Top 10 exhibitions in London

You don’t really need us to explain the significance of the British Museum’s blockbuster, exhibition. Back on English soil for the first time since it was actually woven nearly 1,000 years ago, it’s not just a spectacular piece of crafstmanship, but also the primary source for our understanding of surely the most momentous year in the story of our own country. On display in London while its Normandy home undergoes major renovations, The Bayeux Tapestry might just be the most popular museum exhibition of our lifetimes.

Why go: If you thought we were already so familiar with the tapestry from school history lessons that seeing it in situ would be a bit underwhelming, think again. Laid out flat in one continuous 70 metre strip, it’s an astonishing artefact that teeters somewhere between outsider art, medieval illumination, action cartoon, historical document and blithe propaganda. 

The first major European exhibition of James McNeil Whistler’s work in 30 years has arrived at Tate Britain. Known as a truly global aritst, The Victorian oil painter re-wrote many of the rules of art, and was an early adopter of ’art for art’s sake’. Through his landscapes of London and Paris you will discover his incredible knack for turning urban ugliness into visual harmony. As for his exquisite portraits, Whistler captured people in a way that was both emotionally rich, yet wonderfully simple.

Why go: This lavishly diverse collection of Whistler’s work singles him out as a relentless artist who was ceaselessly receptive to the world around him. His cosmopolitan scenes of London alone are worth the £24 price of entry.

As a rising star of New York’s avant-garde feminist art scene, there’s no knowing what brilliant work Ana Mendieta might still be producing if her career hadn’t been cut tragically short when she died in 1985 at the age of 36. This first major UK gallery exhibition on Mendieta explores her deep affinity with the natural world via her visceral, primal artworks spanning performance, sculpture, land art, photography and video. 

Why go? Featuring many pieces never exhibited in this country before, this landmark exhibition is a chance to see ethereal, ephemeral, utterly haunting works from her Siluetas series up close. 

Polish artist Monika Sosnowska has made a career probing how architecture shapes us, outlives its purpose and bears witness to a changing city.   Steel, concrete, rebar, staircases, handrails and gates – the functional stuff of modernist architecture – are bent, buckled and twisted into strange new forms in her first solo show at a London institution in more than 20 years. 

Why go: Brings together 14 years of her work across the SLG’s two sites, The Weight of Matter is a reminder of the possibilities and joy that can come with a second life.

The Royal Academy’s exhibition on Richard Dadd is the first major exhibition devoted to an often-overlooked Victorian artist in more than 50 years, and brings together more than 100 of his works including his most famous masterpiece, ‘The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke’, many of which were painted during his confinement in Bedlam after he killed his father during a severe psychotic episode.

Why go: This excellent survey rescues Dadd from the shadow of a notorious institution. Magical and delicate, yet dark like all great Victorian things, these paintings truly deserve to be celebrated. 

There are some absolute treasures to be found in the first British exhibition dedicated to Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, who became famous in Paris during the World Wars for her surreal designs and stunning creations. More than just a dressmaker, Schiaparelli was a close collaborator with Surrealists Salvador Dalí, Man Ray and Leonor Fini, whose works are displayed alongside the clothes. 

Who go: Spanning the 1920s to present day, this exhibition documents the dazzling and sometimes bizarre clothes created by Schiaparelli and her predecessor, current Schiparelli Creative Director Daniel Roseberry. You’ll see dresses worn by Ariana Grande and Dua Lipa, and world-famous artworks like Dalí’s lobster telephone. And the clothes are very, very pretty. 

Taiwanese artist and filmmaker Musquiqui Chihying’s first major UK exhibition is a small, free entry display of four works spanning installation, video, photography and sculptural objects, all of which explore the strange and ingenious ways we navigate our busy, high-stress urban lives.

Why go: It’s an entertaining take on the endless cycles of consumerism and the repetitive grind of city life, with Chihying’s sense of humour preventing some pretty knotty ideas about labour, consumerism and technology from getting bogged down in theory.

Tate Modern has sold more advance tickets for Frida Kahlo: The Making of an Icon than for any exhibition in the Tate gallery’s 128-year history. It’s not surprising. More than seventy years after her death at the age of 47, the Mexican artist remains a cultural phenomenon: a painter, fashion muse, feminist icon and, as the gift shop attests, a patron saint of tote bags and tea towels.

Why go: This mixed exhibition explores how Kahlo became one of the most recognisable artists of the 20th century and a source of inspiration for generations of artists who followed. The highlight is by far the first rooms, which feature 23 exquisite paintings and 11 works on paper by Kahlo. They are accompanied by photographs she sat for, her jewellery, and a selection of Indigenous Mexican clothing from Kahlo’s wardrobe. 

Anish Kapoor’s second solo show at the Hayward Gallery (his last was in 1998) gathers together many of Turner-winning artist’s greatest hits, alongside some monumental new works. Here you will see hulking great sculptures caked in thick crimson oil paint, enormous PVC bulges, and some mind-bending optical illusions. 

Why go: Kapoor’s depthless voids – sculptures of black holes that use a shade that absorb 99.965 percent of visible light, holding the world record for the darkest manmade substance – are Kapoor at his best; they make you think, they intrigue you, they encourage you to drag a friend over and test whether their eyes can be fooled too. More than simple optical tricks, these pieces expose how fragile perception really is.

For the first time, the man behind Bape and Human Made, and the creative director of Kenzo since 2021, has his own London retrospective. The Design Museum’s exhibition features 700 objects – 600 of which come from Nigo’s personal archive – including records, toys, magazines, music videos and a whole lotta clothes, spanning the ‘80s to the present day. 

Why go: If streetwear is a religion, Nigo is one of its deities, and he has a lot to be credited with. Here you’ll get a peak into the origins of ‘scarcity by design’ hype culture, as well as a look into Harajuku street style, hip-hop culture and Japanese design.