancient Egyptian history accessible and engaging for all audiences. Sure, it’s aimed at kids, but don’t let that fool you—there’s plenty to captivate the grown-ups too.
It’s amazing how it mixes ancient history with pop culture. There’s a nod to the real Imhotep alongside the villain from The Mummy (1999). We also loved spotting that Tracey Emin actually owns one of the statuettes on display.
The exhibition is split into three sections: storytelling, communicating, and making. You’ll learn how to read hieroglyphs, decode ancient colours, and even peek behind the scenes at how Egyptians painted walls and built pyramids.
| Pro tip: Take your time with the artefacts. The sarcophagus of Princess Sopdet-em-haawt and the funerary boat are amazing. Photos rarely do them justice. |
Best exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert Museu
Address: Cromwell Rd
Contact details: +44 20 7942 2000
Operating hours:
- Monday to Thursday: 10 AM – 5:45 PM
- Friday: 10 AM – 10 PM
- Saturday to Sunday: 10 AM – 5:45 PM
2. Design & Disability
Media credits: vamuseum
Price: ££ / Free for members
Date: Until February 15, 2026
Design and Disability is designed with thought, care, and a little bit of rebellion. The bright blue bench by Finnegan Shannon invites you to sit, but it’s also a subtle wake-up call about how museums often overlook accessibility.
It has three parts: Visibility, Tools, and Living. It shows how disabled creators shape history, highlight smart innovations, and shape personal stories of making spaces that work for them.
Some of the exhibits are downright playful, like the rattling football you can touch, smell, and shake. These are the kinds of experiences that make you realise accessible design can also make the whole exhibition more fun and engaging for everyone.
| Pro tip: Pay attention to how the exhibition explores overlapping issues (like race, gender, or neurodivergence). These connections deepen the story and your understanding. |
3. Marie Antoinette Style
Media credits: vamuseum
Price: ££ / Free for members
Date: Until March 22, 2026
Marie Antoinette Style steps you into a world filled with silk, sparkle, and the drama of Versailles. It immerses you in the queen’s extravagant life, showing how her style has influenced fashion for more than 250 years.
The first rooms are full of stunning gowns. Wide skirts, endless ruffles, and delicate embroidery fill the space. Even though these dresses weren’t actually hers, they show her youthful style beautifully.
There are also the jewellery and scent sections, where it gets intimate. It’s like you can almost reach and smell a glimpse into her private life behind all the public glitz.
We were particularly moved at the end of the exhibit, though. It’s where her handwritten final note and the plain white chemise she wore in prison were displayed. It’s a perfect reminder that beneath the glamour, she was human.
| Pro tip: If you’re sensitive to smell, you might want to step back into the fragrance room installations. Some of the smells are very strong and can even cause you to sneeze. |
4. Prix Pictet 2025 – Storm
Media credits: prixpictet
Price: Free
Date: Until October 19, 2025
If you’re interested in exploring the chaos shaping our world today, the Prix Pictet 2025 – Storm is a must-visit. It looks at how we’re all living through unpredictable times.
We think its strength lies in its diversity. Some artists focus on environmental collapse with haunting beauty. Others capture the social and political tensions brewing beneath the surface. A few explore unexpected perspectives, like microscopic life.
Walking through the galleries, we found ourselves constantly shifting between awe and reflection. It’s not just a collection of beautiful images; it can also make you pause and think. It’s intense and emotional, sometimes unsettling, but always meaningful.
| Pro tip: Bring headphones or earplugs. There’s a subtle sound design in parts of the exhibition that can be so immersive. Headphones or earplugs can help you control the sensory experience if you’re sensitive to sound. |
5. Cartier
Media credits: cartier and vamuseum
Price: £££ / Free for members
Date: Until November 16, 2025
Royal tiaras, diamond necklaces, historic gemstones—if these excite you, you will appreciate attending the Cartier exhibition. With more than 350 pieces on display, we found ourselves walking through displays of beauty, power, and design.
The first rooms are filled with jewels inspired by different countries, like India, Persia, and Japan. Somehow, Cartier managed to mix all those influences while still keeping that unmistakable French flair.
It’s actually fascinating. We saw how the brand adapted its designs to suit the tastes of different cultures while holding onto its signature elegance.
| Pro tip: Tickets have been selling out weeks in advance. If you’re planning to go, grab a slot as soon as you can. Better yet, consider getting a V&A membership, so you can walk in without worrying about sold-out dates and get access to other exhibitions too. |
Best exhibitions at the Hayward Gallery
Address: Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd
Contact details: +44 20 3879 9555
Operating hours:
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday to Friday: 10 AM – 6 PM
- Saturday: 10 AM – 8 PM
- Sunday: 10 AM – 6 PM
6. Val Lee: The Presence of Solitude
Media credits: val_lee_indeks
Price: Free
Date: Until January 11, 2026
The Presence of Solitude made our team walk out feeling oddly calm. The show will make you feel disoriented without ever losing you completely.
The exhibition mixes film, photography, and costume in a way that makes you slow down and notice the quiet in everything. It’s not about loneliness, exactly. It’s more about what happens when being alone becomes its own kind of company.
Two pieces stood out to us: The Valley in the Minibus and The Sorrowful Football Team. One feels calm and dreamy, the other deep and emotional, which strikes that perfect balance.
| Pro tip: Aim for weekday mornings to avoid crows. The show is free to enter, so it can get busier at weekends and late evenings. |
7. Gilbert & George: 21ST CENTURY PICTURES
Media credits: southbank_london
Price: ££
Date: Until January 11, 2026
Gilbert & George: 21st Century Pictures isn’t a quiet or relaxing experience. The works are loud, layered, and sometimes a bit too much all at once—but that’s part of the thrill. It’s a visual overload that keeps you wide awake and oddly amused.
There are 60 huge, kaleidoscopic works from the past 25 years. Each bursts with colour, chaos, and a sense of humour. Everywhere we looked, there was something unexpected. Sometimes, it’s traffic cones; other times, it’s a body part.
For those who love art that challenges rather than soothes, this exhibition is a must-see. It’s good for those who are fascinated by society’s contradictions and want to wrestle with questions about identity, morality, and modernity.
| Pro tip: Avoid bringing small kids unless you’re prepared for questions. Some of the images and language might lead to awkward car ride conversations. Teens with an interest in art or social commentary, though, would love it here. |
Best exhibitions at the Tate Modern
Address: Bankside
Contact details: +44 20 7887 8888
Operating hours:
- Monday to Sunday: 10 AM – 6 PM
8. Theatre Picasso
Media credits: alminerech
Price: ££ / Free for members
Date: Until April 12, 2026
Theatre Picasso is like a backstage set, with the dim lights, plywood walls, and that buzzing sense that something’s about to happen. There are over 45 works on display, including paintings, sculptures, and textiles—some never shown in the UK before.
Artworks are grouped by ideas rather than time periods, so one minute you’re looking at circus figures, the next at abstract nudes. It’s unpredictable, a little chaotic, and that’s exactly the point.
For an artist who thrived on reinvention, this exhibition mirrors that energy. We also loved how Nude Woman with Necklace got a spotline on its own. It’s raw and very emotional.
However, the long wall texts can feel like reading a mini art history thesis.
| Pro tip: The last room has a stage-like setup where you can look back through a curtain at the rest of the space. Don’t rush past it. It’s designed so you become part of the artwork, watching and being watched. |
9. Emily Kam Kngwarray
Media credits: tate
Price: ££ / Free for members
Date: Until January 11, 2026
Within minutes of roaming around Emily Kam Kngwarray’s exhibition, the space felt charged. Her paintings are enormous, but what’s most striking is the sensation that they move while you’re looking at them.
Dots ripple like wind over sand, lines flow like water finding its path. The energy is hypnotic. Even though the paintings are abstract, they feel rooted in something ancient.
The curation deserves praise for how approachable it makes her story. The layout flows naturally, and the walls strike the right balance between cultural context and visual appreciation.
You don’t need an art degree to understand what’s happening here—just curiosity and a bit of time.
| Pro tip: Her art works best when you shift perspective. Step close for the details, and step back to see the vast landscapes. Doing this with each piece lets you see the rhythm in her work. |
10. The Genesis Exhibition: Do Ho Suh: Walk the House
Media credits: tate and dohosuhstudio
Price: ££ / Free for members
Date: Until October 26, 2025
If memories are an exhibit, it’d be something like Do Ho Suh’s Walk the House. Suh can turn something as ordinary (like a hallway) into a deeply emotional experience. His work asks a simple but powerful question: what does “home” really mean?
The first thing we saw was Rubbing/Loving Project: Seoul Home, which shows Suh’s childhood house in Korea. It’s completely made out of paper, and every detail is recreated using rubbing techniques. It’s ghostly and delicate at the same time.
Our favourite would probably be Nest/s, which is a maze of translucent and colourful rooms. You can walk through it, and the walls move slightly as the air shifts around you.
The layout could be better, though. Some of the smaller drawings and videos are easy to miss because your eyes keep getting pulled toward the giant fabric houses.
| Pro tip: Look up. The ceilings in Suh’s installations are part of the story. Most people focus on the walls, but the top views also hide some of the most intricate details. |
11. Edward Burra
Media credits: tate
Price: ££ / Free for members
Date: Until October 19, 2025
Don’t expect Edward Burra’s exhibition as something proper because it was the total opposite. It’s loud, cheeky, full of life, and we loved every part of it.
His early paintings of bars and cabarets in Paris have so much going on that you don’t know where to look first. The figures are curvy, the colours are electric, and there’s rhythm and movement everywhere.
We think the exhibition really did a great job of showing just how ahead of his time Burra was. He was painting queer culture, nightlife, and everyday people with honesty. He wasn’t afraid to mix the glamorous with the gritty, which was very refreshing.
| Pro tip: Save some energy for the final rooms. The later sections get heavier emotionally, so don’t breeze through them. Instead, take a moment to reflect. |
12. Ithell Colquhoun
Media credits: tate
Price: ££ / Free for members
Date: Until October 19, 2025
Every room inside Ithell Colquhoun’s exhibition pulls you deeper into the artist’s world. Plants have veins, rocks have thighs, and everything feels just a bit enchanted (and slightly unsettling).
Instead of following a simple timeline, the curators went for a more free-flowing layout. You move from her early myth-inspired paintings into her wild experiments with surrealist techniques. There’s a constant jump between the mystical and the earthly.
We really enjoyed seeing the textures up close. The display includes notes and sketches that show how she did it. Even if you’ve never studied surrealism, it’s easy to appreciate how much fun she must’ve had making these works.
| Pro tip: Bring a friend who’s into astrology or mysticism. Calquhoun’s grand finale is a tarot section, and each card is packed with occult symbols and geometric detail. It’ll be fun to compare interpretations. |
13. Lee Miller
Media credits: tatecollective
Price: ££ / Free for members
Date: Until February 15, 2026
When we left the Lee Miller exhibition, we felt like we’d just binge-watched the wildest art documentary ever, except it was all real.
The 250+ works take you from Miller’s days as a 1920s supermodel to her surrealist experiments in Paris and her gut-wrenching war photography. It’s a rollercoaster, but one that’s nicely put together.
For us, the curation is excellent and the flow feels natural. There’s even a mix of old and new prints that keep things interesting. Each section has its own atmosphere, and the captions give you just the right amount of context without slowing you down.
| Pro tip: Don’t rush the first rooms. Look at how she’s photographed versus how she later photographs herself. It’s a quiet power shift that sets up the whole show. |
14. Nigerian Modernism
Media credits: tate
Price: ££ / Free for members
Date: Until May 10, 2026
Every room inside the Nigerian Modernism exhibition feels alive with colour, texture, and pride. You can sense that something exciting and important was happening in Nigeria during those mid-20th-century years.
We loved how it’ll take you on a journey, from the art schools of Zaria to global art centres like London. You can really see how Nigerian artists were picking up pieces of modernist ideas from Europe and reshaping them into something completely their own.
There are paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and even textiles. Somehow, they all fit together. It’s like each artist is part of the same conversation but speaking with their own dialect.
Besides the big names like Ben Enwonwu and El Anatsui, we also liked how inclusive the narrative is. The exhibition gives space to lesser-known figures. It’s really a must-visit for anyone wanting to broaden their understanding of Nigerian modern art.
| Pro tip: Start at the beginning and resist skipping ahead. The layout follows a timeline of Nigerian art’s revolution, and jumping ahead can break the flow. |
Best exhibitions at the Design Museum
Address: 224-238 Kensington High St
Contact details: +44 20 3862 5937
Operating hours:
- Monday to Thursday: 10 AM – 5 PM
- Friday to Sunday: 10 AM – 6 PM
15. Blitz: the club that shaped the 80s
Media credits: designmuseum
Price: ££
Date: Until March 29, 2026
Blitz: The Club That Shaped the ’80s is a time capsule full of glitter, music, and pure creative chaos. Our team spent a few hours wandering around, and every corner had something that made us stop and go, “Wow, people really wore that?”
The exhibition is all about atmosphere, and it nails it. There’s a recreated bar area that makes you feel like you’re in the middle of a wild 1980s club night.
The fashion is the star of the show. Seeing Stephen Linard’s designs for Bowie and Boy Groge, Stephen Jones’s hats that defy gravity, and BodyMap’s theatrical outfits up close is amazing.
The outfits mix vintage tailoring, charity shop finds, and full-on theatrical flair. We couldn’t stop taking mental notes on how much effort went into each look. It takes hours to get ready, and we totally saw why.
| Pro tip: Check out the archives. The flyers, magazines, and rare vinyl records are full of context. They show how the Blitz scene influenced fashion, music, and media. |
Best exhibitions at the Barbican
Address: Silk St, Barbican
Contact details: +44 20 7870 2500
Operating hours:
- Contact for more info
16. Dirty Looks: Desire and Decay in Fashion
Media credits: londonartfile
Price: ££
Date: Until January 25, 2026
Forget the glitzy, polished exhibitions you might expect—Dirty Looks: Desire and Decay in Fashion celebrates mess, chaos, and imperfection.
Walking through the 12 rooms, it’s amazing how deliberate each display felt. They were carefully curated to tell stories about the designers’ intentions, fashion history, and society’s shifting ideas of beauty.
We loved how it mixes the old and new. Fashion icons like Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood sit alongside up-and-comers like Elena Velez and IAMISIGO. We could literally see how the rebellious style has evolved over the decades.
Everything also felt so immersive. The clothes aren’t just tucked behind glass, but they hang, spill, and drape in different ways.
| Pro tip:Look for hidden details and designer techniques, like paint splatters or distressing methods that mimic natural decay. Pay attention to the stitching, layering, and unusual materials. |
17. Encounters: Giacometti x Mona Hatoum
Media credits: whitecube and barbicancentre
Price: £
Date: Until January 11, 2026
From the moment our team entered the Encounters: Giacometti x Mona Hatoum gallery, we knew this wouldn’t be a gentle stroll through pretty sculptures. This is a space that demands attention, reflection, and at times, courage.
The centrepiece, Bourj, rises as a towering stack of steel boxes, marked as if drones struck it. Walking around it, you can almost hear the echoes of lives interrupted. Every detail spoke of fragility and resilience in equal measure.
The glass baby arm on the floor is particularly haunting. It’s the kind of piece that lingers in your mind, long after you leave the gallery.
Hatoum’s genius lies in making political and social commentary intensely personal—her installations don’t suggest trauma, they make you feel it.
| Pro tip:Watch your step and use the staff for guidance. Some pieces involve low-hanging elements or flickering neon lights. There are also delicate glass sculptures on the floor sometimes. |
18. Lucy Raven: Rounds
Media credits: barbicancentre and lisson_gallery
Price: Free
Date: Until January 4, 2026
Lucy Raven: Rounds is loud, a bit strange, sometimes overwhelming, and honestly unforgettable. Raven mixes film and sculpture to explore how landscapes and machines can shape (and reshape) each other, and the results are powerful and poetic.
You start with Hardpan, a massive kinetic light sculpture that greets you like an industrial monster. The sound and energy are intense. It’s like you’ve walked into a factory that’s somehow come alive. It’s actually a bold way to open the show.
Then comes Murderers Bar, and this is where things get really interesting. The film follows the removal of a dam on the Klamath River in California. It captures what happens when nature is finally set free after being blocked for more than a century.
| Pro tip: If you’re prone to light sensitivity, step in slowly or look at the reflections first rather than directly into the light apertures at the Hardpan. |
Best exhibitions at the Dulwich Picture Gallery
Address: Dulwich Village
Contact details: +44 20 8693 5254
Operating hours:
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday to Sunday: 10 AM – 5 PM
19. Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons
Media credits: dulwichgallery
Price: ££
Date: Until October 19, 2025
Forget polite landscapes and portraits because Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons is like stepping into a wild and colourful dream. Everything seems to buzz and grin back at you.
The first room is filled with massive paintings that practically tower over you. When we stood in front of them, it felt like the art was about to swallow us whole. One of our team even joked that it felt like being in a cartoon dentist’s dream, and that’s not far off.
What makes Jones’s work so good is how she uses colour. At first glance, it may seem chaotic with pinks crashing into oranges, and blues melting into the reds. But the more you look, the more it all starts to make sense.
| Pro tip: Take a break before moving to the smaller works. The first few pieces are visually intense, so grab a minute in between rooms to reset. It’ll help you appreciate the more intimate works in the middle section. |