Great exhibitions in South Kensington

Without even needing to leave home, explore some of the world's richest habitats, see fascinating animal behaviour and get to know some extraordinary species through the images featured in the exhibition.

Discover the beauty of locomotive engineering and journey through 100 years of model-making at the Science Museum’s free exhibition. Brass, Steel and Fire highlights the great age of experimentation when vicars, lace makers and engineers breathed life into hissing, steaming miniature locomotives.

Just down the road at the Royal Society of Sculptors, award-winning artist Fabio Lattanzi Antinori has transformed the terrace with a bold digital display. The Cost of Your Words is a bold digital sculpture which displays the current cost of keywords captured from Google searches in and around South Kensington, making a statement from the unexpected associations of words and their relevance in today's society. Step inside this gem of a gallery for Content Provider by Jeremy Hutchinson and you’ll never look at the office in quite the same way again.

From rucksacks to despatch boxes, Birkin bags to Louis Vuitton luggage, Bags! will explore the style, function, design and craftsmanship of the ultimate accessory.

Exploring 5,000 years of art, design and culture, Epic Iran will shine a light on one of the greatest historic civilisations, its journey into the 21st century and its monumental artistic achievements, which remain unknown to many.

Designer Maker User, the Design Museum's only permanent exhibition, features almost 1000 items of twentieth and twenty-first century design viewed through the angles of the designer, manufacturer and user, including a crowdsourced wall.

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.

Could you shape the world we live in? Find out if you've got the problem-solving, big-thinking, team-working skills to be a globe-trotting engineer of tomorrow.

Mathematics is too often perceived as dry and complex, but this new gallery will tell stories that place the subject at the heart of our lives, exploring how mathematicians, their tools and ideas have helped to shape the modern world.

Meet your ancient relatives, trace the origins and evolution of our species, and explore what makes us human.

Showcasing over 1100 objects from the V&A’s collections of 17th- and 18th-century European art and design in a suite of seven galleries.

IKEA and the Design Museum present the Last Straw, an installation featuring the last ever single-use plastic straw IKEA will serve or sell in any store in the UK and Ireland.

Utilising various media, including video, the internet, interactive technologies, photography, drawing, painting and watercolour, Suzanne Treister explores emerging technologies, alternative belief systems and potential human futures through a newly commissioned book and web-based augmented reality work.

Discover how London grew from a lively capital city to a global hub for trade, commerce, and scientific enquiry between 1550 - 1800. This new free gallery spanning over 650 m² takes visitors on a journey through the metropolis during a time of momentous change.

Come face-to-face with a full-size engineering model of BepiColombo, the European Space Agency’s first ever spacecraft to explore Mercury. Standing over six metres tall, this Structural Thermal Model (STM) of the spacecraft was used to test BepiColombo’s resilience during its seven-year journey to Mercury.

Exploring its origins, adaptations and reinventions over 157 years, this immersive and theatrical show charts the evolution of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland from manuscript to a global phenomenon beloved by all ages.

When we think about the history of exploration, we often imagine it as the work of exceptional individuals in extraordinary circumstances. Men and women venturing forth on some incredible journey, a fundamentally collective and shared experience. This wonderful online exhibition draws on images of exploration since 1800.

Asante gold court regalia is richly symbolic of an economy centred on the gold trade. Small brass goldweights were shaped to express proverbs encouraging honesty, integrity and the need to leave a legacy of good deeds. This display highlights contested heritage: some items were taken by British troops when they raided the Asante capital, Kumasi, in 1874 in conflicts over gold-trading ports.

Celebrate science and the arts at home with a year-round programme of online events from organisations across South Kensington. This month. peek behind the curtain with a magician helping surgeons develop new skills and explore how arts engagement affects mental and social wellbeing.

Discover one of the great furniture designers and architects of the twentieth century whose work was often overshadowed by her male peers, such as Le Corbusier and Jean Prouvé.

Explore the 100-year history of the prestigious Royal Academy of Dance. Discover a host of costume, designs, film and unique material from the last century including shoes worn by Dame Darcey Bussell DBE at her 2007 farewell performance.

See South Kensington in a whole new light as it is transformed by a selection of artists re-imagining spaces along Exhibition Road in Albertopolis, where the Great Exhibition Road Festival takes place. The artists were inspired by conversations with scientists at Imperial College London on mental health and wellbeing research to create digital dreams of these iconic places.

Rediscover the V&A’s Raphael Court - home to the iconic Raphael Cartoons - reopening on 14 November. Following an extraordinary refurbishment, gain a new understanding of the ingenuity of Raphael and explore the fascinating history of a Renaissance treasure. They were commissioned in 1515 by Pope Leo X for the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel and depict the lives of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul – Fathers of the Christian church. The Cartoons have been on loan to the V&A from Her Majesty The Queen since 1865.

Connected is an experiment which set out to explore how designers and craftspeople adapted their working practices during lockdown. Nine international designers have been challenged to create a table and seating, that is personal to them, for home living and working.

Striving to be the best place in the world for people to enjoy science, the Science Museum's world-class collection forms an enduring record of scientific, technological and medical achievements from across the globe. Explore the museum's exhibitions and online collections.

Explore online the world's leading museum of art and design - the V&A enriches people's lives by promoting the practice of design and increasing knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of the designed world.

With five vast and visually stunning galleries containing more than 3,000 medical artefacts, striking artworks, interactive games and immersive experiences, Medicine: The Wellcome Galleries brings the history of medicine to life. Take a closer look at what's on display in the Collection Online

Explore a story of natural history discovery in an interactive experience, Making Natural History, Dive into the museum's 80 million specimens, encounter a prehistoric marine reptile in virtual reality, discover pioneering Museum research, navigate the galleries in 360 degrees & take a tour of exhibits tackling natural history themes,

For almost 200 years the medium of photography has created an unprecedented intimacy between Sovereign and subjects. The new display explores the British Royal Family’s enduring relationship with the camera. Going on display at Kensington Palace for the first time will also be a selection of images taken by Royal Family members themselves

Discover where the real and wizarding worlds intertwine, and how the wonders of the natural world have inspired myths, legends and magical creatures for generations. 

This time last year hundreds of staff, students and volunteers were getting ready to host the Great Exhibition Road Festival. We’re sorry Covid-19 means we can’t do it all again this year but it means we’re even more excited about 2021. Meanwhile, relive some of the highlights of last year here.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2020 Awards. From imaginary worlds and fairy-tales to the difficult reality of life in a refugee camp, the winners of this year's awards demonstrate the versatility and breadth of contemporary illustration.

The Design Museum has launched a new pay it forward scheme in partnership with local charities, including The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, that distributes free exhibition tickets in the local community. Launched to coincide with the partial reopening of the museum on 31st July, it is aimed at offering free access to the museum's temporary exhibitions to young people and adults in the local community for whom price might be a barrier to participation - including those most affected by the Coronavirus crisis.

MAKING NUNO Japanese Textile Innovation from Sudō Reiko 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.

Robert Irwin's dramatic bird's-eye view depicting the destruction wreaked by a bushfire in Northern Australia has won the 2020 Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award. Taken in the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve in Cape York, Queensland, the area is of high conservation value and is home to over 30 different ecosystems with many endangered species. Robert spotted smoke billowing out in the horizon and knew this was something he had to capture.

Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg is designing a garden for birds and bees and other pollen-carrying species. As part of the Serpentine's Back to Earth project, Ginsberg has developed a special algorithm that optimises garden designs – including plant species and layout – for pollinators rather than humans. This will result in a new outdoor garden in Cornwall and a website through which audiences will be able to develop their own garden design using the same algorithm

Discover beautiful and curious objects from the Royal College of Art's 2020 Ceramics & Glass MA graduate showcase.

A single large-scale photomontage by artist Katerina Jebb showcases a rare 19th century embroidery sampler from the V&A collections which narrates a deeply personal account of the incredible hardships of its young female creator, Elizabeth Parker.

From graphic design to fashion, architecture to activism, this edition of the Prize will celebrate contemporary design inspired by Islamic tradition. The eight designers hail from India, Iran, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the UK.

The Royal Society of Sculptors is delighted to be showcasing the work of Naomi Blake FRBS with an outdoor exhibition on the sculpture terrace - free for all to enjoy. The exhibition celebrates Blake as part of the Society’s ‘Pioneering Women’ project. Blake’s sculptures symbolise hope and optimism in the face of adversity.

This is the second instalment in Sophia Al-Maria’s ongoing project with the Serpentine, Taraxos, which uses the dandelion as a vehicle with which to explore cycles of history, hierarchies of kinship and what the word ‘nature’ even means via the routes of conversation, correspondence, deep listening and the principles of meditation imagery.

This summer, the stunning Kensington Gardens will host Van Gogh Alive, ‘the world’s most visited immersive, multi-sensory experience’ that exhibits the life and work of the seminal Dutch artist. The first event to be hosted in this prestigious location since 2016, visitors will be treated to a truly world-class cultural experience in the heart of one of London’s most loved Royal Parks

The Natural History Museum is thrilled to announce that they are reopening on 17 May. General admission tickets will be available from 13.00 on Tuesday 13 April. To help keep everyone safe, a timed entry system is in place and only a limited number of people are allowed in the galleries, with a limited number of walk-up tickets.

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 - and the V&A has issued a public call-out for garments, personal stories and pictures from people who have worn designs by Alphadi, Thomas-Fahm, Seydou and Ansah. calling out to its visitors to share this incredible story.

Visit the free display showcasing the London-based designer's work including her collaboration with the Emergency Designer Network to create PPE during the pandemic

Know your Air Jordans from your Air Force 1s? Step up and discover the footwear phenomenon that has challenged performance design, inspired new subcultures and shaken the world of fashion

Photographers, both amateur and professional, were invited to submit up to 10 photographs or films to Earth Photo, an international photography competition and exhibition. Developed jointly with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), Earth Photo aims to stimulate conversations about the world, its inhabitants and our treatment of both. 54 photos and videos shortlisted in a virtual exhibition online now.

The Serpentine will present a major survey of British-Ghanaian photographer James Barnor, whose career spans six decades, two continents and numerous photographic genres through his work with studio portraiture, photojournalism, editorial commissions and wider social commentary.

The Maria Lassnig Foundation and the Serpentine Galleries are delighted to announce that the 2021 Maria Lassnig Prize is awarded to UK-based Ghanaian artist Atta Kwami. A comprehensive monograph publication and a public art commission will be launched in 2022.

For the first time since the annual architecture programme was founded 20 years ago, the 2020 Serpentine Pavilion designed by Johannesburg-based practice Counterspace has been extended into a two-year commission.

Inspirational and legendary—this is the story of the colossal engineering feats that allowed travellers to cross a continent in style. A small display about the Trans-Siberian Railway will be opening at the Science Museum on 26 March 2021 in support of the major exhibition about this astonishing feat of engineering at the National Railway Museum in York.

This exhibition showcases a selection of platinum prints, available to purchase, made from the newly digitised glass and celluloid negatives of the 1921 British Mount Everest Reconnaissance Expedition.

Get ready to explore seven miles of galleries and a host of new displays in the world's leading museum of art, design and performance. The V&A will reopen from Wednesday to Sunday, 10am - 5:45pm. Last admission 4:45pm. Book your free timed-entry

It's finally time to welcome everyone back to the Design Museum's wonderful building! The museum will reopen on Wednesday 2 December with the exhibitions Electronic: From Kraftwerk to The Chemical Brothers, Beazley Designs of the Year and Margaret Calvert: Women at Work. New tickets have been released for exhibitions on that day.

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.

The Science Museum is reopening their doors on 19 May, Government guidance permitting. Head to their website to book your free admission tickets and explore their incredible galleries and exhibitions this summer.