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Great exhibitions in South Kensington

South Kensington has some great exhibitions to enjoy. Marvel at stunning photography, be inspired by Beatrix Potter, see iconic images of the Royal Family, or find out more about removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Africa Fashion

On til 16 April 23
Daily: 10am-5:45pm - Friday: 10am – 10pm
V&A
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The V&A is staging its first Africa Fashion exhibition, which will be as eclectic and varied, diverse and dynamic as its people. It will tell a story of fashion as a self-defining art form; a kind of movement culture that goes beyond individual garments to encompass attitude, gesture, style.

Victoria: A Royal Childhood

Daily
Wed to Sun 10am-6pm
Kensington Palace
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Discover the story of Princess Victoria, the young girl destined to be queen, in the rooms where she was born and raised at Kensington Palace. Explore how an indulged young princess blossomed into the independent and iconic monarch we remember.

Design 1900-Now Gallery

Wednesday–Sunday, 10.00–17.45
V&A
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A gallery exploring how design shapes how we live, work, travel, communicate and consume. The gallery includes Margaret Calvert and Jock Kinneir’s iconic British road signage system, Kim Kardashian’s Selfish book and Nike’s Nigeria football shirt for the 2018 World Cup.

The Artistic Home

Until 23rd Sept 2023
10am-5:45pm
V&A
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Displaying art pottery was key to creating a fashionable, 'artistic' home in the late 1800s. This display showcases the creativity and innovation of British art potteries and their artists, many of them women, who painted and decorated wares by hand.

Registrations open for the Great Exhibition Road Festival

17 & 18 June
Great Exhibition Road Festival
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The Great Exhibition Road Festival returns to South Kensington! Register now to come along for a great weekend of free events for all ages celebrating how awe and wonder can spark innovation in science and the arts. Check out the first events we've released for a taste of what's on this summer.

Field Notes

Until 31st Aug
10am-5:30pm
V&A
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What can the forest teach us? That is a key questions that runs through this display of contemporary design projects. This display is part of Make Good: Rethinking Material Futures, a ten-year project supported by John Makepeace OBE.

Online The Carpenters' Line: Woodworking Heritage in Hida Takayama

Online
Japan House London
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The Carpenters’ Line: Woodworking Heritage in Hida Takayama explores Hida’s legacy of skill and innovation through a series of installations focusing on woodworking techniques and materials. If you were not able to visit in person, you can now view it from the comfort of your home.

Serpentine's Pavilion 2023

June 2023
Serpentine
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Serpentine have announced that Lebanese-born, Paris-based architect Lina Ghotmeh, has been selected to conceive the 22nd Pavilion. Ghotmeh’s Pavilion will be unveiled at Serpentine South in June 2023 with Goldman Sachs supporting the annual project for the 9th consecutive year.

Tai Chi at the Museum

25th March, 22nd April
8:00am-9:15am
Natural History Museum
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Combine deep breathing and relaxation with slow and graceful movements with a unique Tai Chi class hosted in collaboration with Dao Lu C.I.C. Join the Museum bright and early for a Tai Chi class underneath Hope the blue whale followed by exclusive access to the galleries before it opens.

Leighton House: Celebrating Female Artists

March- August
10am-5:30pm
Leighton House and Sambourne House Museum
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Throughout 2023 Leighton House will feature 3 exhibitions celebrating female artists working across paper, canvas and textiles. Shahrzad Ghaffari, Nour Hage and Evelyn De Morgan,will be exhibiting new work and rarely seen pieces whilst exploring themes of spirituality, symbolism & feminism.

Pay What You Want at Leighton House

First Monday of Every Month
10am-1pm
Leighton House and Sambourne House Museum
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Set your diaries for Monday 6 February for the start of a new Pay What You Want scheme at Leighton House. Visit the museum on the first Monday of each month (from 10am to 1pm) and take the chance to only pay what you want to see inside the iconic historic house interiors.

The Giant Dino Night

28th April
7pm-9:45pm
Natural History Museum
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Celebrate with the Museum after hours as they welcome one of the biggest dinosaurs ever to have roamed the planet, the colossal titanosaur. Join for an evening of exploration and fun family activities as we step back in time to when giants walked the Earth.

OPEN! CHANNEL! FLOW!

27th Feb-29th April
11am-5pm
The Royal Society of Sculptors
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Polly Morgan's new work explores appropriation in the animal world; how colour, pattern and iridescence are used to dazzle and misdirect. New painted snakeskin-textured sculptures explore the politicisation of bodily adornments by drawing parallels between military and cultural warfare.

John James Audubon and his Birds of America

Now open
10am-5:50pm
Natural History Museum
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This free display of engravings from John James Audubon's The Birds of America reaffirms why it continues to inspire artists, bird experts and conservationists alike.

Metalworking Now

Until August 31st
10am-5:30pm
V&A
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Contemporary metalworking is a dynamic field and today’s metalsmiths continue a long tradition of experimentation in a range of metals to create exciting and innovative work. This display highlights work by metalsmiths from across the world that have been collected by the museum since 2010.

REBEL: 30 Years of London Fashion

16th Sept-11th Feb
10am-6pm
Design Museum Kensington
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How does London repeatedly set the creative agenda? Find out in this major exhibition celebrating the city's leading role in global fashion. Opening to coincide with London Fashion Week 2023, it will be the first display to focus solely on the radical creativity of young designers in Britain.

Laughing Matters: The State of a Nation

Until 8th Dec
10am-5:45pm
V&A
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Through over 30 objects, ranging from costumes to scripts, from puppets to music, this display unpicks the punchlines to discover what humour since the Victorian era – whether subversive, surreal, mocking or celebratory – can tell us about what it means to be British today.

Pride at the Royal Albert Hall

Royal Albert Hall
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Introducing Pride at the Royal Albert Hall, a pop-up exhibition celebrating the rich history of LGBTQ+ trailblazers, icons and events at the Hall.

False Flags

27th Feb-28th April
11am-5pm
The Royal Society of Sculptors
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Polly Morgan’s new work explores appropriation in the animal world; how colour, pattern and iridescence are used to dazzle and misdirect. In the newly reopened Dora House.

Young V&A opening in July

Opening 1st July 2023
V&A
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Young V&A will showcase the transformative power of creativity, displaying remarkable and optimistic stories of children’s ingenuity alongside 2,000 works from the V&A’s collection of art, design, and performance.

Sculptural Serpents

15th April
2-4pm
The Royal Society of Sculptors
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To celebrate the Polly Morgan’s exhibition ‘Open! Channel! Flow!’ at the Royal Society of Sculptors, Wild Life Drawing will be bringing some slithery super-models along to the space for an exciting day of drawing.

Crown to Couture Tours

10th April- 24th Oct
Times vary.
Kensington Palace
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Join one of their expert guides as they take you on a tour around Kensington Palace and through the new blockbuster exhibition, Crown to Couture from April. Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity to discover the exhibition and State Rooms when the palace is closed to the public.

Friday Late: The Body Beautiful

31st March
6:30pm-10pm
V&A
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To mark the opening of Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance, this Friday Late explores our relationship with our bodies. Donatello was a pioneer in sculpting the body in revolutionary ways, depicting the human emotive spectrum, from suffering and grief to courage and joy.

Science Fiction Lates

4th May
6:30pm-10pm
Science Museum
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Embark on an epic intergalactic adventure on 4 May to celebrate both the extension of the Science Fiction: Voyage to the Edge of Imagination exhibition and, of course, Star Wars Day. Enjoy mind-expanding talks, otherworldly workshops and much more at an adults-only, after-hours night.